Someday, Someday, Maybe

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This book wasn't groundbreaking by any means, but it was an easy listen in the car. I usually read historical fiction, which can get heavy at times. It was nice to have a book that didn't have any heavy topics. I enjoyed the early 90s timeframe, since that was when I was a teen and I remember the era fondly.

I love Lauren Graham. And I love that she stretched herself and wrote a novel, which I had heard was pretty good. And it was...fine. It seemed to be semi-autobiographical perhaps, so I enjoyed imagining Graham as Franny. But there wasn't much too the plot, and I couldn't really point to a climax of the story. The characters were OK but not super well-developed or memorable. Overall, I would consider this a good vacation read.

This was a quicky and chewy read. I did the audiobook in about 1 day and it was really light. Decent characters, though. It was okay.

As a fan of Gilmore Girls and Lauren Graham, this book was just what I wanted it to be. I could see Graham's personality all throughout the book from the quirkiness of the main character to the use of funny notes and scribbles on the pages of Franny's filofax. It was interesting to read about what it may have been like for an actress trying to make it in the 90s without cell phones but instead relying on the home answering machine, fax machines, and pay phones. While some aspects of the book may have been predictable, it was an entertaining read, and I would most certainly be interested to read anything else Graham writes in the future.

Someday, Someday, Maybe is a novel of finding yourself, of finding others, and of finding love, in its various and complicated forms. The premise, I'll give you, sounds clichéd and I am certain you've heard this story before. Franny Banks is a 20-something trying to make it as an actress in New York City. She has the obligatory spunky roommate/best friend; the terminal friend-zone guy friend; the brooding, bad boy love interest; and a relationship with her father that is changing in ways neither of them can control as she asserts herself and enters adulthood. But though the story, the setting, and the characters may be something you've seen before, I guarantee you will fall in love with Franny's personality, her friends, her story, and ultimately with Graham's storytelling.

It was no surprise to me to find out that Graham holds a bachelors degree in English Literature (from Barnard College/Columbia University no less). This book is incredibly well written for being your basic story of a girl growing up in the big city, finding romantic love, a love of family, a love of friends, and, eventually, a love of self. Graham's writing is engaging and witty, and she is just as funny on the page as she seems on TV.

I am so impressed with Lauren Graham's debut novel! I listened to the audiobook, which she narrated which I fully recommend listening to. This one drew me in immediately and kept me devouring it throughout. I have read a lot of difficult books lately, and this was a welcome relief. It was a literary warm blanket, safe and snug and so comforting. I loved the characters. They felt real. I loved this.

Edit:

I was talking to someone about this book and realized I had to add this. I have anxiety, and as a person with genuine anxiety, this book is the perfect depiction of how an anxious mind works. I loved it. It was sympathetic, well done, and humorous in just the right way. Bravo, Lauren Graham.

I just really didn't like this book. I'm so disappointed! I wanted to love it. But I couldn't relate to Franny at all. And then... there was no ending! It was basically a snapshot in the life of a character I couldn't relate to.

That doesn't make it a bad book. It just makes it not a book for me.

Funny! lots of snorting in public (doesn't it sound more authentic than laughing out loud?) moments.

I can't say that I'm a big Lauren Graham fan, but I did like her on Parenthood so when I heard she had written a book I thought I would pick it up. I imagined her quirkiness would work well for a writer. Then I remembered she's not really Sarah Braverman in real life.

The story is nothing new and the most interesting thing is that Franny complains about the exact plot of this book after she and her roommate go see a movie together. There is nothing unpredictable about this book and nothing is really resolved in the end. It felt like we just ended maybe 2 feet from where we began.

The characters were vague and boring. All I can picture in my head of Franny is that she is brunette, has slightly uncontrollable hair (of course - don't all wannabe quirky actresses have crazy hair?) and is shorter than her roommate Dan. I know that Dan is tall. I cannot even remember if she really describes what James Franklin looks like because all I ever pictured from the beginning was James Franco.

I wasn't terribly disappointed. I wanted to keep reading and find out what happened to Franny, but I felt myself continually disappointed in her. She never did anything I was impressed with or felt a kinship with. She just wasn't my people, I guess.

This may not be autobiographical, but in the action version in my head, Lauren Graham was definitely playing the part of Franny Banks. Great first book. I hope there's more to come

El Extraño Gato del Cuento


baile de victoria ¡¡¡lo terminé!!!

2.5 En realidad.

Recibí una copia de éste libro a inicios de abril, estuve muy emocionada porque es uno de los primeros libros que recibo en obsequio como Bloggera/Reviewer. Y a pesar del cariño que podría llegar a tenerle, no va a influenciar a mi crítica. La sinopsis a pesar de ser larga pinta bien ¿Cuántas veces no hemos visto las historias de la vida antes-de-ser famosos en los programas de espectáculos? Al menos yo muchas, así que un libro basado en eso era más que apetecible para mí.

A pesar de tener un buen inicio, bastante ágil y divertido, la historia va decayendo mucho.

La personalidad de Frances es muy aleatoria, pasa de defender el no ser una escuálida a sentirse cómoda con que su novio sólo se siente atraído por ella al comenzar a tener algo de fama ella también. Es cierto que el libro está ambientado en 1995 y quizá la presión por ser “perfecta” no es tanta, me gustó que Graham recalcara eso en su protagonista, aunque cómo digo, esos son sólo pinceladas de Frances.

Cómo ya mencioné la historia no es pareja, más o menos a la mitad del libro desconecté totalmente con los personajes, la mejor amiga de Frances, Jane, desaparece totalmente de la historia, cuando ella es uno de los puntos fuertes. Dan, el personaje masculino protagonista es lindo, y me gusta, pero no tiene la relevancia que éste libro necesitaba.

No me gustó como pensé que lo haría, la historia tenía un montón por explotar. Lauren Graham intentó darnos una historia centrada en Frances pero Frances cómo personaje no me fue del todo mi agrado.

Reseña completa: El Extraño Gato del Cuento

Lauren Graham's as entertaining a writer as she is an actress. Which makes her too talented for any one person to be. Her protagonist, Franny, is a struggling actress trying to get her break in New York in the mid-90s. And it's nearly impossible to not see Graham as Franny – it's beyond impossible to not hear Graham in the narration (frequently) and in the dialogue (always).

That's not a complaint, it's an observation.

This is fun, heart-warming, and laugh-inducing. A breezy read that's well worth the time.

Heck, the last paragraph said by Franny's agent about being faster, funnier and louder is alone worth reading the book.