Showing posts with label Tina Fey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tina Fey. Show all posts

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Seriously... I'm Kidding (Ellen Degeneres)

I've been waiting for a while to read this book.  I kind of knew that I was getting "Seriously... I'm Kidding" as either a Christmas or Birthday gift (shh...) so I had to hold off on reading it.  I was super excited when I finally received it for my Birthday and it made it on top of the pile of books that are on my "to-read" list!

I LOVED this book.  Loved it.  I thought Tina Fey's book was funny, but I thought Ellen's book was funnier.  This could be because I am a huge Ellen fan (and didn't know much about Tina Fey when I read her book), but regardless, this book was Hilarious with a capital H. 

I was laughing out loud even as I read the flaps in the book and the back.  And then I was laughing out loud when I was reading her message to readers and her acknowledgements at the beginning of the book.  And so on... The laughing continued.

It's such a random book, with chapters about anything and everything.  A chapter about Meditation?  Yep.  A chapter about Stretching?  Yep.  A chapter about Pros and Cons?  Yep.  She includes something for all ages!  Colouring pages for children, a chapter for the older audience and a chapter for the teens.  It's all there! 

It's like a standup routine, but you're reading it instead of listening to her say it.

One part I thought was particularly funny was a chapter where she suddenly says that she bets you're thinking about how you're thirsty for tequila.  She writes, "So that reader is going to take to their Twitter account and tweet, 'Reading Ellen's hilarious new book.  Thirsty for tequila.'  And if that makes people want to buy the book, I think that's great." (Seriously... I'm Kidding, Ellen Degeneres, p. 139)  Well, I decided to sign onto Twitter and search for this phrase.  Yep, it was there.  In fact, at the exact moment that I made it my most recent tweet, 10 other people also tweeted the exact same sentence.  Awesome.

I suggest you go out and buy this bookRead it as fast as you can (because I know once you start it, you won't want to put it down).  Then make everyone you know read it by talking about how funny and great it was.  Then once everyone has read it, keep it as a coffee table book or a bathroom reader.  Because it's that funny that you will want to reread sections of it over and over again.  Seriously... It's funny.

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Bossypants (Tina Fey)

I got this book for Christmas, but I've had my eye on it for a while.  I've heard some good things about the book and decided that I was ready to try it.  I also saw her on The Ellen Degeneres Show and she was hilarious... Check out that appearance here and here

In Bossypants, Tina Fey describes many things she has experienced in life and her stories make her seem somewhat more 'human' and down to earth.  She discusses important times in her career (such as her years at SNL or on 30 Rock), her honeymoon, her college years, photo shoots, and being a mother. 

I read the book from start to finish in about a day, but you could also pick a specific chapter that you're more interested in and read that.  It's not the type of autobiography that you would need to necessarily read in order.  She wrote well and since she is pretty funny, this shone through in her writing. 

Now, I should tell you that I'm not a "must watch" Tina Fey fan.  I think she's funny and I do like her when I see her in movies or on television, but she's not one who, in the past, I have rushed out to see in a new release.  I think that someone who has watched her for those many years on SNL or who has been a fan of 30 Rock would definitely like certain parts of the book more than I did.  (I didn't get some of the 30 Rock stuff since I've never really watched much of the show... But lately, I have debated picking up a season). 

However, that said, there were so many parts of the book that were funny and heartfelt regardless of whether you have seen all of her shows and movies.  Who can't laugh at her honeymoon experience (where there was a fire on a cruise) or her commentary that goes along with a photo shoot? While it is non fiction, there were many chapters that were not specific to events in her life, but just her insights into some of her experiences.

The book was an easy read and it was definitely funny.  If you can watch the clips of her on Ellen and be intrigued like I was, then I think you'd enjoy the book.  It did definitely make me laugh and say to whoever was nearest me at the time, "You have to listen to this..."