Book cover of This Is Not a Book About Benedict Cumberbatch: The Joy of Loving Something—Anything—Like Your Life Depends On It

Book description

A hilarious, heartfelt memoir about one woman's midlife obsession with Benedict Cumberbatch, and the liberating power of reclaiming our passions as we age, whatever they may be.

Tabitha Carvan was a new mother, at home with two young children, when she fell for the actor Benedict Cumberbatch. You know the…

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Why read it?

2 authors picked This Is Not a Book About Benedict Cumberbatch as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Rarely have I felt as seen and understood by a book as by this one. I recommend it to anyone who’s ever had a celebrity crush or any kind of pop culture obsession that people around them struggle to understand.

It’s wry, insightful, and candid. Reading it feels like chatting with a smart and funny friend who encourages you to see your passions as just as valid as anyone else’sand to embrace joy.

From Claire's list on celebrity crushes.

It's a wonderful book, eminently readable and very, very important. Everybody should read it!

Carvan uses her obsession with Benedict Cumberbatch as a starting point, but she takes the reader along as she discovers the importance of play—of any activity that has no other purpose than bringing one pleasure. She also makes a convincing case for how institutional sexism has forced girls to give up play in order to become wives and mothers, while “boys must be boys.”

I particularly liked that she shared every step of her journey, rather than presenting her conclusions as fact. And wait ‘til you…

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