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yvo_about_books's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
4.5
Finished reading: February 8th 2024
“All I can say is speak up; ask questions. Explain your concerns. It's the first step in feeling empowered to push forward with your own agenda. There is no reason to stifle yourself! Because as a wise man once told me: the best moments are the ones where you're you.”
I needed a memoir that explores queerness for the POPSUGAR challenge, and my mind immediately went to Naturally Tan. I enjoyed watching Tan France in the shows Queer Eye and Next In Fashion, and there is just something about his personality that made me want to know more. And I have to say that this memoir ended up being a huge success for me. What I loved about it is just how well Tan's voice shines through in the text, and it shows that Naturally Tan is all Tan and not a ghost writer. I could hear his voice as I read this memoir, and I can imagine the audio version being fantastic with him narrating the story. There are a lot of different topics and the chapters often jump between different moments in his life, but I personally didn't mind as they were mostly chronological. More serious elements including racism, xenophobia, homophobia, outing and suicidal thoughts are mentioned along the way, but there are also plenty of lighter moments to give this memoir balance. The writing style itself is really engaging, and it really helped me speed through this book. Definitely a great option if you like his personality and want to know more about his life!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Islamophobia, Cursing, Homophobia, Hate crime, Body shaming, Bullying, Racism, Religious bigotry, Xenophobia, Violence, Outing, Racial slurs, and Suicidal thoughts
ekmook's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
3.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Xenophobia, Bullying, Islamophobia, Homophobia, Racial slurs, and Suicidal thoughts
bookishandlegal's review against another edition
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
4.5
This book was hilarious! Like laugh out loud funny throughout! I’ve also really like Tan and he’s one of my favorite guys on Queer Eye so I was excited to read this book. The audio is narrated by Tan so I’d highly recommend listening!
I learned so much about Tan’s childhood in the UK and his relationship with his husband and journey to the US & onto queer eye. He breaks up a lot of the chapters with fashion and life tips/dos and don’t’s which I found really fun. I don’t agree with him on everything (especially fashion things, but mostly cause I’m not as fashionable) but he has a way of being very firm in his opinion but not making you feel combative or lesser for disagreeing with him.
This book is light and funny but also gets into some pretty deep topics. He talks pretty in depth about his depression and a period where he was suicidal and about 9/11 and the effects on him as a Pakistani male since. These were really well done and had a good mix of being real and very serious, while still making some jokes and bringing humor into it.
I loved all the chapters about Queer Eye and learning more about the process and the behind the scenes of the show. Antoni also made some surprise appearances in the audio which were amazing and another reason to listen to the audio!
Overall I really really enjoyed this memoir and would highly recommend!
I learned so much about Tan’s childhood in the UK and his relationship with his husband and journey to the US & onto queer eye. He breaks up a lot of the chapters with fashion and life tips/dos and don’t’s which I found really fun. I don’t agree with him on everything (especially fashion things, but mostly cause I’m not as fashionable) but he has a way of being very firm in his opinion but not making you feel combative or lesser for disagreeing with him.
This book is light and funny but also gets into some pretty deep topics. He talks pretty in depth about his depression and a period where he was suicidal and about 9/11 and the effects on him as a Pakistani male since. These were really well done and had a good mix of being real and very serious, while still making some jokes and bringing humor into it.
I loved all the chapters about Queer Eye and learning more about the process and the behind the scenes of the show. Antoni also made some surprise appearances in the audio which were amazing and another reason to listen to the audio!
Overall I really really enjoyed this memoir and would highly recommend!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Racial slurs, and Xenophobia
louise010's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, and Suicidal thoughts
leahlovesloslibros's review
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
Tan France makes up 1/5 of the team as the fashion expert on the new Queer Eye series on Netflix, which I recently fell in love with. In this book, Tan shares his thoughts and experiences on a variety of topics, including growing up gay and South Asian in England, relationships (both platonic and romantic), fame and being in the press/public eye, style/fashion tips, and more.
I listened to the audio book, which is narrated by Tan himself, and I really loved it. I typically try to find memoirs that are read by the author, as I find the experience of listening to them tell their own story to be more personal than hearing it told by someone else. Hearing Tan recall childhood memories, especially painful ones such as being bullied for being brown (his word), are so powerful and heart-wrenching. Coming out was also something that was difficult for him, as there were certain cultural expectations placed on him by his traditional Muslim Pakistani family and culture.
Listening to Tan tell the story of starting and running his own businesses, as well as meeting his husband and the progression of their relationship, was both interesting and inspiring. Among his own story, Tan would insert advice on career, love, and just being authentically you. I really enjoyed that this book was not necessarily told completely in chronological order; rather, it was broken up by topics. Sometimes reading memoirs that are told chronologically gets a little dry, in my opinion. This book was told loosely in chronological order, but each chapter read as its own section, which made it almost like short stories. Personally, I love reading memoirs told in this way, so that was a big win for me.
I love Queer Eye, and I absolutely plan to read the book written by the Fab Five as well, but hearing Tan's story individually with bits of the show sprinkled in here and there was such a wonderful way to start my Pride Month 2021 reading.
I listened to the audio book, which is narrated by Tan himself, and I really loved it. I typically try to find memoirs that are read by the author, as I find the experience of listening to them tell their own story to be more personal than hearing it told by someone else. Hearing Tan recall childhood memories, especially painful ones such as being bullied for being brown (his word), are so powerful and heart-wrenching. Coming out was also something that was difficult for him, as there were certain cultural expectations placed on him by his traditional Muslim Pakistani family and culture.
Listening to Tan tell the story of starting and running his own businesses, as well as meeting his husband and the progression of their relationship, was both interesting and inspiring. Among his own story, Tan would insert advice on career, love, and just being authentically you. I really enjoyed that this book was not necessarily told completely in chronological order; rather, it was broken up by topics. Sometimes reading memoirs that are told chronologically gets a little dry, in my opinion. This book was told loosely in chronological order, but each chapter read as its own section, which made it almost like short stories. Personally, I love reading memoirs told in this way, so that was a big win for me.
I love Queer Eye, and I absolutely plan to read the book written by the Fab Five as well, but hearing Tan's story individually with bits of the show sprinkled in here and there was such a wonderful way to start my Pride Month 2021 reading.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Cursing, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Bullying, and Xenophobia
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
shelbyjo's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Racial slurs, Racism, Bullying, and Xenophobia
nochnitsa's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
3.0
I got this as an e-book because I really liked Tan's personality in Queer Eye and the few interviews that I saw. At first I wasn't very into it because, clearly, Tan France isn't a writer (which isn't a bad thing because he's so successful in other things) and I was asking myself why is it that all celebrities seem to think they need to write a book (yes, I'm a bitch). But then a few of the stories resonated with me - I'm Central Asian and some of my experiences with racism were similar to Tan's although not as scary because I am somewhat white-passing. I didn't care much for the advice and I couldn't understand much of the clothing/ fashion terminology. But what I really loved was that Tan spoke out about the side of 9/11 that affects brown people to this day, the way he is honest about how he felt under pressure of being a multiple business owner, the way he loves his husband and sets an example of a loving marriage, and the way he stays humble despite being a celebrity. I think there were some really important messages in this book which were worth sharing. And then there were also some messages which were really important to Tan personally to share, for example how he doesn't appreciate being lifted by fans (I really think some people overstep all the common sense boundaries). Overall, this book felt like a distant very successful cousin sitting me down and giving me some life advice, making me giggle along the way. This book was good company during my exam period - it was light and insightful enough to keep me interested but it didn't make me want to lose my sleep over it. I usually never read books during my exam periods, so this was a nice change.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
jainnyreads's review against another edition
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Islamophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, and Suicidal thoughts
readalongwithnat's review against another edition
funny
relaxing
medium-paced
4.0
Every time I listen to a memoir from the Queer Eye cast, I think "surely this can't be better than the last one," and every single time they prove me wrong. I wish this book had lasted like 20 more hours because I could listen to Tan all day.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Mental illness
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