Bossypants
By
Tina Fey
2011 • 283 pages
Ratings223
Average rating3.8
15
Ratings223
Average rating3.8
Tina Fey’s new book *Bossypants* is short, messy, and impossibly funny (an apt description of the comedian herself). From her humble roots growing up in Pennsylvania to her days doing amateur improv in Chicago to her early sketches on Saturday Night Live, Fey gives us a fascinating glimpse behind the curtain of modern comedy with equal doses of wit, candor, and self-deprecation. Some of the funniest chapters feature the differences between male and female comedy writers ("men urinate in cups"), her cruise ship honeymoon ("it’s very Poseidon Adventure"), and advice about breastfeeding ("I had an obligation to my child to pretend to try"). But the chaos of Fey’s life is best detailed when she’s dividing her efforts equally between rehearsing her Sarah Palin impression, trying to get Oprah to appear on 30 Rock, and planning her daughter’s Peter Pan-themed birthday. Bossypants gets to the heart of why Tina Fey remains universally adored: she embodies the hectic, too-many-things-to-juggle lifestyle we all have, but instead of complaining about it, she can just laugh it off. --[Kevin Nguyen][1]
[1]: http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?docId=1000670181
Reviews with the most likes.
I enjoyed the insights into the television industry, getting to see them through Tina Fey's lens. But in general, I didn't find the book as funny as I'd hoped. It was fine; I just wasn't enamored.
Very good but only 3 stars because it doesn't feel like much will stay with me. But I would give five stars to the passage on lessons from improv that will change your life.
I did not read the book; rather, I listened to it on a Playaway from the library. I'm confident that I made the right choice because the author narrates the book, giving the stories real life. I would not have been able to hear the stories in her voice. Overall, it's funny and entertaining - I loved her unsolicited advice and opinions, no nonsense self-deprecation, and stories about family and love and learning. I did not love the detailed stuff about particular shows that feel too...too, um, close to the shows. Since I've never seen 30 Rock, I couldn't understand any of the discussion about the writers and actors and their MVP jokes. It felt like a list...a list that your friend is just rattling off about work or their kids that you just don't care.
Pick up the audio book if you want to laugh a little and are either: a) madly in love with all the shows that Tina Fey has been involved with or b) able to happily ignore the parts that will be boring to you.
Nice quick listen - nothing earth-shattering, but I laughed quite a bit.
