Bossypants, by Tina Fey

I really wanted to love this book. I like that it's written in a breezy narrative, kind of like she's in the room telling me her random stories, and I enjoyed hearing about her experience as a comedian and a woman fighting to be respected in a man's profession. As someone who works with mostly men, I know all too well how difficult it can be. Men and women think and approach work very, very differently.

My favorite part was that where she discussed the writers at 30 Rock, and gave examples of their best work. I laughed out loud at this one: 


DR. SPACEMAN ENTERS FROM I.C.U. HIS LAB COAT IS COVERED IN BLOOD. THE WOMEN ALL GASP.  



DR. SPACEMAN:



"WHAT, THIS? NO, NO, I WAS AT A COSTUME PARTY EARLIER THIS EVENING...AND THE HOSTESS'S DOG ATTACKED ME SO I HAD TO STAB IT."


However, I hated that she took every opportunity she could to be as crude as possible. I am offended by the "F" word, and vulgar language in general, and there was plenty of both in this book. It makes me sad her editors didn't encourage her to be more mild to attract a larger audience, and even more sad she might be using that language in front of her kids. Then again, nobody forced me to read her book, and it was definitely in-line with her jokes from SNL and 30 Rock. I shouldn't have been so surprised, but I was.

Also, it kind of bothered me that it seemed to be a hodge-podge of memories, loosely (actually, not very) connected. It isn't Ms. Fey's style to write an "And then this happened, and then this happened" sort of book, but she jumped from summer theater to moving to Chicago, to her first job at Second City to her honeymoon without connecting the dots in between. Made for kind of a confusing read. As a biography, it leaves something to be desired. As a collection of short stories (a la David Sedaris) it works.

In closing, I'd like to use a brilliant quote from her novel:

It is an impressively arrogant move to conclude that just because you don't like something, it is empirically not good. I don't like Chinese food, but I don't write articles trying to prove it doesn't exist.
I gave this book two stars because I didn't like the choice of language and probably won't read it again. If language doesn't bother you, then I would absolutely recommend it. It's a fun, quick read. Tina Fey knows how to entertain, and this book is a good example of why she's so popular.

And now I think I'll go watch her and Amy Poehler's Sarah Palin/Hillary Clinton sketch one more time...