Someday, Someday, Maybe: A Novel

I adore Lauren Graham. In “Parenthood” for sure, but most especially as Lorelai Gilmore in “Gilmore Girls”. My binge watching of that show is one of the reason I drink so much coffee!!!So when I saw that this incredible actress had written a book, I HAD to get it. But as I opened it, I was a bit nervous. Sometimes when artists switch mediums…their fans end up being disappointed…and I so did not want that.But. The character she creates in “Someday, Someday Maybe” – Franny – is no disappointment. She is warm, funny, insecure, fierce, talented…and incredibly human. Her story is one that has been told many times before – a young woman pursues her dream to become an actress in New York, has romantic and career ups and downs….but Franny is a new, fresh voice and makes this book a pleasure to read.She is funny without being a hapless goofball (THAT character has been done to death). She is insecure about some things in her life, but will stand up for herself when it really matters. She has been hurt deeply in her life, and she is flawed, but is not a train wreck.“So I imagined it wasn’t happening to me. I imagined it was happening to someone else. I’m not sure if that had anything to do with me becoming an actor, but that’s the first time I remember realizing that it was easier to think about what I’d so in someone else’s shoes than mine, and that pretending was a way to feel better. Almost.”Franny is a character I was really rooting for. She makes mistakes but not stupid ones that make me yell at my book. The struggles she goes through make her very relatable and sympathetic.“It’s just past three, but already the train is filling up with shopper and commuters leaving work early, and there’s no place to sit. I grasp onto the nearby silver pole, steadying myself as the train lurches along, my hand slipping on the smooth surface, vying for a safe position along with half a dozen other hands. Today, everything about New York leaves me feeling like I’m competing for space, and just barely hanging on.”One of the best parts of the book (and this is going to come out wrong) – was the end. Instead of tying things up in a nice, neat happy ending package, Graham gives the reader a vision of where Franny’s life will take her – but there are still unanswered questions – which is great.I ended up loving this book and this character and hope that Lauren Graham will continue to act and write. Her talent seems to have no boundaries.

I give a thumbs up to the quality of Lauren Graham's writing, which, by the way, is eloquent and easy to read, and the characters, especially Franny, who is in possession of a comically realistic mentality and easily distracted trains of thought.However, the whole plot is plain and has a fair amount of cliches, which funnily enough, are mentioned by Franny herself, e.g. when she complains why the heroine always has "a sassy best friend who's a brunette", and in the story, she does have "a sassy best friend who's a brunette". This mirrors people's real lives, when they live moments and experience hardships, that, if put into a book or movie, would most likely be deemed as cliches.At the end of the day, Lauren Graham projects her witty sense of humour and down-to-earth personality on to Franny Banks, so if you appreciate her as an actor and a person, you'll enjoy reading the book, even if you're not into show business.

With Someday, Someday Maybe my expectations were realistic. I've had some TERRIBLE experiences reading books written by celebrities (Tyra Banks Modelland comes to mind), but Someday, Someday Maybe seemed fun and light and so like Lorelai Gilmore from Gilmore Girls. Total win, right?Yes...sort of.First, fun things about this book (you know I love a good list):-It's set in 1995 in New York City-It involves Filofaxes-Velvet scrunchies and pay phones were used-There's a lovable dork love interest (<--my fave)-There are life deadlines and backup relationships-Gotta love the sassy best friendThe best part of this story is the journey Franny takes. She's a struggling actress in NYC. She's taking acting classes and trying to book paying jobs. Franny's given herself three years to get a serious gig...or else she's giving up acting and getting a "real" job instead.The book starts with Franny only having six months left to get a big-ish role and have validation about her life and career.With my own recent career leap, I could absolutely relate with Franny's dilemma. Because even in books reality has to collide with dreams. Rent and bills have to be paid.I loved Franny's struggle because it felt real and made me wonder how much of Someday, Someday Maybe is a personal memoir for Lauren Graham. Especially with the book being set in the 90s and being about acting. Some may feel like that could take them out of the story, but for me it only added credibility and authenticity to it.I loved Franny's voice in the story. It's self-deprecating, unsure and super witty, a la Lorelai (and probably Graham herself). Overall, the dialogue of the book was great. It was fun and definitely banter-ish.The main issues with Someday, Someday Maybe is the pacing and overall storytelling. There were definitely some slow moments and sort of self-processing moments that dragged on a bit.What really carried most of the story was Franny's self-development and relationship with a moody, successful actor. Although most of the plot was fairly predictable, I still enjoyed the journey.OVERALL:For a typical fiction novel, I think Someday, Someday Maybe was just OK. Solid but not the best book EVER. For a celebrity novel, it was waaaaay better than I expected. Someday, Someday Maybe is a great fun summe read.

If I could change just one thing about the otherwise perfect 2000-2007 television series Gilmore Girls, I would add more discussions of books. After all, Stars Hollow's resident wunderkind Rory Gilmore is constantly reading and lugging them about, both stateside and abroad, but aside from being an easy visual cue that SHE'S SMART, books (and discussions thereof) get a surprisingly small amount of screen time in the series. There is, of course, the delicious exception of Jess and Paris arguing about the Beat writers in "There's The Rub" (Season 2, Episode 16):PARIS: A tragic waste of paper.JESS: I can't believe you just said that.PARIS: Well, it's true, the Beat's writing was completely self-indulgent. I have one word for Jack Kerouac - edit.JESS: It was not self-indulgent. The Beats believed in shocking people, stirring things up.PARIS: They believed in drugs, booze, and petty crime.RORY: Well, then you can say that they exposed you to a world you wouldn't have otherwise known. Isn't that what great writing's all about?PARIS: That was not great writing. That was the National Enquirer of the fifties.JESS: You're cracked.PARIS: Typical guy response. Worship Kerouac and Bukowski, God forbid you'd pick up anything by Jane Austen.JESS: Hey, I've read Jane Austen.PARIS: You have?JESS: Yeah, and I think she would've liked Bukowski.But, I digress. Lorelai Gilmore (Rory's fetching mother, for those who don't know) is presumably well-read, at least for a person who has been busy single-handedly raising a daughter and running an inn since the age of 16, but her tastes run to the delightfully tawdry, as evidenced above with Motley Crue's collective memoir about their time on the road. Rory always seemed happy to confine pop-cultural discussions with her mother to bad tv movies and/or series, but I wonder if she ever wished for deeper talks with Lorelai--the second-smartest person in Star's Hollow--about books, or maybe the French New Wave. Oh, I know Rory had wealthy gramps Richard Gilmore and their private quoting-contests of Greek classics, but aside from that--and trying to bounce ideas off Dean's thick skull--her opportunities to discuss literature were limited to teachers and classmates at Chilton and Yale. Which doesn't sound so bad now, as I type it...But, I am here to talk about how very wonderful Ms. Lauren Graham's novel, Someday, Someday, Maybe, is. And it is completely, delightfully wonderful--the most enjoyable time I've spent with my Kindle in many months. I loved everything about this book: the setting (Brooklyn), the time period (1995), the protagonist (aspiring actress Franny), the subject matter (How much time should our dreams take to come true?), the dialogue (sparkling), the narrative voice (winning, clear, and wise). I'd never before truly considered the similarities between the working lives of writers and actors, and loved how Ms. Graham's reportage of the dreaded relative-at-a-wedding questions displayed both absolute accuracy and zero bitterness:"Congratulations, Franny! How exciting! Remember at the last wedding when you said you were trying to be an actress? And I said 'How are the tips?' Remember that? Hahahahaha! Because people who say they're actors are usually just waiters? Get it?"What gorgeous writing--smart, warm, and funny, with both surprising and fitting turns to the profound:"Frank is the neighbor whose apartment we can see into from the windows in the back of our brownstone. Frank leads a mysterious, solitary life, but one you can set a clock by...The schedule never changes. No one ever comes over. We worry about Frank in the way New Yorkers worry about strangers whose apartments they can see into. Which is to say, we made up a name for him and have theories about his life, and we'd call 911 if we saw something frightening happen while spying on him, but if I ran into him on the subway, I'd look the other way.""The woman behind the glass who sells the subway tokens eyes me warily. I've been known to pay my $1.25 in small change, sometimes in the very smallest. It's not a proud moment when I'm holding up the line while she counts my pennies, but some days it's come to that. Today, though, I have actual paper money. We share a nod, like things might be looking up for both of us.""I imagine what a relief it will be to have a real job. I'll have a regular paycheck, and a desk and a phone and a fax machine. I'll have a computer, which hopefully will come with someone to teach me how to use it, and I'll have people to go out with sometimes after work for a drink at Bennigan's, who'll tell me about their boyfriend or their kid or a project they're working on in their garage. Maybe my work friends and I will talk about what we watched on TV the night before and I'll say, 'You know, I tried to be an actress for a while.'"This is the voice I love reading, and this is the voice I want to write.Someday, Someday, Maybe is completely charming, which is a word I don't get to use as often as I'd like, for anything. I would, in particular, like to praise the book's ending (and no, I won't give anything away): so many contemporary books fall apart in the third act, but Someday performs the seemingly-impossible feat of arriving at an inevitable, realistic, and satisfying conclusion. Brava, Ms. Graham--and please forgive me for being unable to imagine anyone except James Franco as a certain actor-character in your book; this was either a descriptive tour-de-force on your part, or a failure of imagination on mine.I encourage everyone reading this to immediately procure and read Someday, Someday, Maybe--it is that rarest of things, a guaranteed pleasure. I unfortunately cannot vouch for The Dirt; all library copies are in use at this time.paullettegaudet.blogspot.com

I bought this based solely on my love of Gilmore Girls and my need of a light beach-y read. While always a bit wary of actors/singers/etc. who decide to write novels, I knew Lauren Graham has a degree in English and thought it just might work. I have to say, she hit it out of the park. Is it a great work of literature? No. (Hence the four stars). Does it have the elements of and inspiration from great literature? Absolutely. The main character's voice is funny and quirky and relatable, much like the public persona I've seen of LG in interviews. I especially loved how, like in real life, the story doesn't tie itself into a neat little package at the end. Loose ends make stories more real, and long after I'd finished I found myself wondering, "I hope it all worked out for Franny." I would definitely recommend this book to someone looking for a fun, lighter read. And it will still make you think a little about your own goals and how you see yourself in the world.

Lauren Graham, I hope you or someone dear to you will read this review and know how much this book means to me. I have always been a huge fan of your acting, so knowing you published a book only elevated my opinion of you! You perfectly capture woman in her twenties trying her best to navigate through her life, let alone living in one of the most chaotic cities of the world, New York! I moved to New York about 2.5 years ago to pursue my dream as well and I just turned 27 this year so this book was eerily similar to many aspects of my life. You have composed a book that perfectly captures the relationship between a woman's growth and how her dreams and persistence can test her strength. I wish I had the chance to read this book before leaving California to start a new life in New York City as it is truly a very realistic yet romantic guide for a girl moving to the big city. The writing is impeccable, especially in terms of grammar, wit, and describing each experience in a classic Lauren Graham way that perfectly captures without being excessive. A very easy read as I finished the book in 3 days! Please, Lauren Graham, publish another book!I love you Lauren Graham! I look forward to your next novel!

I ordered the audio book version of "Someday, Someday Maybe," read by Lauren Graham herself, and it is SO good! I loved it! It made commutes to & from work so much more enjoyable, and I didn't want it to end. The characters are lovable, dialogue is believable, situations are realistic, and I felt like I learned more about some of the ins & outs of the filmmaking world, which I find intriguing. Not only was the story engaging, but it's also heart-warming and funny at the same time. I laughed out loud on multiple occasions. It was a special treat to hear Graham reading it, as she adds her well-timed, comedic talent and dramatic flair to every character and narrative bit. It's very well-written (don't pay attention to the silly reviews that say it's not), and highly enjoyable. I've already bought this as a gift for a friend and plan to buy it for more. Lauren Graham, please write more!!!

If you're somebody, anybody in search of a dream then Lauren Graham's debut novel, Someday, Someday, Maybe (2013) should be at the top of your MUST READ list. Graham, the super-star of mother's from the hit series Gilmore Girls and Parenthood crafts a spectacular masterpiece of fiction as Franny Banks pounds the streets of New York City in search of becoming an actress in mid-'90sSomeday, Someday, Maybe is more than an influential read of how one twenty-something-year-old lives the starving artist dream in the middle of the biggest, baddest, and perhaps most competitive city in the United States. It's quirky, witty, and is substantially inspiring to see just how the entertainment industry can either make or break a person's self-worth and confidence. Franny Banks though is a natural comedienne whom is able to use her knowledge and craft from Stauros school of acting to impress some big-wigs. That's not to say that Franny doesn't experience her fair share of tribulations along the way.Graham takes her reader's on an interesting journey as she so cleverly turns inanimate objects of an answering machine (a product of the '90s) and a Filofax, otherwise known as an agenda, or daily planner, into characters. I flip page-after-page anticipating to see what's next on Franny's Filofax in order to keep her time in check. Not to mention I anxiously await the paragraphs that start with:There are three new messages.BEEEP.It's torture to listen in on someone's answering machine only to be continuously disappointed by what seems like a never ending, dramatic-not-again-I-can't-take-it-voice mail. It's these voice messages that keep Graham's audience on the edge of their seats for a knock-your-socks-off-an-aww-shucks-ending.The ingenuity of Someday, Someday, Maybe is clever. Fans of Gilmore Girls (ahem, have you noticed my last name?) knows Lauren Graham's biography. Okay, maybe I am the ONLY freakish (I promise I am not a stalker) person out there that has the ability to pick up on the running parallels between Franny Banks and Lauren Graham's lives. I mean if you take a minute to Google Lauren Graham, HELLO, a memoir as a debut...Hmmm, I know somebody else who wrote a strong female lead in a very similar situation. Oh. I. Don't. Know. It might happen to be Brooklyn James' Harley LeBeau in The Boots My Mother Gave Me (2010).Someday, Someday, Maybe is an in-genius title really. It sums up every artists wish in merely two words. Someday. Maybe. I'll be able to make a living off my art. This is every artisan's dream. However, it's the journey that Graham takes her reader's on that are able to understand the process of networking, the estimation of hard work along with flat out determination. The process is unnerving only because you never know if you're going to make it financially day-to-day in a city that is defined by corporate moguls."Maybe you haven't accomplished what you want yet...Quantity becomes quality...You don't even have to believe in your success. Just keep at it...keep filling up the pages, and something's bound to happen."And the moral of the story..."Keep your eyes on your own paper." It's not about cheating. It's about staying focused. It's about developing blinders. Because it doesn't matter who your competition is. It's about knowing who you are as an artist and capitalizing on personal attributes that will set you apart from the rest those nutty rivals. But, most importantly, it's about having raw determination and the ability to believe in yourself, and at the very least, having a such a low self-esteem in the first place that throwing in the towel on a daily basis eases the rejection notices on the obsolete-piece-of-shit-I-hate-you-answering machine.At least Franny Banks is making p.r.o.g.r.e.s.s. Are you?

Lauren graham is not only a great actor but also an exceptional writer. As a fiction franny banks she has narrated her experience as an actor in NYC. From giving her 3 year deadline to working odd jobs to to giving up everything is so relatable. If you're an actor it is a must read. Someday someday maybe is a book about hope, love, and dreams that someday we are going to make it.

Leitura divertida e muito fluida.

I absolutely loved it! I am a dreamer myself and reading a story about a girl following her dreams was really inspirational.Also, Lauren Graham is a funny woman and that is reflected in her writing.Whenever my friend gives it back I will read it again!

This is a beautifully written and inspiring book, in which you take an emotional journey with the central character, Franny Banks, who is aspiring to become an actress, starting out in New York City. The story reveals the ups and downs of an aspiring actress, with many quirks along the way.Franny Banks is someone you will enjoy getting to know, through her friends, love interests and living in Brooklyn.A highly recommended novel- a must read if you are looking for a funny, entertaining and heart-warming book.Looking forward to the next book written by Lauren Graham, which is the companion to the debut novel.

I was admittedly a bit worried when I bought this. I love Gilmore Girls but that doesn't mean I expected Lauren Graham to be a great author. But I quite enjoyed this book. First, it's very light! I read it in a day. I love that from a book. Second, Lauren Graham writes well (or at least her editors edit well). Not in some literary classic way, but in a storytelling and basic sentence structure way. Compared with the Hunger Games series - which is oh so compelling but so shoddily written and full of grammatical errors. Finally, it's an interesting perspective into the world of starting out as an actor. I can't say I care too much for that world but this is very human and she really does give a good account of Franny and the way her mind works. (FYI you might have to appreciate a little neurosis, self-doubt and self-deprecation in your characters to like this book.)Like I said, it's light and enjoyable. I give it five stars because it engrossed me enough to keep me glued to the book. I didn't find it mimicked lorelai at all (as some reviewers claim). I don't recall laughing out loud either (also a claim of reviewers) but it's smart and fun. Also, I love memoirs, and by all accounts this is partially one, so if you don't, maybe it's not for you. It's not for everyone. I loaned it to a friend who wasn't able to get into it.