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.
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.
I will be totally honest. I read 99.8 % fiction. Reading for me is an escape, a chance to travel from the comfort of my home. When I select a book outside the realm of fiction, it is more often than not a history book surrounding an event or era. So why did I listen to Talking As Fast As I Can? Gilmore Girls. The show began in 2000, I was a young stay at home mother of three and that hour spent in Stars Hollow was magical. Rory loved books; I loved books and Lorelai's addiction to coffee rivaled my own. I loved the flaws and the dynamics of the friendships. Later, I would watch reruns with my daughters. I think, I will always look back on the show fondly.
I was curious if Lauren Graham was anything like her character Lorelai. Boy, was I rewarded. Graham was pure, awkward, and at times downright funny. Her story felt honest. It was refreshing. She felt like someone I could hang out with over coffee. Like myself, Lauren is a private person and reveals very little about her life, but what she does is wonderful. She had me giggling, connecting and admiring her for just putting it out there. Her stories about dating and her husband were priceless.
Graham highlights how she got her start, goes through the seasons of Gilmore Girls, talks about the final season and the reunion. She also gives some highlights on other roles she has played like those of Sarah from Parenthood. We also get tidbits about her life as a child, and while this book doesn't go into any real depth on any particular subject, it was fun to listen.
audio provided by publisher. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Book Reviewer
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13 December, 2016:
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13 December, 2016:
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