Talking As Fast As I Can

This book did not meet my expectations. Lauren briefly explained how she got casted into Gilmore Girls and then gave a very short recap of the original series. I have seen them, I do not need a recap! I would've liked some insights into the filming, funny stories etc. She shared some of those about the other show she was in - Parenthood - but that one is not mentioned in the book title and not the reason I picked up this book.

There was some more interesting stuff about the recent mini series, but not enough in my opinion. Also, I would've liked to be able to connect her experience on set with a specific scene in an episode, but she was trying to keep it spoiler-free so it's almost impossible.

Lauren reads the audio, so definitely recommend spending the 4 1/2 hours in a friendly chat with her! The book was as light and fun and enjoyable as I expected, but do make sure you have a copy of the book, or that your eBook/eAudio has a picture file, because she refers to each pic as it comes up in moments of her story, and seeing them certainly adds to the enjoyment.

I'm currently rewatching Gilmore Girls for the millionth time and was finally able to get my hands on this book. I read it all in a few hours because I couldn't put it down. Lauren comes across as sweet, hilarious, and authentic. Her stories are funny and genuine and grounded in something we can relate to. She has a way of speaking and writing that captures attention and keeps it. She talks about filming both the original seasons of Gilmore Girls and a Year In The Life and I cried through BOTH chapters. Her little tidbits of information are so fun and bring so much more to fans of the show. Also, Parenthood is my 100% favorite show of all time and I loved her chapter about that as well. All in all, reading this memoir was an actual joy. And after reading everyone else's reviews, I need to get the audiobook as well!

Fast And Funny. In this memoir, Graham talks about her life in general and some of her more famous/ long-lasting projects: Gilmore Girls and Parenthood. And she does it in what seems to be her style on the shows - fast and hilarious. The chapters are short, and the book overall is a very quick read. If you've ever seen any of her projects at all, this is a very worthy read. And if you haven't, you're probably not interested in this book anyway - but if you haven't seen any of her work and are interested, go ahead and pick this up. If nothing else, you will be entertained.

THIS WAS SO GOOD. I love Lauren Graham and I was worried I was going to be disappointed because I had high expectations. This was amazing. As a big fan of Parenthood and Gilmore Girls, I especially appreciated all the references and the trip down memory lane as she talked about those shows. There's also a lot of good quotes and life advice in here. Great book, and I definitely heard Lorelei's voice in my head as I read it.

★ ★ ★ 1/2 (rounded up)
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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This book isn't a proper autobiography or anything (doesn't claim to be, either); it's stories, memories, thoughts and humorous bits that Lauren Graham shares about her life and career. She uses the revival of Gilmore Girls as an excuse to look back on her both to this point, as her career is marked by looking back this year. I haven't seen the new Gilmore episodes (still working my way through the series with my kids), so I could've read the material discussing that a little closer – although I did think the tributes to Edward Herrmann fitting and touching.

The book covers pretty much what you'd expect from an actor's memoirs – discussion of her childhood, paying her acting dues, education, her big break and so on. All told with wit and charm. Graham's personality shines forth and really draws you in. She spends a good amount of time talking about the original run of Gilmore Girls, Parenthood, and her novel. I was glad to see that she did that – so many actors/celebrities don't give that much time or space to the things that made someone want to read their books in the first place.

A few of the highlights of this book are from the parts that aren't de rigueur. There's a section on eating and health tips, that made me laugh out loud – Graham learned the same lesson Jim Gaffigan and Weird Al did – food jokes work 99. 6% of the time. There's some really good writing advice that Graham was given by a friend that helped her to finish this book – and seems like the kind of thing that could help many authors. There's some recurring jokes about Ellen DeGeneres and the cast of Today. I don't want to suggest those are all the highlights, but they're are good sample. 

Most of the book feels like Graham set her phone to “Voice to Text” and cut loose. But there's no way that it would've come out as good if that's what she did – that kind of feel is the result of a lot of hard work and planning. It all paid off, this was one of the more enjoyable books to read that I've tackled recently – don't get me wrong, the content was good, too – but the writing was as smooth as silk. Unlike that sentence. Between this and her novel, it's clear that Graham's really quite a writer, I hope to see more from her.

This was a fast, breezy read – a lot of fun with plenty of heart. Pretty much everything you want from/would expect from Graham. A sure fan pleaser.

While I liked the eclectic feel of the book, I kept hoping for more substance and for Lauren Graham to share more - more about any one of the topics she touches on throughout the book. Perhaps this was what she was going for, and while it made for an entertaining read, I think the nostalgic factor of watching both Gilmore Girls and Parenthood made this a definite 3-star read for me. I enjoy her writing though and will still look forward to what comes from her next.

From the first episode of Gilmore Girls I ever watched I have adored Lauren Graham. Her interviews with the fast talking and quirky anecdotes made me believe in the reality of her. She seems like someone I would love to know, that I almost feel like I do know without ever having met her.
For me, this book held inspiration, laughter and tears in its pages. Which is all anyone can ask for in 205 pages.

It took me far too many years to get on the Gilmore Girls train, but once I finally did, boy did I become an instant fan for life. As such, I was extremely excited to read Lauren Graham's new memoir, Talking as Fast as I can. I have also read Someday,Someday Maybe which was flawless.

There are so many (wonderful) things I want to say about her book that it's difficult to pinpoint exactly where to begin. Graham's prose has an effortless, familiar feel to it. Like the soft voice of a friend over a casual cup of coffee. It's obvious she's a writer, and an extremely talented one at that.

One of the things I was worried about before I started reading was that it might only focus on her life as it related to Gilmore Girls. While that would have still been a thoroughly enjoyable read, fans (at least fans like me) read memoirs to learn about the real person and their real life. In learning about their lives, we feel as though we've left the world of fandom and entered the world of friendship. And Graham's memoir delivers a perfect blend of personal and professional to us.

Talking as Fast as I can contains two large chapters where Graham recaps the actual filming experience of Gilmore Girls. The first, positioned near the beginning of the book, covers the original series, and the last, positioned near the end of the book, covers the revival. The remainder of the book follows Graham throughout her life from childhood to present. We learn a little about her family, about her upbringing and education, and, of course, about how she became the actress we love today. She's witty, inspirational, and utterly entertaining.

But it's more than just a simple sharing of random moments of her life. You can tell that each story, each chapter, each word has been chosen with care and caution. It's neither too short nor too long; it is just perfect. I have to say after this all I really want to do is watch Parenthood and I just might do that.

If you're looking for Lauren to talk about her work on Gilmore Girls, it's a single chapter in this book, that isn't terribly in depth. There is a bit more on Lauren's work for “Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life.” 

This is a light autobiography, and I got the sense Lauren is a private person in general. That being said, the book is a fast, easy, funny read, and it really shows how blurred the line between Lauren and Lorelai is.