Hi friends,
Unsurprisingly, after reading a shit ton of books in the last few months, I've slowed down. My brain feels like mashed potatoes, so when I’m not pushing myself on other goals, I’ve just been staring into space a lot.
I Want To Be Where The Normal People Are by Rachel Bloom
Did we even meet between 2015 and 2020 if I didn’t talk about the comedy-drama Crazy Ex-Girlfriend? Created by Rachel Bloom and Aline Brosh McKenna (the writer of The Devil Wears Prada, btw), the show was a perfect nugget for those looking to challenge their perception of relationships, self-image, and mental illness, all wrapped up in a lovely musical bow.
This book of essays, released right as the world went into lockdown, was unfortunately perfectly named. I had it on my TBR list for a while and finally managed to read it in the last few months of 2023.
It is…weird as hell.
I really wanted to love it, but it gives “theatre-kid energy turned up to 200”, and I’m honestly only a solid 70 on that scale. I enjoyed the writing, especially when she talks about her experience at award shows and her younger years as an out-of-place kid. She includes screenshots from her diaries as a kid, and that was pretty funny too. You never realise how absolutely weird you are until you look at things you made as a child.
The parts I couldn’t get into are the bits that are meant to be sung (to an accompanying tune on her website, which I didn’t go to) and some poems, which you know I’m not a huge fan of.
Ten Steps to Nanette by Hannah Gadsby
I was one of the masses that went crazy over Hannah Gadsby’s specials on Netflix. I even made my poor husband watch them with me, resulting in one of the funniest responses I’ve ever gotten post-watch1.
If you’re not aware, Nanette, the standup special made headlines for being a dissection of standup comedy as a whole. It is heartwrenching, it is illuminating, it is a must-watch if you’re a standup comedy fan like me. To read how they got to this incisive piece of art, I picked up their memoir.
I really enjoyed the back half of this book, because, I will admit readily, I am only looking for their standup comedy journey. The growing up bit was not as interesting as I’ve watched their second special about their autism diagnosis, so the stories weren’t surprising to me.
Reading how they got to Nanette, especially when it came to the crafting of the show, breaking down which bits would work on which audience, etc, was incredible. The part where they speak about their mom coming to the taping of the live show? Ugh, my heart broke again.
Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Taylor Jenkins Reid has been quite popular over the last few years, especially since Daisy Jones and the Six was adapted into a miniseries on Amazon Prime Video.
I read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo (also in development for a TV adaptation) a few years back and had mixed feelings, but I read Malibu Rising a while back and really enjoyed it. Carrie Soto (the eponymous character in Carrie Soto Is Back) was name-checked there, so I decided to pick this up as well.
This compelling beach read, as my husband calls it, is fun! It’s about a tennis star, hence it is heavy on references, but as someone who knows very little about tennis, I still found myself drawn into the story. Reid writes very compelling characters, and it really works in creating a whole world you want to spend time in.
Also, is it weird to say that I was excited to see Spanish (the character’s father, a key figure, is Argentinian) in a book? My very bad Duolingo Spanish came in handy enough that I managed to read some parts! I don’t even know if it was authentic Spanish, since, as I mentioned before, the author really likes to write POC characters when she seems white to me.
The Thursday Murder Club series by Richard Osman
I finished the last 2 books in this series! And it was even sadder! And it broke my heart more! And it makes me look at old people with so much more compassion! And he's not going to continue the series (for now)!!! 😭
Soseki Natsume’s I Am A Cat: The Manga Edition by Natsume Soseki, Chiroru Kobata (Illustrator), and Zack Davisson (Translator)
Is this a cautionary tale in trying to read a classic in manga form? Maybe, but since I’ll never read the original I Am A Cat by Natsume Soseki, I’ll never know!!
I thought a manga version would be easier to get through, and while that was proven right, I think too many of the nuances were lost, either due to the visual format, or on me, someone who isn’t very knowledgeable in Japanese history. Wow I thought this book was boring. The story moved along, it was an interesting cat POV (especially in the Meiji period, probably), the ending was poetic, but…so? Maybe it’s because I’ve read quite a few books in the last few years that are about cats, but it didn’t grab me as much as I would have liked. If any one has read the original I would really like to chat to know what I’ve missed!
“why…why was it so sad?” - Joshua