Review: We're Going to Need More Wine by Gabrielle Union

We’re Going to Need More Wine by Gabrielle Union

Published: October 17, 2017

Publisher: Dey Street Books

Format: audiobook via Overdrive

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis

In this moving collection of thought-provoking essays infused with her unique wisdom and deep humor, Union uses that same fearlessness to tell astonishingly personal and true stories about power, color, gender, feminism, and fame. Union tackles a range of experiences, including bullying, beauty standards, and competition between women in Hollywood, growing up in white California suburbia and then spending summers with her black relatives in Nebraska, coping with crushes, puberty, and the divorce of her parents. Genuine and perceptive, Union bravely lays herself bare, uncovering a complex and courageous life of self-doubt and self-discovery with incredible poise and brutal honesty. Throughout, she compels us to be ethical and empathetic and reminds us of the importance of confidence, self-awareness, and the power of sharing truth, laughter, and support.

My Thoughts

I must admit I’m not the biggest fan of Gabrielle Union but when I saw this was available and heard good things about it I wanted to see how this was for myself and after I was done I had a new found respect for Gabrielle Union. I found this collection of essays enlightening and seeing her an in a whole new light. Seeing how she grew up and making a name for herself in the industry was inspiring. I also found some of the stories so funny that I was literally in tears, but it’s the ones where I found that she let us in those turned out to be the most touching ones. The stories that dealt with her family and especially when she tells us about being sexually assaulted those are the ones I felt I saw and understood the real Gabrielle. She always came across as guarded to me in a sense and reading about these stories I understood why. The fact that she let everything go in this book I felt she came across so strong. Regardless if you like her or not you will find out some interesting things about her and will definitely see her in an entirely new way. This is one read that is utterly so entertaining that you can't help but to fall in love with her.

Mini Review: Not That Kind of Girl by Lena Dunham

Not That Kind of Girl by Lena Dunham

Published: September 2014

Publisher: Random House

Format: paperback purchase

Rating: 3/5

Synopsis

"There is nothing gutsier to me than a person announcing that their story is one that deserves to be told," writes Lena Dunham, and it certainly takes guts to share the stories that make up her first book, Not That Kind of Girl. These are stories about getting your butt touched by your boss, about friendship and dieting (kind of) and having two existential crises before the age of 20. Stories about travel, both successful and less so, and about having the kind of sex where you feel like keeping your sneakers on in case you have to run away during the act. Stories about proving yourself to a room of 50-year-old men in Hollywood and showing up to "an outlandishly high-fashion event with the crustiest red nose you ever saw." Fearless, smart, and as heartbreakingly honest as ever, Not That Kind of Girl establishes Lena Dunham as more than a hugely talented director, actress, and producer it announces her as a fresh and vibrant new literary voice.

My Thoughts

When it comes to Lena Dunham you either love her or you don’t, me I’m on her side! I think she is a wonderful writer and director and definitely speaks for her generation so it came to reading this book I was all ready to love it. However, I’m sort of in the middle when it comes to this review. I didn’t hate it I loved her points on being in a man dominated field and on how one should feel about yourself but the rest felt like I’ve already seen in through episodes of Girls. So when I give it three stars it doesn’t mean it’s a bad read I just felt like I didn’t actually “learn” anything new when it came to her. It is a quick read and her stories are funny and some are informative, I think if you haven’t seen the series or if you don’t know much about her then you will find out some interesting things.

Review: Talking as Fast as I Can by Lauren Graham

Talking as Fast as I Can by Lauren Graham

Published: November 29, 2016

Publisher: Ballantine Books

Rating: 4/5

                                   Synopsis

In this collection of personal essays, the beloved star of Gilmore Girls and Parenthood reveals stories about life, love, and working as a woman in Hollywood—along with behind-the-scenes dispatches from the set of the new Gilmore Girls, where she plays the fast-talking Lorelai Gilmore once again.

In Talking as Fast as I Can, Lauren Graham hits pause for a moment and looks back on her life, sharing laugh-out-loud stories about growing up, starting out as an actress, and, years later, sitting in her trailer on the Parenthood set and asking herself, “Did you, um, make it?” She opens up about the challenges of being single in Hollywood (“Strangers were worried about me; that’s how long I was single!”), the time she was asked to audition her butt for a role, and her experience being a judge on Project Runway (“It’s like I had a fashion-induced blackout”).

Including photos and excerpts from the diary Graham kept during the filming of the recent Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, this book is like a cozy night in, catching up with your best friend, laughing and swapping stories, and—of course—talking as fast as you can.

My Thoughts

This was a quick, fun and easy read about Lauren Graham from Gilmore Girls to Parenthood to the present. I have always been a fan of hers I find her funny and relatable so reading this book was like sitting down and listening to a friend tell her life story. In Talking as Fast as You Can we hear about her childhood and her slow rise to fame. I love these chapters seeing how hard she had to work and her persistence to make it as an actor. I loved the personal anecdotes about being raised by her dad and later finding love with her Parenthood co-star. The best things were the stories about her most famous roles in Gilmore Girls and Parenthood. These are two of my all time favorite shows and to hear about the backstage stories were fun and interesting for sure. While if you're a fan this is a must read for sure but even if you aren’t this is a funny read of essays, one I think everyone can truly enjoy!