She Memes Well

I Picked Up This Book Because: Memoirs are my jam.

Media Type: Audiobook
Source: Audible (Owned)
Dates Read: 5/6/24 - 5/9/24
Rating: 4 Stars
Narrator(s): Quinta Brunson

The Story:
Quinta tells a delightful tale. I also really enjoyed her (very long) Epilogue. Creative minds are so FASCINATING. ( )

I think this is probably now my current favorite celebrity memoir? Quinta has such a bright, effervescent personality and amazing sense of humor that just shines through here! She does a really solid job of switching between personal experiences to anecdotes about life and then to more serious topics, all while keeping a consistent writing style that makes it feel like she's having a conversation with you. I remember devotedly watching her BuzzFeed videos years ago; now I'm watching her on "Abbott Elementary", and reading this heightened my admiration of her so much! ( )

It’s always difficult to rate memoirs (technically, an essay collection) because it’s literally someone’s life, but learning about Quinta’s was very fun and engaging. I really felt that chapter about seeing your parents as humans who make mistakes and don’t have it all together (they have their own insecurities, traumas, life experiences, etc) though you don’t always need to listen to them.

I loved insight into Quinta’s life and mind. Some chapters are super funny like when a high-school-Quinta and her friend went to a store to buy some razors for a fight or very sobering like the chapter on a family member of hers being murdered and how isolating it felt to experience that. The collection ends with some 2020-centric essays discussing the pandemic, George Floyd, Americans panic-buying, etc. Overall, a very fitting collection!

“Telling [tragic] stories that do not result in action turns those stories into entertainment” (235).

I look at the Shia LaBeouf references (yes, Even Stevens was a fun show.) differently now, especially after FKA Twigs spoke about what she went through in their relationship :/

( )

A deeply thoughtful and entertaining memoir from a Black Philly comedian who knew from a young age she wanted to make people laugh. And she does!

Quotes

Ultimately, the ever-happening change in communication shows that we're all always working on new ways to connect. (26)

Does a like replace a lunch? If you're lucky enough to have multiple close friends, even if they aren't lifelong ones, what are you doing to show that you value those people? (57)

...I realized that love, in any form, needed to feel like the freedom to be me, the all-in version of me, without any fear of what others would think. (105)

Materialism, advertising, and consumerism [MAC]...releases a toxic energy that infects the brains of strong but vulnerable people. It can take a confident person and boil them in self-doubt. It corrodes their common sense and decision-making skills, telling them they need to buy more to feel better. (178)

What a delightful experience to watch without expectation! (193)

From my years of social media usage, I've learned that when massive conversations get limited to a small amount of characters, the communication tools can often become more dangerous than helpful. (219)

Telling stories that do not result in action turns those stories into entertainment. (235)

...in reflecting on our influences, we figure out a lot about who we would like to be in the future. (256) ( )

Heard Quinta Brunson on NPR's Terry Gross show. Two Philly women talking to each other. Got the book as followup, in what turned out to be the period when Brunson was nominated for a slew of Emmys and was also accused of stealing creative arts. Still waiting to see how all that plays out, but now know she is a very funny, creative, open, forthright person with some interesting stories to tell. Her Philly overlaps with mine, but her's is funnier and edgier. We even started watching Abbott Academy. ( )

Quinta Brunson is maybe best known to swathes of the internet because of the association between her face and certain memes; I know her from the videos she did for BuzzFeed a few years ago. In this memoir/essay collection, Brunson reflects on her childhood in Philadelphia, her move to L.A. to break into show business, and the role the internet/social media has played in her life. Brunson's voice is amiable and relatable, and I'm pretty sure I'd like her as a person if I ever met her. None of these essays seemed particularly urgent or novel, though—and most damning for a collection of essays by a comedian, none were that funny. Solidly fine. ( )