On Election Day, a good friend from high school texted me a screen grab of Sookie saying, "Tell me it's not that bastard Donald Trump" with the message, "Happy election day to the girl who introduced me to Gilmore Girls!" I was pleasantly surprised by both the message and the revelation that I introduced her to Gilmore Girls. I don't remember doing that, but I believe her when she says it. I've loved Gilmore Girls for so long I just assume everyone around me has loved it for as long. The next day, after the election results were in and I was deeply sad, I got the notification on my Libby app that my hold of Talking as Fast as I Can was ready. I borrowed it and listened to it the entire four drive back to my parents' house two days post-election. It was like a soothing balm for my soul, listening to the voice of my favorite TV mom tell me about her life.

I am 100% the target audience of a Lauren Graham memoir. Before Gilmore Girls was on Netflix and universally popular, I owned the seasons on DVD. I wrote Jess/Rory fanfiction on fanfiction.net in middle school. I read the books Rory read and watched the movies she and Lorelai loved because I just wanted to be like that. I will consume anything Gilmore Girls (yes, even A Year in the Life) happily. That being said, Graham's memoir often felt both light on Gilmore Girls and light on substance. At times, I had the thought, "Lauren Graham should just have a podcast." It's a book that feels like a series of podcast episodes: jumping around in time and topic. Graham has a great narrative voice; she's funny and charming just as I'm sure she is in real life. But frequently, she glosses over material her readers might find interesting and focuses on subjects (celebrity dieting culture, dating, etc.) that feels less specific to her.

Talking as Fast as I Can also has the fatal flaw of being written (or at least completed) in 2016. That means huge portions haven't aged well. I almost laughed when Graham mentioned something about Hilary being president (oh, if she knew), and at some point she was saying hi to all the talk show hosts as she mentioned their programs and I winced at "Hi, Ellen!" and "Hi, Matt!". Also, Graham mentions Snapchat at some point, and I went, "Oh yeah, everyone used to use that!"

When Graham focuses on her life, career, and of course Gilmore Girls, her writing sings. I loved hearing about her rewatching the episodes and giving her impressions/memories. This section could have been incredibly longer. I simply wanted more of it! Also, it was interesting to hear about her friendship with Amy Sherman-Palladino and how A Year in the Life came to be created. I am not the biggest fan of the revival (too many things in it are simply baffling), but hearing Graham write about creating it made me want to like it more. Maybe I need to do an entire Gilmore Girls rewatch including season 7 and A Year in the Life. Also, I know they broke up, but I've recently gotten into 9-1-1 and therefore was very interested in her relationship with Peter Krause. It was thrilling to me to know he is indeed very much a Bobby.

If you're a huge Gilmore Girls fan, you've probably already read this, but if you are and you haven't, you should. I recommend listening instead of reading because Lauren Graham's voice makes it more enjoyable. If you've never seen an episode of Gilmore Girls, this is not for you!