You're on an Airplane

 Book 8 of my 2021 Reading Challenge

You're on an Airplane

by Parker Posey

Summary (via the book jacket)

published 2018

In her first book, the actress and star of movies such as Dazed and Confused, Party Girl, You've Got Mail, The House of Yes, and so many more opens up about the art of acting, life on the set, and the realities of fame. A funny and colorful Southern childhood prepared Posey for a life of creating and entertaining, which not only extends to acting but to crafts (pottery, sewing, and collage) as well as yoga and cooking, all of which readers will find in this whimsical, hilarious, always amusing book. Parker takes us into her childhood home, goes behind the scenes of the indie film revolution in the nineties, shows us the delightful absurdity of the big-budget genre thrillers she's turned into art in a whole new way, and shares the creativity that will always be part of both her acting and her real, everyday life.

More than just a memoir, this is an exploration, meditation, and celebration of what it means to be an artist. And with Parker's incredible, memorable, hilarious, and poignant voice, it truly does give the reader a feeling of traveling with Parker. Buckle up and enjoy the journey.

First Impressions/Judging a Book by Its Cover

I like Parker Posey's acting so when I saw a friend's post about enjoying this book that was enough for me to check this out from the library.

It's described on the cover as a "self-mythologizing memoir" so I'm not sure what to expect.  Based on the cover photo she seems just as quirky as the characters she plays.  As I do with any memoir/biography, I start by flipping through to see if photos are included (not a negative if they're not but I enjoy them when they are); there do appear to be some black and white photos and drawings but since they're interspersed with the chapters and not a collection in the middle, I'll wait and look at them as I'm reading.

My Opinion

3 stars

As a book, it was fine.  The stream-of-consciousness accomplished what the book advertised which was the feel of "talking" to a chatty neighbor; I put "talking" in quotes because she really did capture the one-sided conversation you would have with a performative person, where one word from you leads to a ten minute monologue disguised as conversation, with occasional visual aids thrown in to further demonstrate the point (which I pictured as someone looking something up on their phone and showing it to you).  If I'd been sitting next to her on a plane and this was the conversation, I would've been entertained at the time but also hoping it was a short flight.

As a memoir I'm a little less sold.  You would have to have some familiarity with Parker Posey to understand the schtick of the writing but at the same time, if you picked up this book as a fan wanting to learn more, I don't think you would be satisfied.  There was personal narrative but the book itself was so tongue-in-cheek that I'm not sure if what she said was true and even if it was, the downside of stream-of-consciousness writing is that the topics move quickly so things don't get fully explained.

I really appreciated that she does seem to be authentically unique and wasn't trying to be "quirky" or "different" as an act.