Audio Reviews: What Happened by Hillary Rodham Clinton and Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick

What Happened by Hillary Rodham Clinton

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics, Memoir
Release Date: September 12, 2017
Format: Audio
Narrator: Hillary Rodham Clinton
Source: OverDrive
Find it here: GoodReads
Rating: 4.25/5 stars

For the first time, Hillary Rodham Clinton reveals what she was thinking and feeling during one of the most controversial and unpredictable presidential elections in history. Now free from the constraints of running, Hillary takes you inside the intense personal experience of becoming the first woman nominated for president by a major party in an election marked by rage, sexism, exhilarating highs and infuriating lows, stranger-than-fiction twists, Russian interference, and an opponent who broke all the rules. This is her most personal memoir yet.

The election of 2016 was unprecedented and historic. What Happened is the story of that campaign and its aftermath—both a deeply intimate account and a cautionary tale for the nation.

What Happened is a totally engrossing examination of the 2016 election. But it’s also an up close and personal look at a woman who is typically plays it close to the vest.

Clinton’s in-depth look at the 2016 election was equal parts fascinating, disturbing and downright shocking. And she doesn’t hold back. She covers it all – from the explosive debates, the Russian interference, the emails – without ever playing the victim or try to paint herself in too flattering of a light. She owns up to mistakes that both she as an individual and her campaign made along the way.

As absorbing as the election aspect was, some of the biggest surprises for me came from her more personal revelations: her sense of humor (who knew!), her love of reading (she’s an avid fiction reader), her faith. I admire Clinton’s intellect, her ability to remain cool under pressure and her no-nonsense approach. Listening to What Happened, in Clinton’s own voice, was a worthy, eye-opening experience – both for the political aspect and the candid look at the woman behind the politics.

Favorite quote: "We’re all going to share our American future together – better to do so with open hearts and outstretched hands than closed minds and clenched fists."

Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Humor
Release Date: November 15, 2016
Format: Audio
Narrator: Anna Kendrick
Source: OverDrive
Find it here: GoodReads
Rating: 3.75/5 stars

Even before she made a name for herself on the silver screen starring in films like Pitch Perfect, Up in the Air, Twilight, and Into the Woods, Anna Kendrick was unusually small, weird, and “10 percent defiant.”

Enter Anna’s world and follow her rise from “scrappy little nobody” to somebody who dazzles on the stage, the screen, and now the page—with an electric, singular voice, at once familiar and surprising, sharp and sweet, funny and serious (well, not that serious).

I very rarely read memoirs (celebrity or otherwise) but once in a while it’s a fun diversion. And while I wouldn’t call myself a fan of any particular celebrity, I’ve seen Anna Kendrick in the Pitch Perfect movies and in a couple interviews and liked her wry, self-deprecating humor. 

Scrappy Little Nobody is a collection of auto-biographical essays filled with Anna’s acerbic wit. Feeling like an outsider even from a young age, Anna resolved to “keep the crazy in my head where it belonged. Forever. But here’s the thing about crazy: It. Wants. Out.” So getting inside Anna’s head, so to speak, is definitely entertaining. She covers everything from her time on Broadway as a young teenager to the surreal experience of the red carpet. Topics range from the hilarious (she attempted to high five the guy who “got her there” the first time) to the serious (the loss of her grandmother).

Listening to this on audio was definitely the way to go. Anna comes across as refreshingly self-aware and down to earth and her dead pan delivery and sarcasm are so suited for this format. There were several laugh out loud moments and, even though this wasn’t anything life-altering, it was totally entertaining.

Favorite quote: “I love rules and I love following them, unless that rule is stupid.”

Have you read either of these books?