Book Review: "Bossypants" by Tina Fey

Summary from BN.com: 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.

Oh my gosh, this was one of the funniest books that I have read all year. I'm a big Tina Fey fan. I loved her on Saturday Night Live and every time Mean Girls or Baby Mama come on TV, I have to sit down and watch. I don't watch 30 Rock but after reading this I might have to give it a go. Tina Fey is probably the most funniest woman there is. And this book showcases her talents to a tee.

I knew that I was going to love this book almost immediately. In the first few pages, Fey references that the reader might know her from Mean Girls, which can probably be found on TBS at that very moment. This was drink spitting hilarious because I swear every time on the TV this is so true!!! It was all uphill from there for me. Page after page, Fey writes essays about her childhood, her teenage years, college, early jobs, marriage, getting into the entertainment business, her days at SNL, her leaving to start 30 Rock, her experience as being Sarah Palin, and what it's like to be a mom. The essays are in chronological order in terms of Fey's life. Sprinkled throughout the book are pictures of Fey throughout the years, some serious, some not but the captions are excellent as well.

One of my favorite essays was her honeymoon trip on a cruise ship that went horribly wrong. Several of my friends had just returned from a cruise trip when I read this book so all I could think about was what if this had happened to them. Also I actually really enjoyed the Sarah Palin chapter because I had always wanted to know what Fey's reaction behind the scenes was really like during that time period.

There are some times when Fey does get serious. She talks about her relationship with her father. There is mention of the slashing incident that caused the scar on her face (which I totally never realized until I read it) which she only brought up to not mention again. Fey also talks about the sexism and prejudice she's had to battle in the workplace. It's starting to no longer be just a man's world in the entertainment industry but it's still hard to get by if you're a woman. While she does crack a lot of jokes and is sarcastic at times, I never felt at any time that she was purposefully insulting anyone.

Overall, I totally loved this book. Fey has shown time and time again, that she is a comic genius and I'm not ashamed to say I'm on the Tina Fey bandwagon. If you are a fan of her or just in need of a good laugh, I highly recommend picking up this book. If you can't crack even one smile, I think you need to go look for your sense of humor. This was great fun to read and I had a blast laughing myself to exhaustion.

Bossypants by Tina Fey is published by Reagan Arthur Books (2011)

This review copy was provided by the publisher