Saturday, February 23, 2013

Book Review Saturday: Bossypants by Tina Fey

At Christmas, I went to this bookstore in Denver called the Tattered Cover. Its one of my favorite places on earth. Big, huge store, lots of squashy chairs, used books, a coffee shop, independently owned, right on the 16th street Mall. I love going there, and I love spending my book money there. I purchased Tina Fey's Bossypants, among others, because it was finally out in paperback, and I have wanted to read it since everyone had read it three years ago. This book, I devoured. It's not particularly well written, and it's not particularly fascinating, but it was damn funny. The book chronicles the parts of Fey's life that she wants to talk about, like how her career got started, how she ended up on SNL, and how she started 30 Rock. It's a very self-deprecating look at her life. While some of it, I think, was exaggerated, other parts I found hysterical. I could absolutely identify with her early job as a secretary at the YMCA in Chicago. I loved her "climb to the top", and her chapter about having a kid and how you do so (and how judgmental everyone in the world is about it) really hit home (oh, and was hysterical). It is not a book to read if you want to know more about Fey's gossipy personal life. She doesn't talk about why a man slashed her face when she was 5. She doesn't talk about meeting her husband, or deciding to get married. She does talk about her decision to have kids, and I think, through the comedy, it's a really honest portrayal of her experience. She's not holier than thou, she's not judgmental, and she's really humble about her life, her beginnings, and her job. I found some of the things she discusses to be tedious (like how she says, over and over again, that she works weird hours, works late, works early, etc and how stressful that is - we get it, life is stressful, no matter what job you have). She does talk about how she can afford things that others can't, and she does talk about how annoying it is when people say to you "how do you juggle it all?". You just do, that's how. I thought this book was a good, light read. I thought it was WAY different from most of those books that say "You can do it all, and more!". I love the idea of a successful woman, however she defines her success. And I love the idea that she didn't give advice (except maybe facetiously, or when telling you the rules of improv, or something like that), she just does. Which is what most of us do anyways, right?

1 comment:

  1. I love her. Maybe try Mindy Kaling's book next. Also super funny.

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