Lauren Graham’s past two weeks have been pretty damn exciting. Not only did the highly anticipated Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life drop on Netflix, but her most recent book, Talking as Fast as I Can, came out on the 29th of November. Unlike her debut novel Someday, Someday, Maybe, Graham’s newest book is a collection of candid and hilarious essays, reflecting on her life from when she first stepped into Lorelai Gilmore’s shoes to coming back to Stars Hollow for the revival.
For every wannabe-Gilmore out there, know that Lauren really does love you. Why you ask? Because she went back and watched all seven seasons of Gilmore Girls in order to give you the most intimate experience behind the scenes as she could – that’s dedication. Graham’s unique brand of witty sarcasm and slightly self deprecating humor shine through in her recounting of her days as the fast talking, coffee loving Lorelai. Her first collection of essays highlight her fondest memories from each season. Ranging from the first season when she and on-screen daughter, Alexis Bledel, first met to the abrupt ending the beloved series faced, Graham’s stories are exactly what you need post A Year in the Life binge watch.
The rest of the essays range from Graham’s time as a Project Runway guest judge to her time as Sarah Braverman on NBC’s Parenthood to the writing process of her debut novel. Sentiment and humor coexist beautifully in each story as she reflects on some of the most intimate moments of her career and life. Perfectly bookending this collection of essays, Graham recounts her time coming back to Stars Hollow almost ten years later. She gives readers highlights of all the significant days on set as well as an inside look of the emotional return to this beautiful, little world.
I was lucky enough to attend Graham’s Q&A and photo-op session at the Union Square Barnes & Noble. After waiting in line stupidly early in the freezing cold to get a wristband for the event (included with a signed copy of the book!), it finally hit me that I was going to be meeting one of my childhood heroes. The Lauren Graham was going to be mere feet away from me. The Q&A was amazing, consisting of her talking about everything from her writing process to her disdain for the phrase “how the sausage gets made.” While it didn’t last for as long as I would’ve liked, I was okay with it because then I got to meet the lady herself! I got to say a brief hello, pose for a picture, then I was on my merry way, trying to process what just happened.
All I can say is, she’s even more awesome in person.
Be sure to grab your copy of her book on Amazon or at any local bookstore…does anyone else even still go to bookstores? No? Just me? Cool, cool.