I’m not typically big on celebrity memoirs. But while the rest of the world burned through the new Britney Spears book, I found myself meandering through a different kind of tell-all: Making It So by Patrick Stewart.
I’ve been a Next-Gen Trekkie since I was a teenager. Listening to this book (read by the author—so perfect!), I was trying to analyze why. I don’t love sci-fi books. My parents certainly weren’t Trekkies and I despised the original Star Trek. But something about the Next Generation held me captive. And I LOVED Jean-Luc Picard.
I kept this Picard in my bedroom throughout high school. I was obsessed with him. But it wasn’t the kind of crush I had on Leo Dicaprio, say, or the oblivious boys at school. I loved his character’s certainty and seriousness, maybe because I lacked much of either in my own life at the time? Or perhaps Picard’s emotional aloofness resonated with me. Maybe he just represented a comforting formula of adventure and resolve (with bonus aliens!)
In any case, his memoir was delightful, covering his working-class upbringing in Yorkshire, his serendipitous introduction to the stage and his journey to and career in professional theater, and of course, his time in Star Trek and beyond. For me, it was the first half of the book—before he warp-speeds to fame (can’t help myself)—that I found the most captivating.
If you’re in any way a fan, I highly recommend it.
Speaking of comforting formulas, my talented cousin, Kat Carlin, recently published a story in the Regency Christmas collection, My True Love Gave to Me. It falls outside my genre norm, but Regency romance is absolutely where I was born as an avid reader. And it turned out to be exactly the kind of delightful and witty story I needed: tension without gut-wrenching trauma (my typical genre fare!). I found myself anticipating reading a chapter on my phone before bed—the whole experience was honestly a treat. And got me in the Christmas spirit to boot!
I used to be one of those people who felt you needed to hold off any official acknowledgment of Christmas until after Thanksgiving, but this year, I’ve already strung up the lights. Bring on the seasonal coziness!
Do you ever stretch outside your reading comfort zone? What’s been your most pleasant or surprising find? I’d love to hear.
Cheers,
Lacy
P.S. Even though I’ve been largely pop music illiterate my whole life, I was still curious about Spears’s memoir. I found
’s The Terrible Book Club podcast going over the key points engaging, compassionate, and entertaining.P.P.S. Here’s a hilarious clip of Patrick Stewart giving a “masterclass on the quadruple take” while tripping on mushrooms.