Audio Book Review: Yes Please

Yes Please  
Written by Amy Poehler
Narrated by Amy Poehler, Carol Burnett, Seth Meyers, Michael Schur, Eileen Poehler, William Poehler, Patrick Stewart, Kathleen Turner
Book: ****
Narration: *****

“Telling me to relax or smile when I’m angry is like bringing a birthday cake into an ape sanctuary. You’re just asking to get your nose and genitals bitten off.” 
― Amy Poehler, Yes Please

Amy Poehler is a delight and a heroine. I'd like to be her when I grow up, except for the acting thing and the comedy thing. 

A lot of people will go into this book thinking it's a comedy book, which it is not. There's plenty of funny in it, but it is definitely more of a memoir, with Poehler's thoughts on life, stories from her childhood, and reflections on the world. Some of the anecdotes are hilarious, but others are touching or uncomfortable, but all are very real. But the comedy is definitely still present, like when Amy describes sitting on Clooney's lap at the Globes or making jokes with Tina.

There are so many ways to read a book anymore: print, digital, audio, holovids, direct-to-brain downloads, and fiction mist (oh wait, those last three haven't quite happened yet). So let me tell you right now the best way to read this particular book: audio, Audio, AUDIO. The book is read by Poehler, and she is a marvel. You can read the text in her voice if you're familiar with her work, but it's far better to HEAR the text in her voice, or sometimes Carol Burnett's voice, or Kathleen Turner's voice, or Patrick Stewart's voice, because they all join her in the narration! At one point Seth Meyers joins Amy in the recording booth and they have a little chat, later Amy reads a chapter to an audience at a comedy club. If you're a Parks and Recs fan, then you'll enjoy the clips from the show interspersed in the chapter dedicated to her time in Pawnee. These are all things you would miss out on if you use your eyes instead of your ears to read Yes Please. Please say YES! to the audio - you won't regret it!

Amy, you deserve all the pudding!

Audio Book Review: Bossypants

Bossypants 
By Tina Fey
Narration by Tina Fey
Book: ****
Narration: *************

“To say I’m an overrated troll, when you have never even seen me guard a bridge, is patently unfair.” 
― Tina Fey, Bossypants

From Goodreads:
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.

(Includes Special, Never-Before-Solicited Opinions on Breastfeeding, Princesses, Photoshop, the Electoral Process, and Italian Rum Cake!)

An unabridged recording on 5 CDs (5.5 Hours).


From Me:
Tina Fey reads the audio book. LISTEN TO THE AUDIO BOOK. You know how a bad narrator can make a good book awful? A kick-ass narrator like Tina Fey READING HER OWN BOOK makes a good book magic. 

Tina Fey is magic.

Book Review: Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) 
By Mindy Kaling
*****

“This book will take you two days to read. Did you even see the cover? It’s mostly pink. If you’re reading this book every night for months, something is not right.” 
― Mindy Kaling, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?

This book was such a joy to read. If Mindy Kaling is as charming and lovely in real life as she appears to be in this book, then I totally want her to be my celebrity BFF (along with Cat Deeley). I actually LOL'd several times in my office whilst reading over my lunch break (and I don't LOL). Now, I'm not going to say that I relate to this book - she writes and acts in some seriously funny television shows; there are very few people who can relate to this. But Mindy (and I feel like I can call her Mindy after finishing the book) feels very real and unpretentious, despite her success, and I think we'd have a great time rummaging through Anthro while I listen to all her gossip about her costars.