You Gotta Get Bigger Dreams: My Life in Stories and Pictures
Published by Brilliance Audio
4.5/5
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Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this audiobook
A beloved actor and famous man-on-the-scene, Alan Cumming takes the reader on a wild journey of pithy and cheeky fun, presenting his real-life stories of debauchery during late night Hollywood parties, behind-the-scenes anecdotes, and hilarious yet poignant memories of his life, family, and friends. If you were to put David Sedaris and Glenn O'Brien in a blender and add a dash of New York and Hollywood gossip, you would wind up with Alan Cumming. Described by Time magazine as "one of the most fun people in show business," Cumming is a genuine triple-threat as a successful stage, television, and film star whose real-life vivacity, sophisticated wit, and charm tend to match that of his onstage personalities. In his third book, You Gotta Get Bigger Dreams, he has composed a collection of true-life adventures-or rather, misadventures-that is sure to make the reader laugh out loud. This volume recounts the hysterical and sometimes embarrassing encounters that only Cumming could experience, from awkwardly entertaining Elizabeth Taylor at Carrie Fisher's birthday party to being on a movie set with Helen Mirren and being mocked for wearing Croc sandals to making a friend's day by chasing down Oprah at a glitzy gala for a prized photograph with her. These forty-five stories are humorous novellas, each featuring memorable photographs-many simply snapshots taken by Cumming-that document or illustrate the tale told.
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Reviews for You Gotta Get Bigger Dreams
43 ratings6 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I don't follow pop culture too much. So, I did not know much about Alan Cumming until someone gave me this book because she knew I like memoirs. This could be regarded as a celebrity memoir, but it is not the typical for the genre. I loved it. I wanted to adopt Alan Cumming as my brother.This book is presented in a series of memories (rather than in traditional chronological order), and always supplemented with Cumming's own snapshots, most of which probably are from his smartphone. Mostly funny, but at times poignant. Not long after reading this, I came across his other (earlier) memoir Not My Father's Son as a used book, and snapped it up. I look forward to reading it, although as I understand it, it's darker (he had a bad relationship with his father). Cumming is quite an accomplished storyteller!
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I treated myself to this book for my birthday as the bookstore organised author talk came bundled with the book. It's a quick and breezy read, with some detours into personal things (and his activism), as he shared snapshots he's taken and the stories (in some cases) behind them. The snapshots aren't great photos, they're more evocative of a moment in time and so work really well with the memories. During the talk Cumming admitted that he's more of a storyteller/entertainer than an actor/writer/photographer/singer - he uses various mediums to connect with people. It's not chronological, I'd recommend "Not My Father's Son" over this one if you want an autobiography from him. But I'll highly recommend seeing him in person, he's super charming and articulate, and his Scottish accented voice is lovely to listen to. :-)
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Alan Cumming is a darling and whenever he does an audiobook, I want to hear it!
I don’t think this version has access to the photos that each chapter centres on, so that’s a bit frustrating, but there are still some fabulous showbiz anecdotes here. A very uplifting read! - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This was quite enjoyable whilst being honest, funny and entertaining
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Backstage, after party, party party, shop talk is this book. Oh.. and it’s funny!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I love Alan Cumming. He is charming and witty and irreverent. And honest. I snagged this audio as soon as I saw it, but waited to dip into it until I could get the print book from the library to follow along since it's a book of stories with accompanying photos. The book came into the library yesterday, and I started listening to this last night. Finished it up this morning, and it is absolutely delightful. If you don't do audio, then it would work just as well in the print format, but I loved having Cumming tell it to me himself. The audiobook does come with a PDF of the photos, so you can still see the photos without getting the actual print book, but I really enjoyed having both at my disposal. What Cumming has done is to share selfies that he has taken over the years - both with his cellphone and with cameras with timers - and provide the stories that led to the photo. It will surprise you - the photos are both funny and poignant, eclectic and traditional, bizarre and surreal. The stories will make you laugh out loud and cry. My three favorites are: "Travels With Honey" - a sort of [Travels With Charlie] if Steinbeck had been bisexual, vegan, and Scottish. "You Gotta Get Bigger Dreams" - the story of his taking his friend Eddie, who is completely obsessed with Oprah to see her being honored by the Elie Wiesel Foundation."Head Down, Eyes Up" - a lovely homage to his dog Honey that made me sob. He lost Honey to cancer after fourteen years, and this hit so close to home as we said goodbye to two of our dearest canine friends of fourteen years just a brief six months ago.I just cannot recommend this collection highly enough - selfie vignettes! Who would have thunk it?!
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