Title: Bossypants
Written by: Tina Fey
Series: N/A
Publisher: Reagan Arthur Books
Publish Date: April 5, 2011
Genre: Humor Memoir
Pages: 288
Source: Borrowed Audiobook from Library
Buy the Book: Bossypants
Synopsis: 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 on Saturday 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. (Via Amazon)
Brian’s Review: Lo and behold, a few weeks shy of the first-year anniversary of Story Carnivores, the first audiobook review! And could I have asked for a better one to start with? I’ve really, really tried to get into audiobooks over the years. Stephen King suggests in his brilliant On Writing that you read just as much as, if not more than, you write, and he says one of the best ways to do this in your everyday is to have an audiobook playing in the car. I don’t know why, but I’ve always struggled listening to fiction as an audiobook. My mind has the tendency to drift a little while I’m driving, so listening to audiobooks instead of the Top 40 is a practice I haven’t gotten used to. My local library, however, has an excellent collection of audiobooks, and I decided in January every time I went in to borrow one. I started with some non-fiction books about writing, then transitioned to a new non-fiction collection of essays, and finally I arrive at Tina Fey’s Bossypants. Hey, maybe by November I’ll review an actual audiobook work of fiction!
Who doesn’t like Tina Fey? I, like most, first discovered her on Saturday Night Live Weekend Update, where her weekly banter with co-anchor Jimmy Fallon always brought me back. Then there was Mean Girls, and 30 Rock, and, of course, Sarah Palin. Fey’s transition to film has been mostly a series of mediocre missteps—Date Night, anyone—but her television work has often been close to pure genius, especially the early seasons of the madcap 30 Rock. I wasn’t sure when I started playing Bossypants what I was going to get. Was this going to be a series of essays? A straight memoir? Some how-to’s about the business? Well, as it turns out, it’s a mix of all three, with Fey telling us her fascinating journey to get to where she is today, and also offer some hilarious tips along the way. Her writing is always sharp, and such is the case here. Driving back and forth to work these last two weeks was a joy, with Fey guiding the way. I laughed out loud way too much, and probably received a few awkward glances from the drivers to my left and right.
My favorite parts of the book, as expected, were her tell-alls about getting the head writing job at SNL and soon thereafter becoming Weekend Update co-anchor, creating and miraculously getting away with 30 Rock, and playing Sarah Palin. In fact, what I may take from this book the most is how much respect I have for Lorne Michaels. I’ve never really had a firm opinion about the SNL creator over the years, but after listening to her audiobook, he really comes off as a strong, creative, caring figure. Fey tells stories about her SNL days that are both fascinating and gut-busting, like when she had to ask Sylvester Stallone to enunciate more, in her first very episode of the show. The section about her struggles getting 30 Rock green-lit, and then waiting to be canceled all throughout that first season, reads almost like a thriller. The section dedicated to her whirlwind six weeks in the fall of 2008 playing Sarah Palin is sensational, mostly because of the unimaginable she was keeping up. On a Saturday in September 2008, Fey shot with Oprah Winfrey for 30 Rock all day, then headed over to SNL and performed her first Palin sketch with Amy Poehler. Quite an accomplished day, indeed.
The book’s been out for two years now, so if you wanted to read it or listen to it, you probably have by now. It’s one of those books I kept meaning to read, but then kept forgetting about. The main reason I finally checked it out? 30 Rock withdrawal kicked in, and I needed my Tina Fey fix. She’s such a brilliant comedy writer, and so likable because she’s so damn relatable. I loved every minute listening to this audiobook, and I bet it’s even more fun than reading the book. Highly recommended!
