I was not familiar with the Normal Gossip podcast, so it was the subject matter that made me pick up this boo However, while I found it engaging, it was an uneven exploration of gossip. The book mixes memoir, history, and pop culture, reframing gossip as not just as negative chatter but as a complex tool for community building, information sharing, and even personal safety. However, the overall impact is hampered by a disjointed structure. Some chapters lack cohesion and often repeat the same arguments rather than offering new perspectives. The heavy reliance on familiar and much-discussed pop culture references but lack of structural tightness, make this an interesting but ultimately mixed read. Probably more for her podcast fans or those entirely new to the subject.

I love gossip. If there is a conversation happening next to me on the tube, I will be tuning in. Kelsey McKinney is a fellow gossip fan and has carved a career out of it with the podcast Normal Gossip. Her book You Didn’t Hear This From Me is an exploration of gossip, its history, its usefulness and why we love it.

Part nonfiction exploration, part memoir, You Didn’t Hear This From Me covers whisper networks, celebrity gossip, and the role of gossip on reality TV shows. McKinney even looks at how AI is unable to gossip, highlighting how deeply human the compulsion is.

I really enjoyed You Didn’t Hear This From Me. It’s such a fun topic but McKinney also highlights the more serious aspects of gossip. I feel vindicated in my love of a new tidbit of news. I would definitely recommend it. I reckon it would be a nice one to listen to on audiobook too.

Normal Gossip heads rise! Of course I had to read this. Kelsey McKinney gets into the history of gossip, what it actually is (do we know? Can we all agree?) and the roles it plays in society.

You know I really learnt things from this. I very much come down on the side of gossip being important and valuable as long as it is not actively harmful. We have gained so much from gossip!

McKinney also weaves in personal stories which added so much. It is so interesting to learn how someone came to be so interested in a topic and I felt like I really understood her affinity for gossip. A great read!

I am not a non-fiction girlie but I love the ‘Normal Gossip’ podcast and the way Kelsey McKinney tells a story (plus gossip is near the top of my interests…) so I was overjoyed to get this ARC!

It was such an amusing read. As a young girl you’re told that gossip is bad, but it’s so much more. The way everything is woven together is seamless making it light but informative.

** I received this ARC from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review **