Bossypants by Tina Fey

I don't think that I could express how much I LOOOOOVED this book. Go out and read it now. I finished it last night and have already hounded 2 or 3 people in the office to add this to their reading list.

I knew going into this book that I would like it and it would be a good read, but I did not anticipate how much I would enjoy this book. I spent most of yesterday sprawled out on the couch reading...and reading excerpts out loud to Ethan. This is one of the first books that I've actually used the highlighter function of the Kindle for. There were just too many funny parts that I wanted to remember.



The book is a series of essays that touch on a variety of things that have happened in her life. We find out about the big stuff like: being a writer for SNL, impersonating Sarah Palin, and life on 30 Rock. But more interestingly we hear about what life was like as a child for Tina, how she grew into the comedy scene, her intimidating father, beauty tips (sarcasm), what it's like at a photoshoot, having kids, etc. There were several laugh out loud moments for me.

The most interesting part of the book is that it all has a very feminist undertone. She bucked the system by being a successful female comedy writer in the boy's club of comedy. She is very passionate about women in comedy getting the credit that is deserved. In one instance she talks about how a while back Amy Poehler was up for a main lead in a skit, but was passed over for Chris Kattan in drag because it was deemed funnier. She noted that in today's world, a man in drag would never be passed over for female talent like Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, or Kristen Wiig. She also addresses several comments made by male critics that women are not funny. Her point is that just because you don't believe something doesn't mean it's universally true. After finishing the book, I felt proud of Tina Fey for breaking through the glass ceiling the way that she did. I really mean it when I say that she is a role model for women today.

There's so much I could go on and on about with this book, but I think you should read it yourself to find out. However, I do think it's worth noting that after I finished the book I realized that I didn't learn very much about Tina Fey as a person. You know, the intimate details that authors typically share in books like this (i.e., how she met her husband, where her scar came from, details about her kid, etc.) But I didn't feel like I was jipped for not knowing that information. So I'm okay with that.

As I mentioned earlier, Fey touches on a variety of subjects...and one of those was about her inability to breastfeed her daughter and the judgment she felt for it. Here's a quote about her experience trying to learn how to breastfeed: "We began our breast-feeding journey in the hospital under the tutelage of an encouraging Irish night nurse named Mary. We tried the football hold, the cross-cradle hold, and the one I like to call the Bret Michaels, where you kind of lie over the baby and stick your breast in its mouth to wake it up."

Rank: A!!!