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Yes Please

Amy Poehler

3.83 · Rating details · 449,073 ratings · 25,805 reviews

In Amy Poehler’s highly anticipated first book, Yes Please, she offers up a big juicy stew of personal stories, funny bits on sex and love and friendship and parenthood and real life advice (some useful, some not so much), like when to be funny and when to be serious. Powered by Amy’s charming and hilarious, biting yet wise voice, Yes Please is a book full of words to live ...more

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Hardcover, 329 pages

Published October 28th 2014 by Dey St.

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Nov 19, 2014 Madeline rated it it was amazing

Shelves: essays, memoir

This is not a comedy book.

I mean, it's funny. Amy Poehler can't write a book and not be funny, because she's Amy fuckin' Poehler. But (and this is not the first time I'm going to compare the two memoirs) where Tina Fey's Bossypants contained humorous essays written specifically for the purpose of being funny, Poehler's does not. Everything is presented in a straightforward, matter-of-fact, fashion, and although a lot of the book is very, very funny, it never seems like this was the specific goa ...more

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May 28, 2014 Emily rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: biography-or-memoir

YES REALLY. I almost gave this two stars, except it includes George Clooney and that would be a crime.

This book is fine. It didn't charm me. It actually took me about three or four days to read 288 pages, which is funny because a lot of those pages don't include any actual words (she's got a ton of photocopies and inspirational signs intermixed with the text). It just wasn't as fun to read as I anticipated.

The problem is that she spends most of the book talking about how hard it is to write a book, or how she struggles with her self perception, or how she doesn’t like people knowing her business. (Incidentally, I think self-perception is an extremely valuable topic for women and teenagers, but perhaps not what I was interested in reading when I picked this up.) Sometimes she’s able to turn the “I don’t actually want to tell you anything about myself” into a pretty funny chapter, like when she writes out the descriptions of divorce self-help books she’d like to write. (Spoiler alert: she doesn’t want to talk about her relationship with Will Arnett at all, which is certainly her right.)

But this means that she skips over many of the periods of her life that I was most interested in, like the founding of UCB and her subsequent success. She goes through a lot of, “Then we got a bigger theater, and then a bigger one, and then I was hired at SNL." For most of the book, I felt like she was skipping over the truly interesting side stories. There are some anecdotes from SNL and Parks and Rec, but there are surprisingly few given how much time she's spent on both shows.

Then again, back to George Clooney:

(view spoiler)

Perhaps if I’d listened to this as an audiobook, I might have enjoyed it more. When I went back to read some sentences over and consciously tried to hear her voice, I definitely thought some of it was funnier. But overall, I vacillated between two and three stars, and landed on three only because this is Amy Poehler’s book. YES, REALLY. ...more

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Oct 22, 2014 Jason rated it did not like it

Shelves: flames-on-the-side-of-my-face, reviewed, 2014, for-kindle

It breaks my heart to give this book one star.

I love Amy Poehler. In fact I love every member of that early two-thousands (the decade, not the century) female Saturday Night Live cast ensemble: Poehler, Fey, Rudolph, Dratch.

I often mentally include Kristen Wiig in the mix, too, because she’s fantastic, but she was sort of late to the party, having joined SNL a year before Dratch and Fey left.

But as I was saying, I think highly of Poehler. I enjoy her comedy, her intelligence, her personality ...more

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Nov 07, 2014 Sarah Hyatt rated it did not like it

No, thank you.

I was supposed to love this book and as I always do when I find myself super disappointed, I looked back through other reviews to see if I was alone. I don't think I am alone, but no one is expressing my disappointment quite how I need it to be expressed, so I get to do that myself this time around.

I just kept waiting... and waiting... and waiting. The moment it was going to get good and awesome had to be right around the corner! Soon I would get past all the filler and all the flu No, thank you.

I was supposed to love this book and as I always do when I find myself super disappointed, I looked back through other reviews to see if I was alone. I don't think I am alone, but no one is expressing my disappointment quite how I need it to be expressed, so I get to do that myself this time around.

I just kept waiting... and waiting... and waiting. The moment it was going to get good and awesome had to be right around the corner! Soon I would get past all the filler and all the fluff and dig into the heart of the book! It would be so great! I was so excited!

And then I realized I had under fifty pages left.

In the book, I waded through:

A lot of celebrity name droppingI never figured out if it was supposed to be ironic, sarcastic, cute... I'm not sure. There is no way to do this that isn't obnoxious. Even with a disclaimer about it being obnoxious, it is still obnoxious. If you genuinely, really need to tell a story about your friend who happens to be a famous celebrity person, and they are really a part of the story, by all means, please tell it. But if there is no story, or one that is only half-told or glossed over.... There is no point.

A lot of filler. Her parents wrote parts of it. And then some other dude wrote part of it. And then there was a chapter of footnotes as a joke, which was super funny back in 1990 something, but which really just take up space and make reading difficult. Lists! Copy pasted emails! There was a lot of writing about writing a book. Hey, Amy? JUST DO THE THING.

A lot of confusion: Stories started and stopped. Kindergarten, mid-twenties, what? Are we going back to kindergarten? Did I miss something? Is that thread going to be picked up again? How does this connect? TRANSITION SENTENCES WOULD HELP.

A lot of trying to be funny... and not being funny. Which is weird because I think Amy is a very funny person. But the book comes off as cloying, it's too much "THIS IS FUNNY" and not enough content. It feels like trying (and also not trying at the same time. Maybe this book is better than I thought because that really is a momentous feat). Maybe it just didn't translate well to print. I don't know.

The highlight of the book for me was the mention of Gavin de Becker's The Gift of Fear. Because that book is fantastic and true. I like that Amy pointed out exactly why it is awesome and why the situation with the producer was uncomfortable (she said no, he kept asking). De Becker has helped me to identify these little things that feel "off" to me and allowed me to pinpoint why, so I appreciate this type of thing. But now, I'm reviewing The Gift of Fear instead of this book. And if that's my main takeaway, something is wrong.

...more

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Sep 03, 2019 Federico DN rated it liked it

(Audiobook)

A little non chronological memoir by famous comedian Amy Poehler. A bit of everything, childhood, parents, improv beginnings, pregnancy, motherhood, divorce, sex, drugs, pudding, career, Tina, womanhood, time travel, the Biz, Parks and Recreation, SNL, more SNL, and, lastly, little bits of SNL sprinkled into every other topic that you may think is not related to SNL, but somehow is.

I start to think memoirs are not my thing, didn't care much for Poehler's, Fey's or Barrymore's. I've fo ...more

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May 28, 2014 Kelly (and the Book Boar) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, read-in-2014

Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/

Good Christ – just obtaining a library copy of this f*&^%$g book was like going on an adventure. After my third trek down to the local bibliotheca, I finally had success.

Look at the happy!

You’re probably asking yourself “if she’s such a Poehler fangirl, why didn’t she just go to the B&N and grab herself a copy????” Well, you see … I am cheap.

Yes Please also wasn’t getting real stellar ratings and reviews so I decided to err on ...more

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Oct 28, 2017 Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audio, own

This was pretty good! 😄

I have the paperback but I listened to it on audio. She read the book herself and I love that. You get all of the true feelings when they read their own work.

I loved looking at all of the pictures in the book as well. My copy is a small paperback and it has those soft glossy pages that you love to snif. 😄 And all bookaholics know what I mean. I actually sat down my phone to sniff the book again while reviewing. 😂

The book is set up in different sections as well. I have to ...more

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Feb 04, 2015 Caz (littlebookowl) rated it really liked it

Shelves: audiobook

Inspired me to continue on watching Parks & Rec!
Very much enjoyed this, and I loved how Amy brought in others to help voice some sections of the book.

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Nov 10, 2014 Lindsey Rey rated it it was amazing

Shelves: funny, 2014

HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMEND THE AUDIOBOOK! Amy Poehler is so genuine and awesome! On the audiobook she has special guests, a live audience for the final chapter, lots of random conversation, and all sorts of extra awesomness! LOVED THIS! :D

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Aug 02, 2015 Felicia rated it really liked it

Shelves: biography, non-fiction

Whelp, look for a flood of reviews coming in, cleaning out my bedroom/office before I go on the road for book tour! That also includes a lot of autobiographies I read as research/pleasure in the last year, preparing and writing my book that I need to add to Goodreads.

I had to cut myself off from reading books in this category, actually, because I started getting intimidated and comparing my structure/writing to other peoples' autobiography structure/writing which only served to paralyze me and m ...more

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May 28, 2014 Darth J rated it it was amazing

Shelves: humor, non-fiction

[As Will Ferrell impersonating James Lipton:] "Amy, we remember seeing you in various things before you joined SNL in 2001. I'm sure this evoked the same feeling for our audience as most 90’s kids felt when Kenan joined the cast, though we were saddened to learn that he divorced Kel due to Kel’s orange soda addiction.
You starred in such classics as Wet Hot American Summer, Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigalow, and Citizen Kane. From the Upright Citizens Brigade to The Office Spinoff, your career has alw ...more

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Jan 19, 2017 Nat rated it it was ok

Shelves: audiobook, memoir, nonfiction

I picked this up after having listened to Seriously... I'm Kidding on audio and feeling in the mood for something similar to cheer me up while having that damned cold. Also known as: part-two-of-feeling-terrible-and-wanting-an-audiobook-to-cheer-me-up-when-I-don’t-have-the-energy-to-read-actual-words.

I don’t why it took me so long to realize that listening to memoirs on audio is a genius move. It made me rethink a lot past choices of reading the book instead of listening to it…
I feel like if I’ ...more

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May 28, 2014 Jessica Jeffers rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: biography-memoir

A book by Amy Poehler? Yes, please.

This was a little underwhelming, if I am totally honest. It had some funny moments, but didn't quite have the insight I was hoping for. I didn't walk away feeling like I had learned anything new about Amy Poehler, because she chose not to focus on stories of her background or comedy career so much as ditties on loving your flaws and the categories of books on divorce. That's fine, but left me kind of disappointed as I was more interested in learning more about ...more

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Dec 04, 2014 Maureen rated it really liked it

After having this on my shelf for like two years I finally got around to it and it was great! I just love Amy Poehler so much guys.
I listened to the audiobook as recommended by most people (while flipping though the physical book for occasional pictures) and MAN would I say if you at all can access the audiobook, listen to that! Not only are there special guest speakers, but some parts have actual audio from the things she is talking about (like scenes from parks & rec)
Amy just seems like a very ...more

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Oct 19, 2014 lp rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Disappointing! Poehler complains about how hard it is to write a book many times, which is annoying, but I can't see how it would be hard to write a bad book. It's so obvious she was forced to do this, it's written from a bad place and I felt that bad place the whole time I was reading it. Poehler basically links lazy (she frequently says "I'll tell you about that later" which means she doesn't know how to tell a story) and shallow ("I don't remember anything about SNL so I'm not going to write ...more

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Mar 01, 2018 Kaylin (The Re-Read Queen) rated it really liked it

Shelves: biographical, non-fiction

4 Stars

"It takes years as a woman to unlearn what you have been taught to be sorry for. It takes years to find your voice and seize your real estate."

I don't watch a lot of TV.

Now before you roll your eyes, I'm not trying to earn hipster cred here before waxing poetic about the wonders of the written word... I'm just busy. And at one point my Netflix subscription lapsed and it was a month before I noticed.

So yeah, I don't watch a lot of TV. But, I do own all the 'Parks and Recreation' bo ...more

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Apr 19, 2017 Whitney Atkinson rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-in-2017, audiobook, memoir, feminism

4.5 Stars

I listened to this on audiobook, as I now will choose to do when reading memoirs or autobiographies, and this was a VERY enjoyable experience. The audiobook I got from my library is narrated by Amy, and it was such a joy to listen to her deliver these jokes and discuss her life. This was very lighthearted and informational while also delivering a lot of advice, which I thought balanced out nicely. It didn’t read like a book that she wrote just because she knew it would sell— you could t 4.5 Stars

I listened to this on audiobook, as I now will choose to do when reading memoirs or autobiographies, and this was a VERY enjoyable experience. The audiobook I got from my library is narrated by Amy, and it was such a joy to listen to her deliver these jokes and discuss her life. This was very lighthearted and informational while also delivering a lot of advice, which I thought balanced out nicely. It didn’t read like a book that she wrote just because she knew it would sell— you could tell she put her heart into this and had her readers in mind, whereas I’ve read some memoirs from YouTubers and celebrities that just read like they’re only doing it for another paycheck. This book was genuine and felt like I had a friend telling me about her life, which is another reason why I like listening to memoirs on audio.

She had a lot of guests in her audiobook narration, and it was very interesting because at some points, she and that other person would be in the recording studio together, and they would talk to each other casually. I don’t know if this is in the physical format of the book—I’m guessing not, because all the jokes were about being in the recording booth—but it was such a candid and hilarious edition to the book that just highlighted the fact that I felt like I was listening to Amy making a podcast about her life, complete with commentary from her friends.

I definitely liked the last half of this book more than the first half, just because I don’t watch SNL or know much about improv, so I didn’t connect to it as much. However, I did really enjoy the sections where she talked about her family, or when her parents narrated their sections. Although I #cantrelate to having kids or having gone through a divorce, it was touching to hear Amy discuss these more intimate details of her life, and it was somehow fitting in a story that also delivered comedy.

But since my purpose for reading this was because I love Parks & Rec so much, I really enjoyed the parts where she spoke about the cast. The little insights, backstories, and information about the actors was really fascinating. Particularly, the section where they go over the alternate last names they almost gave Leslie was hilarious, especially since they were both laughing really candidly. I would caution that this book does spoil a little bit of Parks & Rec, especially seasons 5 and 6. Sometimes, it actually plays audio clips from the show, which is awesome if you’ve seen it, you know what it’s talking about, and are eager to learn some of the behind the scenes about it, but if you haven’t watched it and don’t want to be spoiled, then definitely finish the show first.

The last chapter is actually a recording of her reading her book live in front of an audience, which was by far the funniest chapter of the book to me because hearing the audience laugh at her jokes and the way that her delivery would shift in reaction to the audience was so much fun. I would highly recommend listening to the audiobook just for that experience.

This genuinely feels like it went by three times quickly than it actually was, and I listened to this on 1x speed. It was addicting. I love Amy, I love her life, I love her jokes, and I love her show Parks & Rec. Read this if you love Leslie Knope. That’s all. ...more

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May 03, 2015 Barry Pierce rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2015, 21st-century

Another fun read from the subgenre I like to call, "Memoirs written by women who worked on SNL". It's overall a fun and humourous read. It may have needed some editing and could have lost a couple chapters but as a whole it's a memorable memoir. It's fun and that's all it needed to be. ...more

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Feb 01, 2017 Carmen rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Anyone

Shelves: traditionally-published, she-says, published2014, non-fiction, american-author

Once a woman turns 40 she has to start dealing with two things: younger men telling her they are proud of her and older men letting her know they would have sex with her. Both of these things are supposed to be compliments but can often end up making this particular woman angry. I don't think a man who is 15 years younger than me should tell me he is proud of me unless he is my sober coach or my time-travel dad. Older men can be sexy and powerful, but when a thrice-divorced entertainment attorne ...more

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Apr 22, 2015 Fabian rated it really liked it

Sweet read! True metaphors for the fame-inclined abound, & the author (as early as page four) becomes one of the best friends you never had! Poehler does three things at once-- she gives you insight into her personal life... the Wikipedia stuff and then some; she becomes retrospective about it, comes from a place where she can pinpoint exact successes & failures in her rad career; AND she entertains you throughout like only a true performer can.

She professes: "The talking about the thing isn't t ...more

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Nov 16, 2017 Miranda Reads rated it really liked it

Shelves: audiobook

People are their most beautiful when they are laughing, crying, dancing, playing, telling the truth, and being chased in a fun way.

Oh Amy, you are truly beautiful.

I just adore her on Parks and Rec - there's just a certain something about such a positive, upbeat comedy that completely draws me in. This book had a similar feel to it. The tone is so down-to-earth that I felt like more we were having a chat over coffee rather than I was reading her book.

She drops these pearls of wisdom with suc ...more

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Aug 26, 2015 Elyse Walters rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Not knowing 'at all' what to expect, I listened to the audiobook on my overdrive app
from the library.

I fall asleep too early to watch SNL. I didn't watch the Emmy's. I never heard of
Parks and Recreation. The only movie I saw Amy in was "Baby Mama".
... But I did see The Golden Globes when she and Tina Fey were the hosts.

I had zero expectations about "Yes, Please". I remembered a few reviews when the book 1st came out. Many of her fans were disappointed, yet a few people enjoyed it, if my mem ...more

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Oct 22, 2018 Jess | thegreeneyedreader rated it really liked it

4/5 stars - I thoroughly enjoyed this memoir. I didn’t know very much about Amy Poehler prior to reading this book, but I recently became hooked on Parks and Rec and wanted to learn more about the person behind my beloved character, Leslie Knope. I am so glad I did! This book is full of humor, lists, jokes, and even commentary from some special guests. The audiobook was nice because it allowed the listener to hear the various celebrities read their specific parts (including Seth Myers).

My only c ...more

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Jan 17, 2015 Zoë rated it really liked it

I LOVE Amy Poehler. This book just highlighted my favorite parts about her and also showed me some of her faults, which she owned up to. She just seems like such a genuine and down to earth person and I love it.
I also highly recommend the audio book! I read the first half with the physical book and then changed to the audio book version and it made the entire experience so much better. Her voice is so soothing and you can tell when she's being sarcastic (it's sometimes hard to tell in the physic ...more

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Nov 12, 2014 Diane rated it liked it

Shelves: humorous, audiobooks, memoirs, hollywood

I am probably not the only one who has a girl crush on Amy Poehler. She's funny, she's smart, she's sassy and she does good work.

But I hope my future best friend will forgive me when I say her book is less than great. "Yes Please" is a fun little memoir about Amy's childhood, how she got her start in comedy, and some good behind-the-scenes stories, but overall, it's scattered and not very deep. She briefly discusses her marriage and divorce to actor Will Arnett, but the focus is primarily on he ...more

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Oct 29, 2014 Iris P rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommended to Iris P by: Elyse Walters

Shelves: audio-books, feminist-theme, feel-good-reads, memoirs-autobiographies, humor

Yes Please

I admit that it took me by surprise how much I enjoyed Amy Poehler's Yes Please.
Perhaps because she is an performer and an entertainer, audio was the perfect medium to deliver her funny and heartfelt stories.
Part memoir/part self-help book, this one doesn't stand out for its lyrical or beautiful prose, or even for narrating the life of the most extraordinary performer for that matter. Instead, what I liked the most about it, was Poehler's authenticity and her ability not to take hersel ...more

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Feb 28, 2019 Ginger rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2019, audio

3.5 Stars!

I ended up doing audio on Yes Please and I thought it was fun and entertaining. I definitely chuckled in a few spots and enjoyed Amy Poehler’s takes on encouraging women to be their authentic selves and her distrust in technology. Girl, I feel the same on technology!

I like Amy Poehler more after listening to this. She’s funny, intelligent and doesn’t apologize for being herself, bossy and a bit brash. I want to be friends with her now!

I loved the 80’s references, her time on Saturday N ...more

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Jan 08, 2015 Barbara rated it really liked it

Amy Poehler is an American actress, comedian, and writer. She gained television fame as a cast member on 'Saturday Night Live' and is probably best know for her role as Leslie Knope on the sitcom 'Parks and Recreation.'

Amy Poehler on Saturday Night Live

Amy Poehler starred in the hilarious Parks and Recreation

I listened to the audio version of this memoir, narrated by the author. The audio book also has 'cameos' from a handful of celebrities and dialog with Amy's family, friends, and colleagues ...more

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Nov 23, 2014 Riley rated it really liked it

AMEN.

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Aug 14, 2018 Mariah Roze rated it it was amazing

My BIGGEST advice for this book is to listen to the audiobook. She is hilarious! It is definitely worth it.

I have always LOVED Amy Poehler. She is a very strong and funny women that made it far in life. It was a little cautious about reading her book because not all funny people can write good books. That is why it took me so long. However, Amy's book is hilarious! Especially on audiobook. So like I said above, make sure to listen to her audiobook :)

I highly recommend this book! ...more

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Madison County NC...: Yes Please	1	2	Aug 13, 2020 01:51PM
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About Amy Poehler

Amy Poehler

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Amy Meredith Poehler is an American actress, comedian, voice artist, producer and writer. Raised in Burlington, Massachusetts, she graduated from Boston College in 1993 and moved to Chicago, Illinois, to study improv at The Second City and ImprovOlympic. In 1996, she moved to New York City after becoming part of the improvisational comedy troupe Upright Citizens Brigade, which later developed into ...more