Author: Anna Kendrick
First Published: November 2016
Publisher: Touchstone
271 pages (hardcover)
Um, yes, I did disappear for all of 2016. I actually did not read a
single book during 2016, which I am kind of embarrassed about. Standard "I was busy" excuses, etc. Moving on ...
I'm
not a huge Anna Kendrick fan or anything like that originally. I liked
the movies she's been in, and I've heard of her name, but that was
really the extent of my knowledge on her. So, why did I pick up this
autobiography/memoir style book by Anna Kendrick? Well, simply put, I
was stuck in the Seattle airport for 8 hours (plane delays, ugh!) and
out of everything in the bookstore there, this book seemed most
interesting (that and the other book I picked up which I will also post
about shortly after).
In this book, Anna Kendrick
outlines her life with specific memorable moments, from her childhood,
growing up and moving out on her own, boys and relationships, Hollywood
life and how she maintains who she is as she becomes more successful in
her career. She is brutally honest and is a really hilarious person, at
least in writing. I mean, she isn't trying to be a comedian in this
book, but she's just naturally a funny person.
My
favourite chapters were her Hollywood chapters, especially when she
talked about (or complained about, depending on your point of view!)
clothes and fashion. I also liked the chapter she had dedicated to her
time filming Twilight, and based on her personality, I thought for sure
she'd make fun of the franchise, but actually she didn't. She didn't say
anything bad about it at all, which I guess is smart. You don't make
fun of the movies you were in, haha. But I really enjoyed the chapter
because she talked about the perks and how great it was to be in a big
movie franchise without needing all the pressure and responsibility of
having a large character role. What I understood from it was that she
was grateful for all her career opportunities regardless of what it was
-- because let's face it, it's really easy to make fun of Twilight,
hahaha.
There's also some photos here and there in
the book, which I liked. I wished there were more photos. Also, they
were in black and white and I wished it could have been in color, but
then I guess the book would cost more :(
By the end of
the book, I felt like Anna was a person I could really be friends with.
Well, no, not really, because she sounds really outgoing and fun, and
I'm introverted and boring, so she probably wouldn't really be my
friend. Anyway, I ended up really enjoying this book and the only
negative I can think of was that it was kind of short. I could have read
more, but that might also be because I was stuck in the airport ...
My Rating: 5/5
