This Is Not A Book About Benedict Cumberbatch

Join us at Harry Hartog ANU for the launch and celebration of Tabitha Carvan's This Is Not A Book About Benedict Cumberbatch - to be followed with refreshments at aMBUSH Gallery.

About the Book

This is, as the title says, not actually a book about Benedict Cumberbatch.

In fact, it's a book about women and what we love, about what happens to women's passions after we leave adolescence and how the space for joy in our lives is squeezed ever smaller as we age, and why. More importantly, it's about what happens if you subvert that narrative and simply love something like you used to.

Drawing upon her personal experience of unexpectedly falling for the British actor Benedict Cumberbatch while stuck at home with two young children, Carvan challenges the reader to stop instinctively resisting the possibility of experiencing pleasure. Hers is clarion rallying cry: find your thing, whatever it may be, and love it like your life depends on it.

Funny, intelligent, transporting and liberating, this book is a total joy.

"Charming, tender, and deeply relatable for those of us who've found ourselves slightly lost in midlife. The sort of book that makes you want to be best friends with the author." - Meg Mason, author of SORROW AND BLISS

"Witty, erudite and fierce in its message - that women should seek joy and find fun. Happily, this book provides both in abundance. I loved it." - Jacqueline Maley, author of THE TRUTH ABOUT HER

"Remember that feeling you had as a kid, when you loved things wholeheartedly, boldly, and loudly? If you feel a sense that there is something missing from your life, some gap between who you are on the inside and who you are on the outside, then this is the book for you." - Eve Rodsky, author of FIND YOUR UNICORN SPACE and FAIR PLAY 

"In her warm, witty and unputdownable new book, Tabitha Carvan writes with seemingly effortless clarity about the vast and unexpected power of allowing ourselves to feel joy without shame. I read nodding along in recognition of how taking pleasure in the things we love can change our lives. Bravo!" Holly Ringland, author of THE LOST FLOWERS OF ALICE HART

"You know when you bite into a chocolate, and unexpectedly discover it's filled with delectable cherry kirsch that explodes into your mouth? That's this book. Original, highly entertaining, fast-paced, personal read that contains unexpected revelations at every corner. It's funny, it's smart, it's compelling. But most of all, it's a battle cry: sit up, pay attention and follow your heart and find joy. After all, our time on this earth is short. C'mon. The clock is ticking." - Ginger Gorman, author of TROLL HUNTING

"This really isn't a book about Benedict Cumberbatch. It's about so, so much more: Losing yourself and finding yourself, oppression and emancipation; sadness and joy. Tabitha Carvan's memoir will make you think and make you cackle. It's the most delightful book I've read in a long time." - Melinda Wenner Moyer, author of HOW TO RAISE KIDS WHO AREN'T ASSHOLES

"Intimate, self-deprecating ... like an Australian Caitlin Moran or Dolly Alderton ... an easy, lighthearted read about serious subject matter: feminism, passion, relationships and creativity, and owning the strength of the passions felt in childhood and adolescence." - Books+Publishing

"Carvan's self-aware approach wrings the absurdity out of her story to hilarious effect while touching on the realities of motherhood and fandom: "It's not just about what we love, but how that love figures in our lives, and how it makes us feel." The result is a weird-in-the-best-way account of self-discovery that brims with humor and insight." - Publishers Weekly, starred review

About The Author

Tabitha Carvan is Senior Writer for the ANU College of Science and a freelance writer on the side. She lives in Canberra and can be found at http://www.tabithacarvan.com/

This is an in-person indoor event, and according to ACT Health masks are mandatory. To help keep everyone safe, please ensure that you are familiar with, and follow, the advice from  ACT Health regarding COVID-19 exposures. Bookings are essential.