Pip Drysdale, THE CLOSE-UP
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[0:42]Hip Dry Style is the author of the close-up.
[0:45]Hip is an author, musician, and actor.
[0:48]She grew up in Africa, Canada, and Australia, became an adult in New York and London, and lives on a steady diet of coffee, dreams, and literature.
[0:56]All four of her previous novels, The Sunday Girl, The Strangers We Know, The Paris Affair, and The Next Girl, have been best sellers in Australia.
[1:04]Welcome, Hip. Thank you so much for coming on Moms. Don't have time to read books to discuss the close-up. Congratulations.
[1:11]Thank you so much for having me, hey?
[1:13]Oh, it's so great. As you know, I read your book a while ago. I was posting. As I was reading, I was loving.
[1:20]It was so great. Tell listeners all about what your book is about, and then we'll get into you.
[1:26]Okay, so the novel follows Zoe Ann Weiss, who is a struggling author living in LA.
[1:32]She was billed as the next big thing as an author, but then things don't go quite a plan.
[1:36]So her first novel bombs, and she ends up working as a florist, which is not her dream, obviously.
[1:43]It's kind of like her dead-end, day job for her.
[1:46]Speaking of florists, by the way, you do have these beautiful flowers right behind you.
[1:49]So I hope this is on theme that this is inspired by the book.
[1:53]It's like, I didn't know anything about flowers before this book.
[1:56]No, I do.
[1:58]Zoe is working in the dead-end job as a florist, and to make matters worse, she has a massive writers' block.
[2:04]And her agent keeps pushing her for this next book that she has to write, because she's contracted for it.
[2:11]And she doesn't really know what she's going to do to turn her life around.
[2:13]So everything changes for her. When one night, she reconnects with her ex, all an ex-flame, Zach Hamilton.
[2:21]Now, Zach, when they met the first time, was just some hot guy with a dream of becoming an ex.
[2:26]But things are lame.
[2:28]People can just say, I'm just some hot guy with a dream.
[2:31]That's me.
[2:32]Yeah, I can't.
[2:33]I'm sorry.
[2:34]And that's like a lot of ballet, but he is no longer a hot guy with a dream.
[2:38]Now, she has her careers gone down the tubes, and his career has taken off.
[2:44]So now he's this up-and-coming massive superstar actor with PR people and paparazzi and fans.
[2:50]And when she hooks up with him again, I mean, she really likes him.
[2:54]But she's also thinking to herself, well, this is great.
[2:56]Now I know what I'm going to write my book about.
[2:58]I can write a bar behind this celebrity curtain.
[3:00]You know, they make a sign in NDA, but she's like, well, it's okay.
[3:04]I'll get around that, Lord knows how.
[3:05]But the bad part about that is that soon enough, her name and photograph end up in the press.
[3:13]And so now everyone knows her name, which sounds like a great thing if you're a novelist and you're trying to sell your book.
[3:19]But the problem with everyone knowing your name is everybody knows your name, including Zach Stalker.
[3:24]He was very keen to get rid of Zoe.
[3:27]Zach Stalker, who has read Zoe's first book and is now enacting all the creepy plot twists in her first book against her.
[3:34]It's such a great idea.
[3:36]It's such a great idea.
[3:37]It's such a great execution.
[3:38]What was it that was left on her windshield and she was completely freaked out like some pig hard or something?
[3:43]What was it?
[3:44]Yeah, pig hard.
[3:46]Yeah, it was like, I think it was bovine.
[3:48]I think I went with a cow hot.
[3:50]I was, I'm sorry.
[3:51]Oh, sorry.
[3:51]Gigable all the different pictures of like different marks going, which one would be big enough I had to see from a distance?
[3:57]I mean, that is like a sick thing.
[3:59]It's free to be Googling.
[4:00]It's like, hey, I know if someone looks at my Google history, I'm done.
[4:06]Well, the idea of like your past books coming to life to haunt you is so genius because like who wants them really to come alive?
[4:14]I mean, I guess something.
[4:16]Well, I think like if you're writing thrillers, right, you're going to be writing your very worst nightmares because it's like your biggest fears are things that you're sticking into your books.
[4:24]So if you've written a novel, like if Zoe has written a novel about a stalker, which is what she has, it's going to be her worst fear about what could happen, right?
[4:31]So then for that to be reenacted in real life with her as a victim, it really can't get worse than that, right?
[4:37]Because it's like your darkest thoughts coming back to be so.
[4:42]So does that mean these are your worst thoughts?
[4:46]Sort of.
[4:47]I mean, I think I could probably go worse, but like oh my gosh, I better cut my on brand.
[4:56]Yeah.
[4:57]Okay.
[4:58]Well, I love the LA setting.
[5:00]I loved even the florist back story.
[5:03]There aren't that many.
[5:04]I mean, I guess T Williams just did a book about a florist, but I don't know.
[5:09]It's so beautiful.
[5:09]Like you can't help but feel like you're getting the benefits of being around flowers, even just reading about flowers.
[5:15]And then of course when she drives them up to Zach's house and they spill because of the dogs and now she's in trouble.
[5:21]And like you can just feel the pain and the like mortification and all of it to go into the back story of the florist.
[5:30]How you came up with that is the job and what fun research you did have to do.
[5:35]Okay.
[5:35]Well, when I start books, usual generally when I start books, I kind of just start writing.
[5:41]And so the very first scene I needed her to be seeing Zach again, like I was just writing and this is what was happening in the scene.
[5:47]Like I didn't know where it was going to go or anything at this point.
[5:50]And I kept thinking to myself, well, how the hell is a girl who's not famous going to end up in the same room as someone who was who is famous.
[5:58]If like even if and they need to have known each other before, so there has to be a reason that she's put in the same room.
[6:05]So that gave me options like catering or I mean, there are a number of different things she could do.
[6:11]But floristry was the one that's like the most beautiful and fun.
[6:14]I mean, who doesn't like flowers, right?
[6:16]So yeah, then I went down a whole rabbit hole of it thinking, well, what kind of floristry?
[6:19]Because you know, you think floristry and then you start looking into it and I'm kind of specific about my details.
[6:24]I was like, and now we have all different sorts. I didn't know this before.
[6:28]So first I was doing like Japanese floristry and then I realized I did like a whole heap of Japanese floristry classes to learn about it.
[6:35]And then I realized that actually you can't transport those bases.
[6:39]You have to do it on site and I'm thinking that's not going to work in my scene.
[6:43]So I changed in the floristry and then that allowed me to give a free theme and what kind of game together.
[6:50]But it's definitely not a seamless process.
[6:52]Interesting.
[6:53]Wow.
[6:53]Who knew?
[6:54]Like you just don't know when you read a novel, all the things that go into it and I'm picturing you now, you know, assembling, assembling intricate Japanese floral arrangements and having to throw away all that knowledge, but at least you can have like prettier dinner parties now.
[7:06]So that's good.
[7:07]Okay.
[7:09]So the parts also about the stalker and why the stalker, you know, appears and even when she's going by the way,
[7:19]one apartment complex that you described, I swear I lived in when I lived in LA like in the late 90s where she's like when she parks and she's going on.
[7:29]It's not where she lives.
[7:30]It's where her friend lives where she goes and visits and the, you know, towards the beginning and there's like the, you know, the arbor and he's waiting there.
[7:38]That wasn't her house.
[7:40]Oh, I think it was.
[7:41]I think that is her house and the guy she's sleeping with downstairs is standing out with the woman.
[7:46]Yes.
[7:47]Yes.
[7:48]And I actually base that on.
[7:50]I found his street and everything, but I didn't really love any of the buildings because they were all like these really new build ones.
[7:55]So I base that on the Melrose place building.
[7:58]Of course I remember.
[8:00]Yes.
[8:01]It's like, it's like what dark things could happen in Melrose place building.
[8:05]Totally.
[8:06]I lived in like a Melrose place type of building because I was obsessed with Melrose place when I moved to LA myself and so had to seek out something similar.
[8:13]But it was like a beautify only live there a few months.
[8:16]But like Jayla was living in the other side before she was like huge and just hang out by the pool.
[8:21]Anyway, it looked just the way you described.
[8:23]And I was like, I wonder if she was on Havenhurst Avenue.
[8:25]But anyway, not exactly the same.
[8:29]Okay.
[8:30]So why is this her worst fear, your worst fear worth like pursuing a novel form.
[8:37]All of these things are out of your control.
[8:40]Like where does this come from for you?
[8:42]I think for me, the thing that you mean what was my scary about this book for me.
[8:47]Yeah.
[8:48]Okay.
[8:49]Yeah.
[8:50]Where is the personal link?
[8:51]What are you most worried about?
[8:52]Well, I think when you're creative, I mean, you know this.
[8:54]Like you put things out into the world.
[8:56]And then you really have very, you have no control over what happens once they're out there.
[9:01]And you do your best.
[9:02]You try to be a good person.
[9:03]You do everything you can.
[9:04]But ultimately, you don't really have any control after that point.
[9:08]And so people can could take your work and use it against you in a way.
[9:12]And there would be very little you could do about it.
[9:14]And then while I was actually thinking about this today, you know, if you're super famous and you get a stalker,
[9:19]you can pay for bodyguards and security guards and great security systems.
[9:23]If you are a regular person, you know, who doesn't have any kind of public profile at all,
[9:28]you can probably like move house, get off social media and hide, you know,
[9:32]make it that they can't like you could like quit your job or whatever.
[9:35]The moment you have any kind of public profile and or your fame adjacent or something, which so it is,
[9:40]you don't really have those options.
[9:43]So it's like you kind of you're even more susceptible because you don't you have the you have the public profile.
[9:49]So you have people knowing things about you that they might not otherwise know and having access to you and access to your work and your inner thoughts and what have you.
[9:57]But you don't have the.
[10:00]the means by which to protect yourself in the way that you might have if you were massively famous
[10:06]and successful. So it just felt like a very vulnerable place to be. And I think for most creatives
[10:12]that is a vulnerable place. I mean, the internet is like a cesspool a lot of the time. Like,
[10:16]you know, and I think a lot of us struggle with it. It's true. I have a friend who went on some
[10:24]deep from some app, whatever. And then the guy wasn't leaving her alone and was emailing
[10:29]her employers and doing all these sketchy things. And she didn't know what to do. I mean, it's
[10:35]terrifying. There's no good answer. Yeah. And it's like the police, there's a limit to what they
[10:39]can do. So, you know, when they know who it is, I think they've got a little bit more scope,
[10:43]but all they can really do is go and say, hey, don't do that. And then sometimes that will inflame
[10:48]the situation. And you don't know what you don't really want to do that because they don't make it worse.
[10:53]So yeah, it's like we're all one post away from ruining our lives.
[10:58]I know. Oh, wait. You're living in the edge, man. We're all just living on the edge.
[11:04]Wait. Tell me about you as a writer and you as a person. So you grew up, where did you grow up?
[11:11]Where did when did you decide to be a writer? What was your career? Like, just give me your whole
[11:14]little life story. Okay. It's very convoluted, but I'll give it a go. Great. Even better.
[11:19]I grew up all over really. I grew up in South Africa and also in Zimbabwe and also in Australia.
[11:25]Most of it was in Australia. And then also in Canada for a couple of years, I actually learned to
[11:31]talk in Canada. So my accent is still a bit all over the place. And then why did you live in all
[11:36]these places? Well, I think my parents were very keen to leave Africa when I was a little kid.
[11:41]So we left when I was seven. And then, I mean, I've already learned to talk at that point,
[11:45]we've already been to Canada. I think Canada was a first go. They were like, let's get out of here.
[11:50]So we went, we moved to Canada. And then my mum got pregnant with my sister and decided it was
[11:55]way too cold. So then we came to Australia. And that was a lot warmer, probably too warm, but warmer.
[12:05]And then we ended up back in Zimbabwe for a few years when I was a teenager. I think it was
[12:12]three years maybe four years because my dad was from there originally. And then that Zimbabwe
[12:17]didn't go, wasn't going well. So we left again, came back to Australia. And I moved to New York
[12:23]soon after that for three years. And I went back to Australia, went to uni, went to London for a
[12:29]few years, came back to Australia because my heart was broken. And you always go back to your mum
[12:34]when you're heart's broken. And back to London for a bit. And like it's just been back and forth a
[12:39]lot. So yeah, tell me about the heartbreak. Can you tell me what happened? One was one. There's so
[12:45]many men. But when you had to go up to a different continent. And I was, that one, I was crazy in love
[12:50]with him. And I think it just didn't work. I think like, you know, he was one of these types,
[12:56]like, I don't know how much you know about Britain, but they've got very different. Like,
[13:00]he was one of these types who were who'd gone to Eden and had like, had every possible advantage.
[13:06]And he just had a very particular way of being. And I have a very particular way of being
[13:11]just like, I don't like people being mean to me. Like, I approve of that way of being. I
[13:19]think that's pretty. Yeah. Yeah. So like the two didn't match that one. Like,
[13:23]okay, loved each other. But ultimately, like, you know, I think he just, it just didn't work.
[13:29]So, but I was absolutely heartbroken by that one. Yeah. So went back to Australia for a few years.
[13:35]I think it was two years. And I went back to London. It's been all over the place. Now I'm based in
[13:39]Sydney. And I've been here for two years, which is actually really lovely. It's such a beautiful
[13:45]city. So plan on staying. One never knows. Australia is number one on my, on my wish list. I feel like
[13:55]I love all Australian books, all Australian authors. Like everything. I'm like, wait, this is like
[14:01]the subset of stuff that I like here. You know, but like sorted for me. It's pretty awesome.
[14:07]I think he really liked it. And the flight isn't too bad from you. You're in New York, aren't you?
[14:11]The flight from New York actually is bad. I'm not going to lie to you. It's like 20 hours.
[14:15]I'm going. Yeah. LA is like 16 New York's quite small. I mean, I could definitely get a lot done.
[14:20]So that's good. Next time I have a big project of all board of flight to Sydney that
[14:27]compelled me to finish. Wait. So when did writing get into your, when did you start writing?
[14:32]Okay. So I was always in creative things. Like, first of all, when I moved to New
[14:36]New York, I was acting. I did that for three years. Like, thankfully, the internet. I mean,
[14:41]like TikTok and stuff wasn't a thing back then. So it's all in someone's like draw some way of
[14:46]thing. Goodness. Was it like stage acting or film TV? I did really bad guerrilla films. Like,
[14:52]you know, these really low budget kind of films, which I did really enjoyed because you get like
[14:56]this lighting guy. He'd come from this massive thing and he'd come and do this side project after
[15:00]hours. And we'd be filming like at midnight because that was the only time we could get the venue.
[15:04]And I kind of liked it, but I was also 20 years old. So you like that stuff when you're 20 years old,
[15:09]right? It seems fun. So and then I also did some awful Broadway, which was really fun as well.
[15:15]Like, I really, really loved it. And then then after that, while I was there, I learned guitar
[15:22]because I had a friend who taught guitar. And like, I just picked it up and started writing
[15:25]songs and stuff. And then I moved back to Australia and started writing songs and made a couple of
[15:30]records. And they were kind of, I don't know. I just played cafes and get stuff played on the radio.
[15:35]And like, it was very, it was like here, but that was kind of what I wanted. You know, it was just like
[15:40]very hippie. I don't hear being what I was back when I was like early 20s. And then in 2015, suddenly,
[15:48]I just like, I don't know. It's like all the other stuff fell away. And writing books was the thing
[15:52]that was interesting to me. I think before then, it always felt too big. Somehow, it's like three
[15:58]verses in a chorus. It's hard. I don't give me wrong. It's hard. But it's controllable. And it's a bit
[16:03]like acting. Somebody gives you the script. So writing books felt like a huge, huge undertaking.
[16:09]And I just didn't think I'd be able to. And then I kind of had this story idea that wouldn't leave
[16:16]me alone around 2015. And I just really committed to it. And I did it. And you know, I always kind
[16:25]of thought in the back of my mind, I'm going to get this published. And I was just so,
[16:29]I was so hell bent on it. And I did get it published. Like it did actually like, that was the one
[16:34]that was like my breakout novel in Australia and it did so well so quickly here. And like, what
[16:39]was that called and what was that about? That was called the Sunday girl. And it was about a woman
[16:44]coming out of a very toxic relationship. And what I say toxic, I mean, hugely manipulative and
[16:50]kind of violent and just very bad, right? She kind of, she knows that she could take like the
[16:56]high ground or like, you know, cower, but she was just like, screw this. I'm going to get revenge.
[17:00]And so she's like, she knows a lot about him and about his life. So she goes to take revenge on him.
[17:05]But things do not go to plan, obviously. So yeah, so it's a bit of a downward spiral. But it was
[17:10]a lot of, actually, I don't know if it was fun to read too, right? I think it was a little bit
[17:15]more traumatizing. But it was really, but it did really well. And like, and yeah, I was quite
[17:20]part of that box. So long time ago now, though. Okay. So that was a breakout hit. You were very excited.
[17:27]And then what I came out in the US during COVID when all those stores were closed and it bombed.
[17:34]And what I said, I mean, bombed. Okay. So I had a really big success in Australia. And I was
[17:40]like, you just assumed like, I think I was saying naive because I'd never had a book come up before.
[17:44]I didn't realize that like, you know, things don't always go that way. Sometimes they're
[17:49]very, very bad. Like, and what happened for me the second time. But then I used that to write
[17:55]the, this box, the close up. So if I didn't have that experience, I wouldn't know what it felt
[17:59]like to have something completely just die in the water. So yeah, yeah, the tides of, of book
[18:05]publishing are quite unpredictable. Yeah. So in particular, you really have to take the long view.
[18:12]You can't get to bent out a shape that the imminent stuff. Wow. So knowing what happened last
[18:18]time, how did you approach even this book, the marketing, like psychologically, it sounds like
[18:24]you're in a good place. But do you do anything like totally different? You see, what the first one
[18:28]I didn't have an agent, that one got so easy. I hadn't didn't have an agent at all. I got the
[18:33]publisher without an agent and then they sold it on. So I think about an agent behind me for my
[18:38]first one, it probably would have gone completely differently, especially my agent because she's
[18:42]awesome. So that, that is different this time because I do have her also, I think the publishing,
[18:48]we don't have COVID, which is helpful. And also, I think like the publisher who's doing it seems
[18:54]really behind it and they're really good about, I'm doing it. And also, I'm working with a PR
[18:58]person this time, which I didn't do last time. And I really think that's massively helpful.
[19:02]Because Australia, that's not something you do. That was suggested, like apparently people do that
[19:07]in the US all the time. I had no idea. So I think that has helped. And yeah, I mean, I feel much
[19:13]better about this one. But don't get me wrong, I was traumatized when people do well. I like,
[19:18]I was really upset. So how do you handle it when you get really upset? Like, what's your go to?
[19:24]Oh, I cry. I cry. And I think that one I was already going to get EMD off or something else,
[19:30]which is like this thing where they make you look at like, like the blanks your mind of bad things.
[19:35]So I just go, I was like, we just zap another one. Yeah. And you just like throw this on as well.
[19:42]Can I get a value pack please if you are get rid of this one too, because I think it's holding back.
[19:47]So I feel like I am the last person to try EMDR. I think I have to go. I have to just
[19:55]reach so good. Like if there's just, like I wouldn't get rid of everything.
[20:00]she thinks some stuff is quite helpful as a writer,
[20:03]like it's good to have some scars,
[20:04]it's good to have some wounds.
[20:05]And it doesn't get rid of things,
[20:06]but it does lower the volume of them.
[20:08]So you just pick a couple,
[20:10]just so you're not overlaided, kind of.
[20:12]Okay.
[20:13]So how do you feel like your background?
[20:16]I don't think I've ever even spoken to somebody
[20:18]who's lived in so many disparate places all over.
[20:21]How did that inform how you see the world
[20:25]and how you write about emotion
[20:26]and does it change from place to place?
[20:28]or do you feel like people are more similar
[20:30]than one might think or the opposite?
[20:32]Like, what's your takeaway?
[20:34]I think people are people,
[20:36]are people, are people no matter where you are.
[20:38]I think ultimately, even if you look back in time
[20:41]and you read things from like, you know, 500 years ago,
[20:44]you've still, I mean,
[20:45]I remember just being the wife of Bath at school.
[20:47]And I mean, I feel like I get hurt, okay?
[20:50]So that's true also, right?
[20:52]So I don't think people so much are different,
[20:55]but I think that by moving a lot,
[20:57]you do become quite attuned to noticing things
[21:02]and picking things up in your environment
[21:04]that I might not otherwise be.
[21:06]And I think that that's quite helpful
[21:08]as a skill when you're writing books
[21:10]because you go to a place
[21:13]and you immediately kind of start figuring it out.
[21:17]And that comes from being a kid moving
[21:19]to so many different countries
[21:21]and having to figure it out
[21:22]because it feels like a sense of survival
[21:24]when you're little, doesn't it?
[21:25]You wanna fit in, right?
[21:27]So I think it definitely plays into what I notice
[21:33]and what I put in my books.
[21:34]And probably the themes that I put in my books.
[21:37]So for example, with this book,
[21:38]I would never have put the close up in a different city
[21:41]because it's all about the American dream
[21:43]and wanting fame and like the dark things that come with that.
[21:46]And so to me, it had to be somewhere
[21:48]while it could be somewhere like New York
[21:50]or London or whatever, LA is like quintessentially that, you know?
[21:53]And when I went to LA,
[21:55]the first thing I have noticed,
[21:56]apart from the fact that I felt so damn hopeful
[21:59]the moment I got off the aeroplane, it was so weird.
[22:01]It was like, I was in fear, weird hope.
[22:03]Like, I think I've got it in there.
[22:05]There's not quite a sense of possibility, right?
[22:07]Cause it really felt like that.
[22:09]But I was really blown away by the light
[22:12]and I'm quite sensitive to things like like,
[22:14]and I remember thinking, I get why I'm moving
[22:17]like the movie industry set up here
[22:19]and I remember thinking about it
[22:20]and looking at the light thinking,
[22:23]it's kind of like it feels like hope,
[22:24]but you know, hope takes you,
[22:26]can take you in all the best places
[22:28]and all the worst places, you know,
[22:29]can leave you in either direction.
[22:31]And so you see, I don't know if I would notice those things
[22:35]if I had not lived in lots of different places.
[22:37]Cause maybe I wouldn't,
[22:39]I wouldn't look at the world that way, but it's so hard
[22:43]to know, isn't it?
[22:44]Yeah.
[22:45]Well, that was interesting, good, you know.
[22:48]So for the close up, what is something you want readers
[22:51]to take away once they put it back on the shelf?
[22:54]Like, what do you want them to,
[22:56]how do you want them to be kind of changed
[22:58]after reading it?
[22:59]Like, what do you want?
[23:01]So much to tell all this without ruining it.
[23:03]Cause I mean, always, I want people to have fun, right?
[23:08]So I always be like kind of amused
[23:11]and feel all the feelings and what have you.
[23:13]But there's a real social commentary going on in this book,
[23:18]specifically the ending.
[23:20]And I mean, specifically the very, very very last line,
[23:23]actually from, like, I think it won't read it out loud
[23:27]and rewind it for anyone.
[23:29]And I mean, most people that have read it
[23:32]and talked to me afterwards have been like,
[23:34]you know, there's kind of a sense of acknowledgement
[23:37]of, yeah, that's how it is.
[23:38]Do you know, like, I suppose for me,
[23:43]I wanted to do that because it's like,
[23:45]you know, like, but how do I say this without ruining
[23:48]any of the plot twists?
[23:50]I think it's important to me that I reflect the world back
[23:53]to itself, the way that it actually is,
[23:56]because that's without like, costing judgment
[23:58]in any one direction or at least one of my work.
[24:02]So then people can make their own choices about things
[24:04]and the decisions about things and see them clearly
[24:06]and go, yeah, you know, that's, I don't try to write,
[24:10]like, I'm not trying to change reality in my books.
[24:13]I want to reflect it back, but amazing.
[24:16]Do you have advice for aspiring authors?
[24:19]Oh, just keep going.
[24:20]Like, I know it's boring that advice,
[24:22]but it really is the only advice at that.
[24:24]And I would say, try to find and edit it or work
[24:28]with relatively early, like, I didn't even know
[24:31]that that sort of thing existed when I wrote my first draft.
[24:33]But then once I had a first draft and I sent it,
[24:37]I think it was called, I remember, but it was in the UK
[24:41]and it was called a literary agency,
[24:42]like a literary consultancy.
[24:44]And they would take a manuscript
[24:47]and pay you with an editor.
[24:48]And I just learned so much through the process
[24:50]and I still learned so much through the process
[24:52]of working with editors.
[24:53]So I'm always a really big fan of like, don't give up,
[24:58]do it the best you can, keep turning up on the page
[25:00]and then get help, you know, give it to an editor,
[25:03]see what they say, learn from them,
[25:04]take it back, get excited about the next draft,
[25:06]and understand it's gonna be way harder
[25:08]than you ever thought it would,
[25:10]because it always is, every book, right?
[25:12]Yes.
[25:14]Okay, last question is Pip, your real name?
[25:16]Yes.
[25:17]Well, it's short for Philippa.
[25:20]Perfect.
[25:21]There'd be a short for Elizabeth.
[25:22]So there you go.
[25:23]Hi, I think Paul, I was wondering that I,
[25:25]yeah, here's to, here's to fun nicknames.
[25:27]I actually hated having a nickname growing up
[25:29]because I felt like it was such a pain in class
[25:31]and everything and I don't know.
[25:33]But also, no, you wouldn't be in the role
[25:36]would you, because I was thinking that would be lost,
[25:37]but yeah, but yeah, it'd be a cool one though
[25:39]because you never really hear it.
[25:41]You're the first one.
[25:42]Mange, like great expectations,
[25:45]I haven't heard Pip very often, you know, Dickens.
[25:48]I won't win it.
[25:51]Anyway, so much fun to talk to you.
[25:53]Great book, fabulous.
[25:55]I am sure that your experience from COVID
[25:59]with this book in the US is not going to be repeated
[26:01]and I won't be reading for you.
[26:03]So congrats.
[26:04]Thank you, Nachi.
[26:05]Okay, lovely, thanks.
[26:06]All right.
[26:07]Bye, Pip, thank you.
[26:11]Thanks for listening to mom's Don't Have Time to Read Books.
[26:14]If you love it, please leave a review and follow us
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