Review: This Is Not a Book about Benedict Cumberbatch

This Is Not a Book about Benedict Cumberbatch by Tabitha Carvan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I listened to the audiobook version of This is Not a Book about Benedict Cumberbatch: The Joy of Loving Something--Anything--Like Your Life Depends On It written by Tabitha Carvan and read by Tanya Schneider.  I listened to the whole book in two days it was that good.  In some ways I wish I had read it instead of listened to it because I wanted to highlight so many bits to refer to later.  I really want to take some of these surveys/inventories that she references.  Also, are there reference pictures in the book?  I would like to see them.  

This book was recommended to me by a friend in academia who studies, among other things, ways to use pop culture in teaching.  She and I met over a mutual love for the TV show, Supernatural.  We are exactly the type of people this book is talking about.  The book really isn't about Benedict Cumberbatch.  Insert any celebrity, TV show, sports team, etc. that a person is fanatical about.  I would be remiss not to mention Taylor Swift here.  I am a proud Swiftie.  Some people love to shame me for it.  I just Shake It Off.  This book gets into that, why some people feel ashamed or hide their feelings about a famous person.  And by "some people," we are mostly talking about women and people who identify as LGBTQIA+.  Straight men never seemed to be shamed for their obsessions.  

I think the most important thing this book highlights is the community aspect of loving something so much.  Ultimately, it is about finding your people and making a connection.  I may never meet Taylor Swift, but my sister and I always have something to talk about.  We never argue over what music to play in the car on a road trip.  That is pretty cool.

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