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This Is Not a Book About Benedict Cumberbatch
- Narrated by: Tanya Schneider
- Length: 6 hrs and 29 mins
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This Is Not a Book About Benedict Cumberbatch
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Publisher's Summary
If you feel that sense that there is something missing from your life, some gap between who you are on the inside and who you are on the outside - then this is the book for you.
This is, as the title says, not actually a book about Benedict Cumberbatch.
In fact, it's a book about women and what we love, about what happens to women's passions after we leave adolescence and how the space for joy in our lives is squeezed ever smaller as we age, and why. More importantly, it's about what happens if you subvert that narrative and simply love something like you used to.
Drawing upon her personal experience of unexpectedly falling for the British actor Benedict Cumberbatch while stuck at home with two young children, Carvan challenges the listener to stop instinctively resisting the possibility of experiencing pleasure. Hers is clarion rallying cry: find your thing, whatever it may be, and love it like your life depends on it.
Funny, intelligent, transporting and liberating, this book is a total joy.
'Winningly effervescent... an aria of joyous discovery...' Slate
'Witty, erudite and fierce in its message - that women should seek joy and find fun. Happily, this book provides both in abundance. I loved it.' Jacqueline Maley
'You know when you bite into a chocolate, and unexpectedly discover it's filled with delectable cherry kirsch that explodes into your mouth? That's this book. Original, highly entertaining, fast-paced, personal read that contains unexpected revelations at every corner. It's funny, it's smart, it's compelling. But most of all, it's a battle cry: sit up, pay attention and follow your heart and find joy. After all, our time on this earth is short. C'mon. The clock is ticking.' Ginger Gorman
'Intimate, self-deprecating ... like an Australian Caitlin Moran or Dolly Alderton ... an easy, lighthearted read about serious subject matter: feminism, passion, relationships and creativity, and owning the strength of the passions felt in childhood and adolescence.' Books+Publishing
'A surprise midlife obsession with British actor Benedict Cumberbatch provides the occasion for musings on passion, aging, and identity in this spirited debut. . . Carvan's self-aware approach wrings the absurdity out of her story to hilarious effect while touching on the realities of motherhood and fandom: ""It's not just about what we love, but how that love figures in our lives, and how it makes us feel."" The result is a weird-in-the-best-way account of self-discovery that brims with humor and insight.' Publishers Weekly, starred review
'Remember that feeling you had as a kid, when you loved things wholeheartedly, boldly, and loudly? If you feel a sense that there is something missing from your life, some gap between who you are on the inside and who you are on the outside, then this is the book for you.' Eve Rodsky, author of Find Your Unicorn Space and Fair Play
'This really isn't a book about Benedict Cumberbatch. It's about so, so much more: Losing yourself and finding yourself, oppression and emancipation; sadness and joy. Tabitha Carvan's book will make you think and make you cackle. It's the most delightful book I've read in a long time.' Melinda Wenner Moyer, author of How to Raise Kids Who Aren't Assholes
'Wonderfully fresh... Subversively important stuff.' The Chicago Tribune
'This year's most hilarious self-help book.' The Daily Mail UK
'An excellent account... It's about opening yourself to life, about treasuring your own tender heart.' The Sydney Morning Herald (Richard Glover)
'This book was better than it had any right to be. It was a totally unexpected five stars.' Feminist Book Club
'A very powerful, astonishingly incisive view on feminism and the patriarchy.' Sorta Awesome
'I love this book so, so much and I'm going to force it on every human being.' #AmWriting podcast
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What listeners say about This Is Not a Book About Benedict Cumberbatch
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- alison
- 25-04-2022
This is a book about everything
I loved this book so much. There were at least 4 times when I had to explain to my family why I'd just burst into peals of laughter while listening to this with the Bluetooth headphones on, in the kitchen, making school lunches... and it made me cry on at least three separate occasions.
Honestly, I cannot understate how much I loved this book. I am about to evangelize to all my friends about it and insist that my book club read it.
Thank you so much Tabitha.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- valshopaholic
- 22-02-2023
Story of my life
Made me wish I had written this. Totally a reflection of my life, without the husband and the kids part, though. A fun read.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Hayley Camille
- 23-11-2022
Excellent
Listened not only as a fan of BC (great book title!) but then far more so as a mother, feminist, and woman. The author raises so many important issues about the nature of our loss of identity as we move from adolescence into womanhood, and the complete sidelining of our own joy as we become new mothers and the consequent painful attempts at rediscovering and reclaiming ourselves afterward.
Filled with humor, experience and relatable anecdotes.
I could say a lot about the wisdom in this book, but I could not say it as well as the author does, so I recommend you read it instead.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kellie
- 23-01-2023
Surprisingly feminist!
Loved listening to this fun and interesting perspective on fandoms and sexism and finding yourself.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Fiona Caldarevic
- 03-03-2023
Felt like my own story
I related 100% to this book, having been a fan girl of my favourite singer for decades, being from
Canberra, and being distantly related to Benedict Cumberbatch myself. I loved every bit about this book and felt like I was having coffee with the author.
However massive props to the narrator Tanya Schneider who read this in the most perfect way, with humour and warmth. I couldn’t imagine this read any better.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 27-12-2022
Beautiful book!
Really enjoyed listening to this book. I loved the insights into other people’s stories and the whys and why nots. Gave me the warm fuzzys and I don’t get them very easily!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 04-03-2023
Great book about finding the joyful
Loved this book and the major themes. Finding and embracing something in life that creates joy for you.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Kayezzz
- 03-08-2022
Despite the rave reviews...
I'm seriously asking myself why I just didn't like this book...? I "get" it, I understand it totally from a woman's point of view, but found it long winded and lacking substance...maybe the last hour and half really focused on the subject of loving what you love and not feeling guilty about it, how we lose ourselves in motherhood and life etc etc but surprised to say to myself...it was pretty boring, no revelations there for me 🤔
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6 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Sue
- 30-12-2022
Could not get into this
For a book not about Benedict Cumberbatch, his name was in almost every sentence or so it seemed. I stayed with it to chapter 3 and gave up. Could not find any theme that made me want to listen to more.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Despina O'Neill
- 10-01-2024
It wasn’t for me!
Unfortunately, I wasn’t sure if it was the narrator or the story itself, but this just didn’t hit the mark for me! :(
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