I wasn't too invested or interested in reading or watching Normal People until so many of my friends kept mentioning it and I kept seeing article after article popping up about how Normal People was the sexiest show ever and how it also was the best show to watch during the pandemic. And because I'm a nerd, I decided I couldn't watch the TV show until I read the book, obviously because I wanted to be able to compare the book to the TV show
Bowie Rowan
@bowie · 1:31
I was a little surprised by the cast, only in that they didn't look quite how I imagined them in my head while reading. But as the first episode went on, they really started to make sense to me. And man, I told myself I was just going to watch one episode, but I think that there is a chance I may end up binging this pretty quickly. Let's see. Look forward to hearing and your thoughts in the meantime
Bowie Rowan
@bowie · 2:19
This is your first time. Yeah. Is that okay? Oh, yeah, it's fine. It's just if you want to stop or anything, we can obviously stop. I doubt that, wasn't it? Not. I know it. But if it hurts or I mean, we can stop, it won't be awkward. You just say thanks. I think you're very pretty, by the way. Episode Two of Normal People clearly a master class in consent
Swell Team
@Swell · 0:15
Shahnaz Ahmed
@bookishpodcast · 3:39
Whatever you said, the embarrassment, the happiness, the excitement of the scene, all of it just all those feels is just yeah. I'm not a big TV person. I think I know how to turn a television on. I think it's that red button on the top, right? Yeah. It's one of those things. I get so tired when I watch television for too long. It has to be an amazing show. So I don't watch much television
Bowie Rowan
@bowie · 2:23
Thank you so much for letting me know that you read the book. I was curious if you had, and actually, I'm wondering if you've also read Conversations With Friends, her other novel because I just started listening to it and maybe we could have a different swell chat about it if you've read it or are planning on reading it or something
Shahnaz Ahmed
@bookishpodcast · 4:26
And I think her book pick was for May. Well, as time went on, she didn't show up for Jan Fab March, and I pulled her book. I said, you know what? We picked the book because she wanted to be in the book club. So I pulled her book and we had a different book. I don't remember what book we had
Bowie Rowan
@bowie · 4:24
First of all, I cannot believe I have compelled you to potentially watch the adaptation. That is very exciting. So thank you for sharing that. Also, I laughed. Ahmed, I appreciate you seeing and validating my nerdiness. Yes, it's true. I'm a huge nerd, especially when it comes to books and writing stuff. As far as my own writing, I write fiction and nonfiction and actually do some multimedia work
Shahnaz Ahmed
@bookishpodcast · 1:49
I'm going to get some snacks. I mean, that's me. I'm just the most annoying person ever. I will go to a movie and come back. But it's rare for me to be a TV person. So if you could answer me those questions, how many episodes are they all out? And what's the time for each episode? That would be great. And then we can go from there. I might just watch this adaptation. What do you know?
Bowie Rowan
@bowie · 1:21
And when I can get really distracted sometimes or when I finally do decide to take some time to watch, I don't really necessarily want to commit to a full hour because I know like you said, it can cut into your reading time. So then it becomes this whole, like, existential crisis, which feels ridiculous. So 20 to 30 minutes feels doable. So yeah, hopefully that answers it 20 to 30 minutes, twelve episodes total
Shahnaz Ahmed
@bookishpodcast · 3:10
And this was a book I swore could not be made into a TV show because there's so much internal dialogue and that audio clip did me in I can almost feel maybe why someone thinks the show is better. But I am beyond curious right now. Yes. So that was my clip from my upcoming podcast episode. If everything goes right, and if the edits go well, I should have it up on Monday on my podcast. So I hope you get to listen to it
Bowie Rowan
@bowie · 0:49
Also, I feel like kind of famous being given a shout out on your podcast. So thank you that made me really happy. So I'm looking forward to more conversations really soon and I will be talking more about normal people in just a bit
Bowie Rowan
@bowie · 4:59
It's amazing to me that I still feel the same kind of excitement when they see each other again, after a period of not talking at all. After everything that happens in episode three, with Connell asking someone else to what would the equivalent in the States be like the prom and Marianne just stopped going to school
Bowie Rowan
@bowie · 4:56
It's exciting to think about what's going to happen, even though I read the book and I already know the plot, I still feel incredibly invested in this moment seeing Miriam and Connell get back together. I'm anxious because I can't help but think what could go wrong again. But there's also that feeling of love is in the air possibility of bounds, which means something is probably going to go wrong again
Bowie Rowan
@bowie · 0:40
And if you've been listed sending along to this conversation on Normal People, I am sure that you would love to join the conversation on A Thousand Splendid Suns. Okay. Hope to hear from you soon
Shahnaz Ahmed
@bookishpodcast · 3:27
You have Marianne, and you have Connell back and forth, back and forth. And I'm kind of like, no, maybe you can compare and be a geek, too. And I don't know, it's just, like, and then you keep posting, and I'm like, just watch the d*** show. And I'm kind of like, I don't know when I'm going to start watching the show, I will. I will
Bowie Rowan
@bowie · 2:04
Episode six is only going to be halfway through this season, and as you've seen, I'm sort of slowly making my way through because I really want to sit with it and take my time with each episode if I can. But I do understand the compulsion to want to read the book again. I too have thought after I watched the show, I sort of want to read the book again after and do a comparison. It's almost like a book sandwich