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A review by justinkhchen
Note to Self by Connor Franta
3.0
3 stars
I wouldn't call myself a die-hard Connor Franta fan, but from following his IG and casually checking out his YouTube videos form time to time, he seems to be one of the few YouTube-started personalities who remains humble, and genuinely connected with the world around him. This collection of personal essay, poetry, and photography wholeheartedly reflects that.
To support his content, I pre-ordered this back in 2017, but only got to reading it this year (2020), and the lag in time does somehow affect my overall enjoyment. Phrasing it in a positive light, it's a time capsule, but it also means, the book is now a little dated. In a world where we can engage with its author on a day-to-day basis, Note to Self's central theme of mental recovery (heavily referencing his breakup at the time), and the collection of color-saturated visuals (that was THE aesthetic in the late 2010s) feel irrelevant; both Connor and the world has since moved on.
Unexpectedly, I find the poetry the most enjoyable; it is the most 'timeless' and universally applicable content here. The self-reflecting essays are fine, but they don't dive deep into the subject matter they are discussing, so unless you are aware (or still remember at this point) the events around that time period, consuming them alone lack the emotional punch to resonate.
Overall, it was a fine, if at time shallow, dive into the mind of a 25-year-old Connor Franta. I'll be curious to see if someday he will try his hand at a poetry collection, or even fiction.
I wouldn't call myself a die-hard Connor Franta fan, but from following his IG and casually checking out his YouTube videos form time to time, he seems to be one of the few YouTube-started personalities who remains humble, and genuinely connected with the world around him. This collection of personal essay, poetry, and photography wholeheartedly reflects that.
To support his content, I pre-ordered this back in 2017, but only got to reading it this year (2020), and the lag in time does somehow affect my overall enjoyment. Phrasing it in a positive light, it's a time capsule, but it also means, the book is now a little dated. In a world where we can engage with its author on a day-to-day basis, Note to Self's central theme of mental recovery (heavily referencing his breakup at the time), and the collection of color-saturated visuals (that was THE aesthetic in the late 2010s) feel irrelevant; both Connor and the world has since moved on.
Unexpectedly, I find the poetry the most enjoyable; it is the most 'timeless' and universally applicable content here. The self-reflecting essays are fine, but they don't dive deep into the subject matter they are discussing, so unless you are aware (or still remember at this point) the events around that time period, consuming them alone lack the emotional punch to resonate.
Overall, it was a fine, if at time shallow, dive into the mind of a 25-year-old Connor Franta. I'll be curious to see if someday he will try his hand at a poetry collection, or even fiction.