Kash’s #CBR5 Review #18: Bossypants by Tina Fey

If I could give this 4.5 stars I would. I loved this book. I loved this book especially because I could imagine Tina reading it to me as we shared time over coffee and a cheese danish. But it was just so random. The topics of each chapter jumped so wildly that it seemed erratic. But I still fucking loved it.

So I’m just going to share some random quotes that I highlighted in hopes that you will go out and read this immediately if you haven’t already done so.

Maybe you bought this book because you love Sarah Palin and you want to find reasons to hate me. We’ve got that! I use all kinds of elitist words like “impervious” and “torpor”, and I think gay people are just as good at watching their kids play hockey as straight people.

Gay people don’t actually try to convert people. That’s Jehovah’s Witnesses you’re thinking of.

If you told Don Fey that you never go to Burger King, only McDonald’s, because you “grew up with the Hamburglar,” he would look at you like you were a moron.

(By the way, when Oprah Winfrey is suggesting you may have overextended yourself, you need to examine your fucking life.)

She talks about being a young Tina Fey, her dad, her work with The Second City in Chicago, SNL (duh), 30 Rock (super duh), Oprah, Sarah Palin, Lorne Michaels, her kid, a cruise, and more. It’s fun, it’s quick, and it will make you laugh. Or at least a little under the breath chuckle that I know everyone is capable of. You know, that little chortle you try to stifle when you don’t want to laugh but you have to admit it’s actually pretty funny? That’s the least you’ll get out of it.

Sophia’s #CBR5 Review #11: Bossypants by Tina Fey

I’ve always liked Tina Fey, but besides seeing her on Saturday Night Live, I knew very little about her. Biographies are also a favorite of mine because it’s fascinating to learn from other people’s experiences without having to go through the trouble and heartbreak of actually experiencing those things for myself (e.g., drug abuse, mental illness, etc.). But I avoided Bossypants (2011) by Tina Fey for a surprisingly long time. I guess I generally don’t read much about people involved in movies and television: being famous doesn’t immediately make one’s life a good book. However, I eventually heard so much good about this one, my interest was piqued. I browsed through it at a bookstore and was impressed. Then my only challenge was deciding whether to read it myself in order to see all the pictures or have Tina Fey read it to me on the audio version.

Bossypants was not quite what I expected from a biography. Click here to find out why.

HelloKatieO’s #CBR5 Book Review #10: Live from New York by Tom Shales & Andrew James Miller

After reading The Revolution Was Televised, I realized that a whole genre of books about my absolute favorite pastime, television, existed and I was missing out. Live from New York, a 600 page oral history of Saturday Night Live, was published in 2002 and hit exactly the right notes. The book is just the right mix of old school celebrity gossip, logistical industry insight, social context and fond  (and bitter) cast and crew memories. Most importantly, it’s an incredible look at what has gone wrong with SNL periodically, and the various views (writer, cast, Lorne Michaels) on why there were some troubled periods.

Most fascinating were how the relationships between cast members and writers really drive the quality of the show. The first five years were built on the strength of the cast, their devotion to each other in and out of the office, the crazy amount of drugs and alcohol they consumed, and their individual relationships with the writers.  And the Tina Fey years were almost the inverse – they thrived on the respect, professionalism, and clean living that they all prided themselves on. It really pinpoints why transition years are difficult – when you have a group  like Mike Myers, Dana Carvey, etc. giving way to youngsters like Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, and Chris Farley, factions occur, conflicts arise and work gets less productive.

Surprising to me was how the way prior cast members or writers talked about the show could dramatically change my opinion of them.  For example, I’m nowtotally obsessed with Jane Curtain who’s smart, funny, blunt, pithy and amazing and I want to go back to 1975 and be her best friend. I’m a firm believer that you should never trash your former employers – something about that job gave you the skills, experience or wisdom to help you get where you are today. And there were a wide variety of past cast and crew members lobbing some hard hitting criticism at SNL – Julia Louis Dreyfus, Janeane Garofolo, Chris Rock, Victoria Jackson, Chevy Chase, Eddie Murphy, etc. Some of them came off as whiny and unappreciative, while some of them managed to convey what it was about SNL that wasn’t right for them, and critique some of the show’s longstanding perceived faults (particularly re: gender, race) intelligently and graciously. Honestly, I actually loved some of the people who complained about the show more after reading this book (I’m looking at you, Julia Louis Dreyfus).

Is SNL still relevant?

KatSings’ #CBR5 Review #9: Bossypants by Tina Fey

Bossypants by Tina Fey

“I was a little excited but mostly blorft. “Blorft” is an adjective I just made up that means ‘Completely overwhelmed but proceeding as if everything is fine and reacting to the stress with the torpor of a possum.’ I have been blorft every day for the past seven years.” 

I listened to this memoir of the fabulous Ms. Fey on audiobook, read by the author herself.  And I loved it.

Badkittyuno’s #CBR5 Review #07: Bossypants by Tina Fey

It will come to no surprise to anyone that Tina Fey is a funny, funny woman. Bossypants is hysterical. It’s also a really well-written memoir. Fey comes across as intelligent, hard-working woman who, like many of us, had an awkward childhood and difficulty finding her place in the world. She certainly made the most of it.

I really enjoyed her honest take on being a boss–what a means to be “in charge” of people, how being a woman affects that role, and how she strives to allow the creative people below her do their best. I also loved her stories about growing up–it’s amazing how such a seemingly confident women came from such a socially inept young lady.
I read Bossypants immediately following Let’s Pretend This Never Happened, by Jenny Lawson. While Lawson’s memoir is more laugh out loud funny, Fey’s is warmer and enlightening. Truly, a great read.
Albeit, a great read with a really creepy cover.