My friend Anna and I have ship-named ourselves A-Squared (A2 for short) because of our uncanny abilities to be thinking/doing/saying the same things at the same time. We also have odd similarities and quirks and celebrity obsessions. She is one of the few people I know who also beat the trend for twenty-somethings to be obsessed with Dolly Parton, and we both have the tendency to keep buying a lot of the same clothing item before we realize it (for her, it’s black dresses… for me, it’s denim shirts). We also share another similar love: Gilmore Girls and all things Lauren Graham. 
So when I got this text from Anna (who tends to know about things years before I do), I drove 40 minutes to the nearest Barnes and Noble to purchase it. The employee there, a pleasant young dude who was perplexed that the computer said there were 50 copies in the store but were nowhere to be seen, helped me track down a copy straight from a shipment box. I started reading it while I pumped enough gas to get home. I laughed out loud multiple times, and I only got through the introduction.
Lauren Graham writes autobiographically in Talking as Fast as I Can to explore a variety of topics relating to her career and thoughts about life. The book is organized almost like a collection of essays, and lovers of Gilmore Girls and Parenthood will be pleased to find commentary of those experiences embedded throughout. Graham’s humor and personality shine through her writing, further convincing me we’d be the best of friends. Her courage to be herself was refreshing, and her unique critique and appreciation of Hollywood norms were also refreshing in a fast-paced, Snap-driven, show-me-the-best-side-of-yourself world.
Superlative Size Up
Best Author Asides
Lauren (oh, look at me referring to by her by first name, as if we’re friends, without even thinking about it. Also… do you see what I’m doing here?) includes commentary to her commentary with hilarious asides! I think it is in these moments that her humor and personality really come through in the writing. It makes you, as the reader, feel like you’re sitting down for coffee and really hearing the thoughts as they come to her, laughing as she tries to remember what she was actually trying to tell you. You don’t care, because the aside became better than the main point anyway.
Most Endearing Alter-Ego
Some of my friends say I’m like a grandma. Turns out, I’m not the only one. Lauren Graham spends an entire chapter exploring Old Lady Jackson, her more rigid, concerned alter-ego. Sure, Graham is a hip TV star many people look up to, but she’s also afraid of the “old tindernet” and is worried about your tattoo choices. I’ll admit, for one whole paragraph, I imagined she was sitting on the couch right next to me, ready to swat me if I didn’t take her advice.
Go buy Lauren Graham’s book, Talking as Fast as I Can, asap–and not on the Kindle version (the cover’s too cool to not own it in the flesh, and Old Lady Jackson would just be disappointed for you reading her advice on a blasted screen when she took the time to write it by hand).
Read my review of The Serpent King for another great book recommendation!
this wordy world 