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A review by blogginboutbooks
Hooked: How Crafting Saved My Life by Sutton Foster
4.0
I had no idea who Sutton Foster was when I starting listening to this memoir. I've never seen any of the TV shows or Broadway plays she's been in, nor am I even very familiar with any of them. I'm not a celebrity follower and I know very little about musical theater in general. So, why did I read this book? (1) I needed a new audiobook to listen to and this one was immediately available at my library, (2) I needed a book that fit a reading challenge prompt for "A Memoir By Someone Who Might Use Glitter Regularly," and (3) I was curious to see how crafting could save someone's life. Even though I probably would have liked this book a lot more if I was a Sutton Foster fan who wanted to learn more about her life, I still found HOOKED to be a decent read/listen. Not phenomenal, but engaging enough that I listened to the whole thing and enjoyed it for the most part.
Even though I have little interest in theater or TV, it was interesting to get an insider's view into those worlds. Foster has been performing for a long time and has a wide variety of experience in theater, TV, and stage. Although I don't relate at all to Foster's glamorous life, I do understand crafting (at least cross-stitching) as a way to soothe anxiety, channel anger, work through grief, and create multi-generational bonds. I'm not heavy into other crafts, so I actually liked that—despite what its title suggests—Foster's memoir focuses less on crafting and more on her life experiences. The idea of talking about her life within a framework of her arts/crafts pieces appealed to me, although I did find the book's non-chronological timeline confusing and repetitive at times, which definitely got annoying.
Since I use audiobooks to make tedious things like driving, exercising, and doing housework more bearable, I never listen to anything too heavy. While Foster's book does touch on serious subjects like mental illness, infertility, anxiety, grief, etc., it's mostly a lighter listen that is, on the whole, engaging and entertaining. Foster narrates her own book and her voice is upbeat and easy on the ears. For these reasons, I finished the book. Like I said above, I enjoyed it for the most part.
If I could, I would give HOOKED 3 1/2 stars; since I can't, I rounded up.
Even though I have little interest in theater or TV, it was interesting to get an insider's view into those worlds. Foster has been performing for a long time and has a wide variety of experience in theater, TV, and stage. Although I don't relate at all to Foster's glamorous life, I do understand crafting (at least cross-stitching) as a way to soothe anxiety, channel anger, work through grief, and create multi-generational bonds. I'm not heavy into other crafts, so I actually liked that—despite what its title suggests—Foster's memoir focuses less on crafting and more on her life experiences. The idea of talking about her life within a framework of her arts/crafts pieces appealed to me, although I did find the book's non-chronological timeline confusing and repetitive at times, which definitely got annoying.
Since I use audiobooks to make tedious things like driving, exercising, and doing housework more bearable, I never listen to anything too heavy. While Foster's book does touch on serious subjects like mental illness, infertility, anxiety, grief, etc., it's mostly a lighter listen that is, on the whole, engaging and entertaining. Foster narrates her own book and her voice is upbeat and easy on the ears. For these reasons, I finished the book. Like I said above, I enjoyed it for the most part.
If I could, I would give HOOKED 3 1/2 stars; since I can't, I rounded up.