This audiobook was a miss for me. I was ready to purchase it for our library based on the description, but it didn't live up to my expectations. For fans of the author and those who are seeking the memoir of a gossiper, this might be a good fit. But as a exploration of gossip and gossip culture, this disjointed effort missed the mark.

I had never previously listened to the Normal Gossip podcast, but the premise of this book intrigued me. I really enjoyed this audiobook! It's my favorite kind of nonfiction, narrative and it just flows and is easy to listen to. McKinney is very thoughtful and provided so much insight and background into gossip, its function in society, and why we find it so enticing. I love that she shines a serious spotlight on a topic that is seen as silly and superfluous. I listened to the audiobook, which is perfectly narrated by the author. She is such an engaging reader. Recommended if you enjoy books with cultural commentary and sociology.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing this audiobook. All thoughts are my own.

this was very refreshing and entertaining and i’d recommend it even to people who usually struggle with non-fiction!
the essays were all linked by a common theme, but i love how they approached gossip from such different angles. while they were inspired by personal experiences, they were also extremely well-researched and written (as well as narrated) in a very engaging way.

A book about gossip? Who can I tell?



(Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the audio audio ARC in exchange for my honest review.)

Thank you Netgalley for this audio edition of You Didn't Hear This From Me by Kelsey McKinney.

Who doesn't love a bit of gossip? But if you're like me, gossip was taught to be poisonous and harmful. McKinney masterfully breaks down the allure of gossip, along with how gossip has been weaponized against women by the patriarchy, and how gossip can even keep us safer. It's juicy, fun, and informative. A light and readable nonfiction book.

This was a fun and casual deep dive into gossip and the cultural tradition around it and feeding it.

Created and narrated by podcast Kelsey McKinney this audiobook has a very podcast like vibe and feels like you’re listening to a long deep dive into gossip, it’s history, some actual gossip and Kelsey’s relationship with gossip from childhood to now.

I found this to be a fun and easy lesson and Kelsey‘s narration was enjoyable to listen to. She has a casual style that feels like she’s having a chat with friends while delivering her narration.

Smart, funny, and unexpectedly profound—You Didn’t Hear This From Me reshapes how we think about gossip and its role in our lives. Kelsey McKinney brings warmth and insight to a topic that’s too often dismissed.

Kelsey McKinney quite literally wrote the book on gossip—and then narrated it herself, doing so expertly!

I thoroughly enjoyed the many examples she shared about the different roles gossip plays in our lives—the good, the bad, and, of course, the irresistibly juicy. Some of the stories were downright hilarious, perfectly illustrating why gossip has such an undeniable pull.

I also paid close attention to her critical insights on gossip within the church, reflecting on them long after I finished listening. There’s always room for growth!

In many ways, I saw this book as a sociological study on gossip—but with plenty of sass and humor. I’d especially recommend it to parents of teenage girls, as it offers fascinating insights into how gossip shapes relationships and social dynamics.

I gave this book 4.5 stars. The missing half-star? Simply because I would have loved even more research—it was that compelling!

And just for the record, my Advance Reader Copy had no influence on my glowing review. This one earns its praise fair and square!

Super interesting history behind gossiping and all the positives that come of it. I feel less guilty lol. Thank you NetGalley for an advanced audio copy.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was just okay for me. I had never listened to her podcast so I wasn’t familiar with the author. It was a quick book. The language was a little coarse at times, so if you don’t like the *f* bomb, you should bypass this one. The author also does express some political views, so if you don’t like to read about that, avoid this one.

I’m a big fan of the Normal Gossip podcast so this audiobook is a real gift. I love Kelsey McKinney’s voice and humor. In this book she grapples with perceptions of gossip, the value of whisper networks, the truth of “cancellation.” The book is funny but also heart-wrenching. I couldn’t listen to it fast enough. I loved it.

McKinney has a great writing style- very accessible and entertaining. I enjoyed reading her perspective on gossip and pop culture, and the way she mixed in some personal memoir. I'd highly recommend for fans of essay collections and cultural critiques.

The narration was on point. You can tell she has plenty of experience in the audio department.
I had never heard of McKinney's podcast Normal Gossip before, but I'm going to give it a listen now.

An interesting book from a likeable author and narrator. The history of gossip and the analysis of the morality of talking about other people is such an interesting concept that I found myself totally drawn into this book at times.

I enjoy the podcast Normal Gossip. This book feels like an elongated intro to her podcasts where she discusses these ideas with her guests. It felt a little lacking not to have that feedback of another person having similar or completely different ideas and thoughts regarding gossip. But Kelsey's thoughts, knowledge and experiences are interesting enough to fill in those gaps.

My only big issue was that some of the ideas did feel like a bit of a stretch. She clearly had ideas but that didn't formulate well. Its only about one or two chapters but in a book as short on this one it felt a little jarring. My thoughts would have been to edit it out but its already a short novel, which makes me think they may have been padding and not fully realized ideas.

Overall, though an enjoyable non-fiction novel in a short burst that I think would be enjoyed by fans and not fans of the podcast and would DEFINITELY be enjoyed by gossips everywhere.

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. The audiobook was narrated by the author who of course, did amazing! I would suggest all the podcast fans hop right on over to the audiobook in the off season of the podcast :)

Enjoyable book that covers gossip in all its forms! McKinney also veers the conversation (this book does have a conversational tone, which fits the podcast host nicely) into some of the science of hearing and listening. A bit meandering, but overall a nice listen.

An interesting look into the concept of gossip. Who gossips? Why do we gossip? What constitutes gossip? How does gossip find its way into almost every aspect of our lives? Narration was nicely done and kept me engaged.

Can you believe she really wrote an entire college thesis paper as a book on gossip?

Thank you to #NetGalley and Hachette Audio for the copy of #YouDidntHearThisFromMe in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

I pick up nonfiction reads every so often, but I generally have to be in a very particular mood for them. Over the years I've found they can get pretty dicey in terms of how the authors position themselves on topics they may or may not have any business writing about. Kelsey McKinney choosing to write about gossip is an interesting choice that gets close to this line in some ways but she does a good job of letting the reader know her biases from the beginning.

I have never listened to Mckinney's podcast Normal Gossip, nor did I know anything about her before picking up this book. Yet I feel like I've gotten to know her, even just a little bit. That's more than I can say about some tell all memoir style books that some YouTubers have put out to say the least. McKinney gives pieces of her life to dissect what it is that draws her - and others - to gossip. It's a raw look at why we talk about others, and as someone with a journalism background it's a bit off putting to hear her fully recommend that people make up parts of the story under the guise of "it's what gossip is about" while also railing against what has happened to celebrities like Brittany.

I can see McKinney warring with herself through this book and trying to make each of these sections fit her ultimate thesis that gossip is good actually. I think she would have had a better time of achieving something if she said *some* gossip is good, or gossip *can be* good instead of putting a blanket statement on it. The sections on the church, Brittany, and whisper networks are so interesting! But to spend a skewed amount of time on reality TV and the bonus sections on how to tell a good piece of gossip I think weakens her argument. These both play a role in the overall narrative here, but it just leaves the whole book falling flat for me at the end when the beginning had a lot of promise.

Overall, I think McKinney did a great job narrating her work. It is very obvious she works in audio, and I always appreciate when a writer has the opportunity to narrate themselves. If you're looking for a quick read on communications and you like McKinney maybe pick this up. Though I'm not sure I'd go out of my way to recommend this when there's been so many works done on gossip, rhetoric, and the like already.

✨ Review ✨ You Didn't Hear This From Me, written and narrated by Kelsey McKinney

Thanks to Grand Central Publishing, Hachette Audio, and #netgalley for the gifted advanced copy/ies of this book!

This was such a fun reflection on gossip. Chapters ranged from talking about AI and if its able to gossip and tell stories to the function of gossip being preached as un-Christian (and thus can't be used to express discontent or inappropriate behavior of church leaders toward youth) to how gossip can function to help society. I appreciated the many ways in which she stretched my ideas of the meaning of “gossip” and how it functions in our society throughout this book.

While in many ways this book was thoughtful and challenged my understandings, it's also just full of fun. This is full of pop culture references key in millennial life -- from Mean Girls to Britney Spears and much, much more, and I wanted to cheer and laugh and have fun right alongside the author. So many of these topics I wanted to chat about with others as I listened, which to me is the marker of a great non-fiction read!

🎧 I love when authors narrate their own non-fiction reads, and her podcast background brings some of this fun chatter into the audiobook as she tells her stories.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: non-fiction, essays, pop culture, memoir
Length: 7 hours 14 minutes
Pub Date: Feb 11, 2025

Read this if you like:
⭕️ pop culture non fiction reads
⭕️ audiobooks by podcasters (on topics aligned with their podcast topic)
⭕️ gossiping with your friends
⭕️ taking down the patriarchy

Part memoir, part pop culture criticism, part love letter to the art of gossip - and narrated in Kelsey’s familiar voice for audiobook consumers - this felt like the coziest hug. Each chapter focuses on a different topic: religion, reality TV, Britney Spears, etc. It’s well-researched, and though none of the information itself is groundbreaking, the tidbits and tone make it a delightful experience.

I thoroughly enjoyed this read and I was impressed by how Kelsey was inspired by her work on the podcast, but didn't use it as a crutch for outlining the book. She really expanded on the topic of gossip in meaningful and unexpected ways, giving listeners and fans an experience that is familiar yet unique and new at the same time. I also felt that she blended evidence and fact with personal narrative and opinion, creating an even more engaging narrative.

A huge fan of the podcast so thought I would give this a go! I much preferred the second half to the first half (more about religion etc). I am glad I read it but I think I was expecting something more or just more tid bits of gossip - those were the best bits.

If you have listened to Normal Gossip, you are well aware of Kelsey McKinney's flair for telling a good story- whether or not it's "true" it's some good goss. This book is a lot more of the same. It didn't work for me as well as I had hoped, as it felt very of-the-moment in a way that almost feels dated even from when it was written- but the overall theme was fun and enjoyable. The strongest parts were when she talked about her own life and her literal hearing loss, which she wrote about eloquently and relates it to the overheard nature of gossip. I thought many of the quotes and stories were on-point. And I just love Kelsey McKinney's unique voice- so having her read the book herself was perfect. The audiobook gets four full stars for entertainment value. For the content, perhaps a bit less for me. But you din't hear that from me!