Talking as Fast as I Can

Talking as Fast as I Can: From Gilmore Girls to Gilmore Girls by Lauren Graham
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I've been a fan of the Gilmore Girls since the show was first on air, so I knew I was going to have to read this one eventually. And by read, I mean listen to in my car, because who wouldn't want Lauren Graham to read her own book to you??

I loved hearing about Lauren's beginnings in the theater (of course Slap that Bass is about a fish), about her experiences as an actor, about her dating history and falling in love with her partner, Peter. Her foray into writing was really fascinating, and I appreciated her going into detail about the egg-timer method for writing - I wonder if there's a way to translate that into other areas of your life. I'm not a writer, but I could see that type of mindfulness and gauging success by time spent instead of amount of product being really useful.

The only section of the book that seemed out of place and irrelevant was the section on health and fitness in LA. There didn't seem to be anything special tying Lauren to those stories, and they seemed more like a "this would be a funny thing to add" section than something that actually mattered to Lauren. Maybe they were necessary for the page count, but they didn't seem important to the book.

What I loved the most was the behind-the-scenes notes and memories from the sets of Gilmore Girls and Parenthood, as well as a peek into her set diary from there recent Netflix reboot of Gilmore Girls. To be honest, I wasn't crazy about the Year in the Life episodes that I had seen. Yes, you are reading that correctly. I watched the first 2 episodes of the reboot the week they came out, and was so disappointed in them (Rory, I'm looking at you) that until I started listening to this book, I had never watched the last 2 episodes. When I got to the part in the book where Lauren talks about filming them, I paused the audiobook and finally watched them. I'm glad I finally did - I don't know if it's because my expectations were so low this time, but the final 2 episodes are so much better than the first. I was delighted by all the cameos, the musical made me laugh out loud (despite the fact it was way too long), and I finally got to find out those final 4 words (to which I went, "huh??" And immediately texted all my friends). The part that made me cry the most was when Lorelei called her mom to tell her about her 13th birthday, when she'd had a terrible day and her dad found her at the mall and took her to the movies and then covered for her with her mom. That part in the audiobook also had me crying - Ed Herrmann was such a loving presence on the show as Richard, and his absence was very much felt, and I agree that monologue was a fitting tribute to both the character and the actor.

Back to those last 4 words of the show, I know a lot of people weren't just disappointed in them, but angered by them. For me, though, I'm kind of excited by them, because like Lauren, they sound like a cliffhanger to me. Maybe, just maybe, that means in 10-15 years we'll get another set of episodes.

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