Review: What's Next

 

As a huge West Wing fan, I was thrilled to see this book coming out.

I love that the authors were two actors on the show.

I loved that they talked with so many of the cast and crew.

Yes, this is a long book, but it also felt like a short read.

There were some casting secrets and show secrets.

I loved how much they talked about the atmosphere of the set and why it was that way.

I love how they talked about filming and how it all worked.

I thought it was really interesting that the show was supposed to end a different way. 

I like how they talked about how everyone's involved in charity events and how they used their celebrity power for good. 

Reading this book makes me want to re-watch the entire series, even though I just did that last year.

There are so many great moments to this show, it's hard for me to pick favorites. 

I kind of wished they did a spin-off with the new President. 

Did you watch this show?

Review: Believe

I just rewatched this show and it still makes me so happy. When I saw there was a book about it, I immediately put it on hold at the library. 

There are so many fantastic moments from the show. 

Mostly, this book talks about the show in quotes from the people making the show. But it does also take an in-depth look at certain episodes. 

Things this book talked about:

 Casting stories

How the made it very similar to the Empire Strikes Back

Grey wig (I was curious about this one)

Friendship between Rebecca and Keely (Honestly, I could have read a lot more about this)

How much Jason was in every part of this 

Blueprint for the three seasons - down to the music that ended the show

Beard = soccer/football expert 

Pop Culture Moments - several I didn't get but now understand

The full circle moments

How it was shot: 

Season 1: before the pandemic. No one knew about the show. 

Season 2: during the pandemic - after the show had just won a bunch of awards. Longer episodes and two more: Christmas and Bear After Hours. 

Season 3: after the pandemic and in front of crowds - longer shoots. 

Writing still happening during the entire show, but much more during the last season, because they wanted to tie up all the stories and get it right.

How the filmed the show, especially the soccer scenes. That was very interesting to read about. And it seems like a nightmare to shoot and then edit. It makes sense why there was so much time between the seasons.

What I wish it had more of:

Trent Crimm - they didn't really mention too much about the book he was writing

Honestly, I could have read so many more pages to this book. It was really good. Highly recommended if you're a fan of Ted Lasso. 

Top Ten Tuesday: Book Wishes

 This week's topic is book wishes and I'm changing it up a little. I get 90% of the books I read for the library, so I don't have book wishes in the sense of a wishlist. However, I do have some wishes...

Earlier this year, I read Bring It On 

Last week, I finished 

I have two more to read:

And so I wish for MORE of these types of books.

I would love one about:

Ted Lasso

10 Things I Hate About You

What a Girl Wants

Sound of Music

National Treasure

Jason Bourne

Leverage

Legally Blonde

Love, Actually

Veronica Mars

Gimlmore Girls

What TV shows/movies would you like to read about?

Review: Generation Friends

Full confession: I didn't grow up watching Friends, although I'm the right age for it.

And I have LOTS of feelings about the show. There are so many great moments.

I don't normally read adult nonfiction, but this book was really interesting and entertaining. 

I loved learning bits about the show, the production of the show, and cast moments.

Honestly, I didn't want this book to end.

Things that stood out to me:

Ross was the first breakout character on the show. 

He's the worst character in my opinion and one who doesn't grow at all during the series.

How the studio won Rachel Green and caused her other show to die a slow death.

I hate the ending of the show. And loved Joey and Rachel together.

I hate that Rachel gave up her dream job in PARIS for Ross.

I'm glad I'm not the only one. 

But I do understand that's what the show was about for so many seasons and the pressure to finally give them a HEA - although I like to think it was a HFN and Rachel found her way to Paris after all. 

It's interesting to hear how problematic the show is now but at the time broke molds

Why a season took place in London 

How Monica and Chandler came to be something more than just a joke around a writing table.

And there were things I missed about the show. Like where was Ben during Ross's wedding to Emily.

All in all, this is a fascinating book that fans of the show will enjoy.

Library Recommendation: A must have for your public library.