PLOT- Lauren Graham reveals personal moments from her life and career, including her whirlwind return to Stars Hollow, playing the iconic Lorelai Gilmore for the much anticipated Netflix reboot of Gilmore Girls.
LIKE- Gilmore Girls is one of my all-time favorite television series and I was beyond thrilled about the four episode reboot. I spent Thanksgiving weekend watching the new episodes and was overwhelmed with emotion, especially with that shocking ending. I needed more! Thankfully, Graham's memoir, Talking as Fast as I Can, was timed to release the same week as the new episodes. I preordered the book, and as soon as it showed up on my Kindle, I abandoned the other book that I was reading and dove in. I just couldn't wait. On a personal note, I used to watch Gilmore Girls with my mom, and she died the winter after the original last season ended. She would have loved the reboot.
Graham has played two of my favorite television moms, Lorelai Gilmore on Gilmore Girls, and Sarah Braverman on Parenthood. Much like these characters, Graham has a similar quirky, awkward sense of humor that's expressed through her rambling style of writing. Since I love her characters so much, I'm happy to find this similarity in the real Graham. You can't help but fall in love with her. There is a very funny story about how she massively screwed up the lyrics to a famous Gershwin song in an audition. Graham doesn't hold back with sharing those embarrassing stories, making her even more endearing and relatable.
I was most interested in the Gilmore Girls reveals. I especially enjoyed that she shared her diary entries from filming the reboot, which includes an entry describing how Graham felt learning those now famous last four words of the series. I can appreciate how much went into pulling off the reboot and how it nearly didn't happen. Thank You Netflix and Warner Brothers for allowing us a little more Stars Hollow; and pretty please, can we have some more? It just can't end on those last four words!
I loved hearing about the little coincidences on the set, such us Graham picking out a Diane Von Furstenberg shirt for Lorelai, only to later learn that the official name of the shirt was Lorelei 2, slightly different spelling, but still! Crazy right? Or having Carol King give an impromptu concert on the set and ending with the Gilmore Girls theme song, of which the lyrics factor into the episode titles of the reboot. It was heartwarming to read about the tributes to Edward Herrmann, who played Richard Gilmore, and has since passed away. The way his death was handled in the story was beautiful and touching.
DISLIKE- Nothing. Talking as Fast as I Can is just what this fan needed.
RECOMMEND- Yes, for Gilmore Girls fans. Although many of the chapters do not require previous knowledge of Graham or the series, the last part of the book definitely does. It's strictly for fans of the show, and fans should not read it, until they have watched the latest episodes. Talking as Fast as I Can is filled with spoilers.