Originally published 2015-04-29: Bossypants by Tina Fey TBR Pile Challenge Review 7
For the first time in what seems like years, I started reading a book and finished reading it on the same day.
Sure, part of the reason I finished it was that I had more time than usual to lie around, thanks to a recurrence of back pain that left me stranded for a while on a heating pad. But it was more than that. I genuinely enjoyed this book from the first page to the last.
My wife recommended Tina Fey’s Bossypants (along with 30 Rock and anything else Tina Fey has a part in), because she says that Tina reminds her of me. This is especially the case with Tina’s character Liz Lemon, as she believes she and I actually might be the same person. (And, after watching 30 Rock, I have to admit that I see some similarities.)
Description
Before Liz Lemon, before “Weekend Update,” before “Sarah Palin,” Tina Fey was just a young girl with a dream: a recurring stress dream that she was being chased through a local airport by her middle-school gym teacher. She also had a dream that one day she would be a comedian on TV.
She has seen both these dreams come true.
At last, Tina Fey’s story can be told. From her youthful days as a vicious nerd to her tour of duty onSaturday Night Live; from her passionately halfhearted pursuit of physical beauty to her life as a mother eating things off the floor; from her one-sided college romance to her nearly fatal honeymoon — from the beginning of this paragraph to this final sentence.
Tina Fey reveals all, and proves what we’ve all suspected: you’re no one until someone calls you bossy.
(Includes Special, Never-Before-Solicited Opinions on Breastfeeding, Princesses, Photoshop, the Electoral Process, and Italian Rum Cake!)
My Rating
In Bossypants, Tina Fey covers a lot of ground. She talks about feminism, SNL, adolescence, bad jobs, disguised homophobia, weight, Amy Poehler, in-laws, parenthood, aging, and so much more.
As I read through this book, I did see a lot of myself — I guess my wife was right on that point. But more than that, through the filter of Someone Like Me, I was forced to challenge myself and my thinking past the little box in which I keep locked my Sacred Ideals.
Tina Fey taught me some things about myself while she was talking about herself. I saw life through the eyes of a kindred spirit who had it a little better than I did growing up, but still came out with a lot of the same core values. She made me laugh — a lot. Never let anyone tell you that she isn’t funny, because they’re incredibly wrong on that.
I give Bossypants by Tina Fey a resounding five of five stars. I loved it, and I highly recommend it.
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