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Biography & Autobiography. Performing Arts. Nonfiction. Humor (Nonfiction.) HTML:NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In this collection of personal essays, the beloved star of Gilmore Girls and Parenthood reveals stories about life, love, and working as a woman in Hollywood—along with behind-the-scenes dispatches from the set of the new Gilmore Girls, where she plays the fast-talking Lorelai Gilmore once again. With a new bonus chapter In Talking as Fast as I Can, Lauren Graham hits pause for a moment and looks back on her life, sharing laugh-out-loud stories about growing up, starting out as an actress, and, years later, sitting in her trailer on the Parenthood set and asking herself, “Did you, um, make it?” She opens up about the challenges of being single in Hollywood (“Strangers were worried about me; that’s how long I was single!”), the time she was asked to audition her butt for a role, and her experience being a judge on Project Runway (“It’s like I had a fashion-induced blackout”). In “What It Was Like, Part One,” Graham sits down for an epic Gilmore Girls marathon and reflects on being cast as the fast-talking Lorelai Gilmore. The essay “What It Was Like, Part Two” reveals how it felt to pick up the role again nine years later, and what doing so has meant to her. Some more things you will learn about Lauren: She once tried to go vegan just to bond with Ellen DeGeneres, she’s aware that meeting guys at awards shows has its pitfalls (“If you’re meeting someone for the first time after three hours of hair, makeup, and styling, you’ve already set the bar too high”), and she’s a card-carrying REI shopper (“My bungee cords now earn points!”). Including photos and excerpts from the diary Graham kept during the filming of the recent Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, this book is like a cozy night in, catching up with your best friend, laughing and swapping stories, and—of course—talking as fast as you can.… (more)
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I read this book in a combination of audio and physical book. I recommend this because Lauren herself narrates the book and she is great at emphasizing the funny parts so that you
The book is a fairly standard celebrity memoir--there’s biographical information, gossip about her shows Parenthood and Gilmore Girls, and then random chapters about dating, dieting, and other lifestyle topics. Gilmore Girls is obviously the main focus of the book with details about the show initially being picked up, a behind-the-scenes diary of the revival, and then a section where Lauren rewatched the entire show and commented on various things in each season.
The book, as I mentioned, is laugh-out-loud funny, but Lauren also discusses things like why she’s uncomfortable with public nudity and her fear that technology is negatively impacting our ability to have personal relationships. There’s a nice balance between silly and serious.
The bonus chapter is detailing Lauren’s experience doing press for the book and I didn’t find it particularly added anything to the book. However, it was interesting to hear that she was really sick while appearing on the Late Show as I didn’t notice a thing when I watched her interview.
On the whole, I feel that this book will be rather dated in a few years’ time, but while it’s relevant, it’s a fun read that’ll keep you entertained the whole way through.
Generally, I'm not much interested in celebrities' biographies, but while I'm not looking to own a copy of "Talking as Fast as I Can", I'm glad I
It was interesting to learn more about what goes in to making a TV show in general and specifically, the behind-the-scenes info about "Gilmore Girls". It helped explain a bit why the revival was so chaotic, I think. Most of the time, Graham was good about clarifying which character an actor played when she mentioned them, though there were a few times she didn't and, as I don't know the names of every single GG actor, I had to take a second to Google the name to know whom she was talking about.
I will add that I think the subtitle is misleading. It sounds like a memoir that covers from the start of "Gilmore Girls" through the revival, but she talks a lot about her childhood and her start in show business as well. It doesn't affect my rating, but it smells like clickbait, which is a bit frustrating.
However, all-in-all, it was a good read. :)
One of my favorite parts of this book was where Graham reacts to each of the Gilmore Girls seasons. It was great to get the actor’s own thoughts on what I’ve watched dozens of times over the last fifteen or so years. And the section where Graham discusses all that was involved in making Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life happen, I gained a better appreciation for just what went into its creation.
But the Gilmore Girls and Parenthood parts of this book weren’t all that made it what it is. Getting to hear about how Someday, Someday, Maybe came to be makes me want to read it again. And hearing about Graham’s early life was also a reason I wanted to read this book in the first place. Being part memoir, part essays on various projects and key issues, this collection is a great read on many levels.
I only wish it were longer. I want more from Graham. But I’m happy to wait for another novel or a similar non-fiction book. I’d read anything that comes out. It’s not just my inner fan-girl talking. Graham backs it up with her her writing.
This book was a breezy, delightful read, and I finished it thinking Lauren Graham would be a wonderful woman to have as a
I've never seen "The Gilmore Girls", but after reading this, I think I have to get Netflix and check it out. Spoiler alert: the title comes from the statement by a critic that said the actors on the show spoke very fast !
I recommend this book for all of Ms. Graham's fans, who will delight in the details.
If you're looking for a gossipy-Hollywood tell-all, this book isn't it. Graham mostly gives an overview of her career and how the Gilmore Girls reunion came to be. She gives a mention to the co-stars and people she likes and mostly ignores the people she didn't seem to care for all that much. She is a good storyteller and many of her stories are amusing.
Although I didn't find the book to be terribly insightful, I did like it. Graham seems like the kind of girl with whom it would be fun to hang around. This book did make me interested in reading her fiction -- she definitely has writing talent.