What I Read - April 2025
A few years ago, I felt like I was doing a lot of the same old same old. As those on TikTok might say, what a boring use of free will. So, I created a “Try New Things” Google Doc. Creating a list gave me the impetus to make sure I was trying new things!
For April, I'd like to share 3 audiobooks I listened to:
Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection - John Green
The Spamalot Diaries- Eric Idle
Always Look on the Bright Side of Life - Eric Idle
I learned about John Green’s book from his YouTube shorts where he discusses how, well, everything is tuberculosis. Also, I recently watched Season 2 of Call the Midwife, where Sister Bernadette is sent to a sanatorium to recover from tuberculosis. So, I guess I had tuberculosis on my mind. In short - it's a fantastic book. John Green does a wonderful job explaining TB's socio-political and historical dimensions and ramifications while interweaving the biography and the story of Green's friendship with Henry, a young patient at Lakka Government Hospital in Sierra Leone. 10/10.
Eric Idle was on The Daily Showin October 2024 to promote his new book The Spamalot Diaries. After watching the interview, I reserved a copy of the audiobook on Libby. In the interview and the introduction, Idle says that he found the diary he wrote during the pre-production of Spamalot while he was decluttering. As a former theatre student, it reminded me of the production histories we read for class. And, of course, hearing it in Eric Idle's voice made the experience all the better. Unlike the production histories we read for class (as far as I remember), Idle records the emotional highs and lows, both professionally and personally, in real-time, which makes it particularly compelling. 10/10.
Always Look on the Bright Side was also available on Libby, so I decided to stick to a theme for a minute and give it a listen. Here, Idle provides a retrospective on his life and career. I had seen Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail, Life of Brian, and a few of their famous sketches, but I knew very little about the history of The Pythons (as he likes to call them) or, for that matter, about Idle. It was illuminating to listen to. In particular, the story of his friendship with George Harrison (yes, from The Beatles) was particularly moving. 8/10.