Scrappy Little Nobody

Meh. Not bad. I listened to the audiobook version. Anna's voice works well in small spurts, but after awhile I wanted to say “can you at least try to sound happy”?? Everything comes off sarcastic or irritated at everything. I realize this is part of her personality, but I think I'll stick to her tweets instead of any further books from her.

I love memoirs, especially comedic ones, and I like Anna Kendrick - she's always surprised me as she's so much more hilarious and real via social media channels than any of her characters. She seems like a person Id get along with. And aren't those the best celebs? I listened to this as an audiobook and hearing her narration DEFINITELY added to this... she is an actor, after all. I found her likeable, sarcastic, but also very human and sweet. I like that she thwarts her public image a bit, the same way she does with her mordant tweets. This made me like her more, and also is an interesting peak into what it's like to be a B-list, down-to-earth, celebrity, and how she got there etc.

3.5 / audiobook

For all the issues I have with this book I hold the editor responsible. The first few chapters about Anna's child acting career and her family are rather drab. The self deprecating humour feels forced or overdone. But as teenager Anna becomes a 20 something Anna things get more engaging. She gets real about stuff - like how she was broke when she got her oscar nomination for Up in the Air, how her outlook towards multiple things has evolved. I liked that.

Note on the audiobook - Anna talks really fast so actually had to listen at 0.8x for a bit to adjust my brain.