Rachel BloomI Want to Be Where the Normal People Are

As someone who is the same age as Bloom, a lot if the book felt like it was being addressed to someone younger (perhaps that's why they also chose this style of cover art).I loved CXG, and watching Bloom writes & acts in. But at times this book felt like a fire sale on anything embarrassing someone might try to blackmail her with. I'm not sure how 100% factual vs comedy factor to take the book. Just a lot of deep sharing no one would've thought was under the 4th onion layer.Am I happy I read it? As a big fan, yes.Would I read it again or recommend to the casual fan? No & not likely.

I - like many others, I assume - bought this book because I really enjoyed watching Crazy Ex Girlfriend.Like the show, this book manages to be hilarious and earnest and heartbreaking and side splitting all at the same time.As one of many others who are struggling with the world in general and the world between their ears in particular (especially during the past year which has been very challenging to my mental health), I was looking for the warm feeling of "You're not alone in this", and "Here's how I deal with mental health" but in a non self-help way.I was not disappointed. Like "Anti-Depressant Are so Not a Big Deal" and "A Diagnosis", this book delivers reaffirming and supportive feelings.Rachel Bloom tells a story of growing up that is so universal that I could see myself reflected in almost every essay, even though I am at first look a polar opposite. There is something deeply comforting in realizing how much your feelings are shared by others and how we're probably mostly going through the same stuff.This is also where my only gripe with the books comes in. Once Rachel Bloom's career begins taking off the story becomes a bit fuzzy and much less relatable. While it still keeps the same honest, funny, down to earth tone of the rest of the book it felt a lot more distant to me. Like growing apart from a friend after they get married and have kids. But keeping on with this analogy - this is what I signed up for. I am a fan. I want to know about the "Celeb" Rachel Bloom, and while I may not be able to relate to walking down a red carpet or flying first class on someone else's buck, it is still an integral part of the story and not including it would be a disservice to readers.So overall the book is like a best friend and therapist all rolled into one, but like many friends - you eventually drift apart.I definitely recommend this book to all fans of Crazy Ex, and also to those who are not (yet).

I became a Rachel Bloom fan because of Crazy Ex Girlfriend, and worked my way backwards from there. I became addicted to the show, mesmerized by how drastically her character could reflect every girlfriend I ever had and also reflected my personal anxieties. I love musicals, I loved the biting lyrics disguised by song and dance, but I still thought it was a slightly silly show good for a grin, albeit on a daily basis. Then suddenly the mood changed. After I finished the series I rewatched it and discovered my perception had been flawed from the beginning. I looked up every reference and words I didn't understand. Every episode has an emotional impact, and every song is worth singing.I don't listen to books, I listen to podcasts while I drive. It was an NPR podcast where I heard about this book, and since NPR told me that Rachel Bloom narrates and sings a mini-musical I bought my first audio book. YOU HAVE TO GET THE AUDIO BOOK. There is no substitute.Thank you Rachel Bloom for knowing and saying the words that help me understand my life and my world. I know I have a different gender perspective, which makes it confusing: how do you understand so completely? Maybe we're all human after all, maybe we're all unique, so maybe we're all normal? That can't be right. Maybe you'll write another book so I can finally figure things out. Anyway, thanks again for this one.

I bought this book because I'm a huge Crazy Ex-Girlfriend fan, and an even bigger Little Mermaid fan, so I appreciated the "Part of Your World" reference in the title. I thought from the description that it would have more "self-help" entries in addition to personal anecdotes, but it's really just Rachel's memoirs. That required me to adjust my mindset a bit, especially since her tendency to overshare is more prevalent here than ever, with intimate details such as her first poop and sexual experiences. I was going to deduct one or two stars for that after I found myself skimming over certain chapters that I found unpleasant, but as I kept reading, I saw a lot of honest perspectives about stardom and working in the entertainment industry that you just don't see anywhere else. I appreciated that because it gave me more insight into the some of the darker aspects of being a celebrity. There were also some very creative poems, stories, and scripts interspersed throughout the text that I thoroughly enjoyed. I don't usually "get" humor, but I find Rachel's off-brand comedy hilarious almost every time. If you are a fan of Rachel Bloom, this is a great opportunity to get to know her better, including things that you might not want to know about. If not, why are you looking at this book anyway?

While I have notes for the author… this book was a delightful read. For better readers than I, it was short a quick and fun. My experience was indulgent, almost therapeutic. I would still appreciate MORE on CXG.

Haven’t finished it yet but so far what I’ve read it’s the funniest book I’ve ever had the gift to read. BUY THIS BOOK!!

I believe you must be true fan to understand this type of autobiography. It is a “crazy ex-gf version” writing style. I have to admit, it was tough for me to wrap around my head with this type of writing style for me. I do like tv show a lot yet I guess I had other motives or insights about this book. Overall, it doesn’t mean you won’t get some info. about the tv industry, cringe humor, or enjoy the little moments of Rachel Bloom’s life. She came so far and worked so hard where she is at today. I think it’s nice to read it but it is best to hear this book as well. TBH, The audio gravitates you more and appreciate the creativity of it all. She’s pretty damn cool!

I probably need to start this review by saying I have never watched Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and I had never heard of Rachel Bloom before reading this book. It is a well written book and I enjoyed the writing style, the initial chapter which formed the Kindle sample was engaging and based upon that I had high expectations for the book.This book appeared in my recommendations, I think based upon it's apparent references to OCD. If you're planning on buying this book like I did to read about Rachel's experiences with OCD, I'd advise against it. Whilst she does mention her struggles with OCD, it is very briefly covered in a couple of pages and definitely doesn't feature heavily in this book. However the book DOES heavily feature musical theatre so much so that it was repetitive. I was prepared to chalk that up to being my mistake as I wasn't aware of Rachel's previous work but the blurb doesn't mention musical theatre at all and this really was a central focus of the book.I struggled with this book overall because it felt like Rachel was trying really hard to be seen as quirky when actually the things she was talking about were quite normal. The sections where she wrote to her younger self and wrote Harry Potter fan fiction and scripts within the text weren't my cup of tea and I found myself wanting to skip ahead. The humour didn't really land with me, however I did really like her writing style and there were a few chapters and stories that I really enjoyed.I'm not sure who I'd recommend this book to, definitely people who are already fans of Rachel and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (although it is not mentioned in depth in this book) but sadly this book hasn't made me want to seek it out.

Just... boring. Same rhetoric in every single chapter. Constantly speaking about bullying as a child. I understand we have an issue with this, but for someone who mentions their therapist a lot, the author does not seem to have put any of this behind her. Bullying 20-30 years ago still seems to be top priority on Bloom’s mind.There does come a point where one needs to let things go.This book just didn’t do it for me.

She’s written this from the heart, as though she’s having a conversation with you. The kind that makes you laugh, gasp, and feel all the feelings as she tells you about her life and experiences. Very, very relatable, down to earth, and real.

I already love rachel bloom but this book makes me love her even more, shes so relatable & honestly such a profound writer!

Amazing read. Felt like I was reading my life story but told by a much cooler person. Thank you for being yourself!