Someday, Someday, Maybe

Someday, Someday, Maybe Lauren Graham 3.5 / 5	Published 2013 First Sentence "'Begin whenever you're ready,' comes a voice from the back of the house."
Publisher's Description: A charming and laugh-out-loud novel by Lauren Graham, beloved star of Parenthood and Gilmore Girls, about an aspiring actress trying to make it in mid-nineties New York City. Franny Banks is a struggling actress in New York City, with just six months left of the three year deadline she gave herself to succeed. But so far, all she has to show for her efforts is a single line in an ad for ugly Christmas sweaters and a degrading waitressing job. She lives in Brooklyn with two roommates-Jane, her best friend from college, and Dan, a sci-fi writer, who is very definitely not boyfriend material-and is struggling with her feelings for a suspiciously charming guy in her acting class, all while trying to find a hair-product cocktail that actually works. Meanwhile, she dreams of doing "important" work, but only ever seems to get auditions for dishwashing liquid and peanut butter commercials. It's hard to tell if she'll run out of time or money first, but either way, failure would mean facing the fact that she has absolutely no skills to make it in the real world. Her father wants her to come home and teach, her agent won't call her back, and her classmate Penelope, who seems supportive, might just turn out to be her toughest competition yet. Someday, Someday, Maybe is a funny and charming debut about finding yourself, finding love, and, most difficult of all, finding an acting job.
Dear Reader, Did I rate this book more highly because it was written by AND the audiobook was read by Lauren Graham, whom I adore? Yes. Did I also kind of love the nostalgia factor, which made the book super fun even though it wasn't written extremely well? Absolutely. I'll 'fess up to these things! I still had such a great time reading this book, and I couldn't wait to pick it up again every day. The story centers around a twenty-something woman living in New York City in the mid-'90s. She is doing her best to break into the tough acting world, aided by her good friends, her fellow acting classmates, and the support of her father and family back home. She is real; she gets frustrated but tries to stay positive. Just like the Lauren Graham I am most familiar with in her role as Lorelei Gilmore, she overthinks EVERYthing and worries as much as I do! (Part of why I love her - she will vocalize even the silliest & most insecure thoughts.) She spends the book learning who is right for her (boyfriend, agent) as she makes mistakes on the way, being often too dazzled by costume jewelry glamour to see the true but unpolished gems she is passing over. The best part of the book was probably a lot of her trademark snappy dialogue, which occasionally had me laughing out loud. (While walking my dog. And probably looking crazy in the process. Ah, well.) While nothing in this book felt really fresh or unique, and the story tended to be pretty predictable, I really just did love reading it. I had so much fun, and I think anyone who is a fan of Lauren Graham will certainly hear her in this semi-autobiographical novel (even if they are not listening to her narrate!). Her voice and personality truly shine through, and so it felt like sitting down with an old friend, listening to her relate her struggling early years in the business. Truly, if you are a fan, pick this one up. Yours, Arianna P.S. It was also fun to try & guess the famous people behind a lot of her characters!

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