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Bossypants
by
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 you ...more
She has seen both these dreams come true.
At last, Tina Fey's story can be told. From her you ...more
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Kindle Edition, 283 pages
Published
April 5th 2011
by Reagan Arthur Books
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Tina Fey's Bossypants was a disappointment. I don't know that expecting much from a comedy writer's cash-in big-font-with-pictures essay/memoir...thing...is fair, but I've been a Tina Fey fan since 30 Rock began, ready to trust her literary aspirations, and even to me this book barely scratches onto the two star plateau.
What did I expect? Well, it's probably easier to explain what I didn't expect. I wasn't counting on a sour, muddled, defensive screed against anyone who pissed off the author in ...more
What did I expect? Well, it's probably easier to explain what I didn't expect. I wasn't counting on a sour, muddled, defensive screed against anyone who pissed off the author in ...more

The best audiobook I've listened to in a long, long time. And that's saying something.
I ended up picking this up because when I sent up a signal flare on Twitter, it was the most recommended book by far.
Now I see why.
1. The narration was exceptionally good. (I like autobiography being read by the author, but not all authors are good narrators.)
2. It's legitimately funny.
3. It's legitimately thoughtful and insightful.
I'll also say that I read this book cold. I didn't really know who Tina Fe ...more
I ended up picking this up because when I sent up a signal flare on Twitter, it was the most recommended book by far.
Now I see why.
1. The narration was exceptionally good. (I like autobiography being read by the author, but not all authors are good narrators.)
2. It's legitimately funny.
3. It's legitimately thoughtful and insightful.
I'll also say that I read this book cold. I didn't really know who Tina Fe ...more

I'm listening to the audiobook and it's even better than the print.
...more

Feb 01, 2011
Gail
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
favorite-authors,
memoir
I honestly cannot remember the last time I laughed this hard reading anything (only a Jonathan Tropper novel or a Dave Sedaris collection comes close). I finished the other night with wet cheeks from the tears that'd escaped my eyes. The bed had been shaking I was laughing so hard!
So what's to love about "Bossypants," besides everything? For starters, how Tina just tells it (and by "it," I mean everything from working at SNL to impersonating Sarah Palin) like it is. She's got a fierce feminist ...more
So what's to love about "Bossypants," besides everything? For starters, how Tina just tells it (and by "it," I mean everything from working at SNL to impersonating Sarah Palin) like it is. She's got a fierce feminist ...more

Big Tina Fey fan here. I have always enjoyed her work on SNL and have seen almost every episode of 30 Rock. I have seen some of her movies, not all. She is very definitely funny and smart. Her Sarah Palin kills. So what might one expect from a Tina Fey book? One of two things, either a straight ahead comedic book with plenty of anecdotes, jokes and maybe a bit of behind-the-scenes info, or a personal memoir, with detail about her background. I felt that Fey committed to neither fully and wound u
...more

Tina Fey. American Icon.
While I am not as familiar with her SNL and early career, this book was fun and easy to listen to.
As with many a memoir, we start with her childhood love of comedy and processed to her current-day adventures (or perhaps more ...more
Some people say, “Never let them see you cry.” I say, if you’re so mad you could just cry, then cry. It terrifies everyone.I really appreciated how this memoir had a good mix of heartwarming anecdotes, comedic happenstances and career musings.
While I am not as familiar with her SNL and early career, this book was fun and easy to listen to.
As with many a memoir, we start with her childhood love of comedy and processed to her current-day adventures (or perhaps more ...more

Sure, you could read Bossypants. Provided you like all that self-deprecating "I'm Tina Fey and I am enormously successful and I am thankful for that, but at the same time I still struggle with being a working woman with a real life, because it is so weird that I am a media icon when I still really think of myself as an unpopular high school theater dweeb, and isn't life weird, like when I was seen as a major influence during the last election because I kind of look like Sarah Palin?" stuff.
Perso ...more
Perso ...more

Mar 01, 2012
Kristen
rated it
it was ok
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Anyone who finds Dave Barry 'too edgy'
Recommended to Kristen by:
Someone else's idea of a 'beach read'
First, I must preface this two star rating by saying that since Goodreads does not allow zero stars I'm forced to reserve my one star ratings only for very special pieces of shit. Secondly, at no time while reading this did my blood alcohol content drop below twice the legal limit and even that hardly made this book tolerable.
I wasn't expecting much, obviously, but this "book" fails to live up to even the exceeding low standards of airport bookstores. I liked Tina Fey before I read this book. ...more
I wasn't expecting much, obviously, but this "book" fails to live up to even the exceeding low standards of airport bookstores. I liked Tina Fey before I read this book. ...more

Not to be mean but this word describes the megabestseller: Meager! The degree of insight here is microscopic at most. Anecdotes--those that matter to us, TV/film buffs of the world--are soooo ridiculously scant! Its akin to ridiculing a very unique life with a distanced neverwarm life story. It's unfair; all of it farcical with no pathos at all. The chuckles themselves fail to achieve the expected Cheshire Cat grin madness usually achieved by the brilliant "Weekend Update" host. This was unexpec
...more

Three and a half stars. I think Tina Fey is awesome. I think this is a slight but solid book. Her authorial voice sounds exactly like her speaking in my head. It's sometimes funny, sometimes self-deprecating, sometimes empowering. It spends more time than one might expect on some things, and no time on others. I think she tried to skirt a line between memoir and humor essayist that is a difficult one to skirt. I think it's an easier thing to do if you're David Sedaris and nobody has specific sto
...more

There’s a chapter in this book where Tina Fey is describing the hectic week that culminated with her filming scenes of 30 Rock with Oprah Winfrey, then rushing to get to the Saturday Night Live studio for her debut performance as Sarah Palin all while she was still making last minute arrangements for her daughter’s birthday party. In between takes, Tina was watching You Tube clips of Palin to work on the voice while holding her daughter and Oprah was asking with genuine concern if she’d have tim
...more

Who said women aren't funny? A lot of people, apparently, most of them men. One of these was Christopher Hitchens, the controversial journalist who published an essay in Vanity Fair titled, quite plainly,
Why Women Aren't Funny
. To this and to the dozen other polemics written about the perceived humor gap between men and women, Tina Fey, in her new book called Bossypants, says, "We don't fucking care if you like it." She adds,
Unless one of these men is my boss, which none of them is, it's ir...more

After 5 and half hours listening to this book i'm not even smiling ! i mean YES there was some funny scenes but mostly just some boring and long stories... Meh :3
i LOVE Tina fey, i loved her movies, she's talented woman i just couldn't enjoy her book as much as I hoped I would. it had some funny scenes, but nothing was "laugh out loud funny"

...more
i LOVE Tina fey, i loved her movies, she's talented woman i just couldn't enjoy her book as much as I hoped I would. it had some funny scenes, but nothing was "laugh out loud funny"



I've said it before and I'll say it again: Bryan Cranston and Shonda Rhimes have the best celebrity memoirs out there. They're the exception.
'Bossypants'- not my cup of tea. Oh, and parts of it were flat out racist.
I'm beginning to think two stars is a tad generous.
Maybe celebrity memoirs just aren't for me. I don't find them appealing, entertaining or really funny (as some claim to be).
...more
'Bossypants'- not my cup of tea. Oh, and parts of it were flat out racist.
I'm beginning to think two stars is a tad generous.
Maybe celebrity memoirs just aren't for me. I don't find them appealing, entertaining or really funny (as some claim to be).
...more

Hilarious autobio that touches upon the highs and lows of Tina Fey's life and career.
If you're a fan of her humor, as seen on 30 Rock and SNL, you'll be a fan of Bossypants. It's not an in depth, gut-wrenching tell-all memoir. For instance, she only glosses over the incident when she got the facial scar. But if you're familiar with Fey's brand of humor then the lightheartedness of it shouldn't surprise you. She's the sort of average, nice person that has her own strong opinions, but doesn't thi ...more
If you're a fan of her humor, as seen on 30 Rock and SNL, you'll be a fan of Bossypants. It's not an in depth, gut-wrenching tell-all memoir. For instance, she only glosses over the incident when she got the facial scar. But if you're familiar with Fey's brand of humor then the lightheartedness of it shouldn't surprise you. She's the sort of average, nice person that has her own strong opinions, but doesn't thi ...more

My kids recently read and watched Mean Girls and were laughing throughout. It is a busy time for me so apologies for this abbreviated review. I needed light reading to help me get through this busy month and celebrity memoirs fit the bill nicely. Tina Fey is funny. I knew this from Mean Girls, SNL, and other movie appearances that she’s been in. Her humor is front and center in this memoir. I didn’t get this for depth, I got it for laughs, and laugh I did, something I need to help me through thi
...more

Listening to Tina Fey perform this book was much more enjoyable than reading it in print. I first read this back in 2011, and I liked it OK, but after hearing a friend rave about how much fun the audio was, I decided to give the CD a chance.
It was hilarious! Some mornings I was laughing so hard while driving to work that other drivers would stare at me. Tina Fey performs different voices and really sells the stories. One of my favorite chapters was about her father, Don Fey: "He's just a badass. ...more
It was hilarious! Some mornings I was laughing so hard while driving to work that other drivers would stare at me. Tina Fey performs different voices and really sells the stories. One of my favorite chapters was about her father, Don Fey: "He's just a badass. ...more

So yeah, I was a Tina Fey virgin. Her name meant nothing to me until this book came out. [Insert gasp of incredulity.] People say, "You know, Saturday Night Live?" To which I say, "You know, no telly in my domicile?"
No, I don't really live under a rock. I just tune out nonessential information.
Anyway, I like Tina because she's funny in the way I would be funny if I were actually capable of being funny on a regular basis.
I listened to the audio book, which is really the only way to go with this ...more
No, I don't really live under a rock. I just tune out nonessential information.
Anyway, I like Tina because she's funny in the way I would be funny if I were actually capable of being funny on a regular basis.
I listened to the audio book, which is really the only way to go with this ...more

4.5 stars
I know I am seven years late to this party, but damn was this funny and on point. Ah the things Tina didn't know when she wrote this and yet she still brought up - the #MeToo movement that hadn't arrived yet, Hilary Clinton running for President again, hell there's even a Trump reference in this book! But ignoring all of those yet-to-happen things that she still somehow managed to allude to like some kind of weird comedic prophet, this book was downright funny and relatable. Well, as re ...more
I know I am seven years late to this party, but damn was this funny and on point. Ah the things Tina didn't know when she wrote this and yet she still brought up - the #MeToo movement that hadn't arrived yet, Hilary Clinton running for President again, hell there's even a Trump reference in this book! But ignoring all of those yet-to-happen things that she still somehow managed to allude to like some kind of weird comedic prophet, this book was downright funny and relatable. Well, as re ...more

I figured I would feel exactly about this book as I do about Tina Fey. 90% of the time, I think she's hilarious and smart and I want to be friends with her and I wish I'd thought to say what she said. The other 10% I'd like to tell her (because I'm friends with her) that something she just said was beneath her and I wish she hadn't said it. I was right - that's exactly how this book was. I loved it and I loved her, and I marked something about every other page that I wanted to quote or refer to.
...more

I love Tina Fey. But I loved her more before I read this book. Now I know she's human and capable of disappointing me. This moment was inevitable. But still a little sad.
That said, there were portions of this book that killed me. Her "Origin Story" was hilarious, especially the talk about her scar and people’s reactions to it. Also, she is a genius when it comes to discussing everyday gender fuckery. I loved her whole take on menstruation and how she thought period blood would be blue because of ...more
That said, there were portions of this book that killed me. Her "Origin Story" was hilarious, especially the talk about her scar and people’s reactions to it. Also, she is a genius when it comes to discussing everyday gender fuckery. I loved her whole take on menstruation and how she thought period blood would be blue because of ...more

I was hesitant to start listening to Bossypants because, like seemingly every other person on this planet, Liz Lemon is one of my favorite television characters of all time. My subconscious (and let's be honest here, also my conscious) mind just wanted to listen to a book about Liz Lemon being Liz Lemon. The audiobook would use C & C Music Factory's "Everybody Dance Now" as the intro and outro music (instead of original music by Fey's husband and 30 Rock composer Jeff Richmond, which was lovely,
...more

I almost gave this book 5 stars, and it is damn near perfect.
Let's start with the good stuff:
- It's extremely funny. And not just "laugh out loud" funny, but "laugh *so* out loud your spouse asks you to go read in another room because you're keeping him awake." If you enjoy Tina Fey's humor, you'll really appreciate this book. It's damn funny.
- It's (unexpectedly) full of really good advice about how to be a good boss. I mean, maybe I should have gleaned that from the title but I expected it to ...more
Let's start with the good stuff:
- It's extremely funny. And not just "laugh out loud" funny, but "laugh *so* out loud your spouse asks you to go read in another room because you're keeping him awake." If you enjoy Tina Fey's humor, you'll really appreciate this book. It's damn funny.
- It's (unexpectedly) full of really good advice about how to be a good boss. I mean, maybe I should have gleaned that from the title but I expected it to ...more

I was expecting more funny.
Having read a small portion of this book online (A Mother's Prayer) and having found that very entertaining, I had high hopes for this book. And I should say, it's not a bad read. It's just not that funny. I laughed out loud maybe once, and smiled a few times more. Most of the jokes fell under the category of fairly amusing. Maybe as a script, it'd be great.
Note: The rest of this review has been withdrawn due to the recent changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. ...more
Having read a small portion of this book online (A Mother's Prayer) and having found that very entertaining, I had high hopes for this book. And I should say, it's not a bad read. It's just not that funny. I laughed out loud maybe once, and smiled a few times more. Most of the jokes fell under the category of fairly amusing. Maybe as a script, it'd be great.
Note: The rest of this review has been withdrawn due to the recent changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. ...more

I wish that Tina Fey was my best friend. By the first paragraph I was laughing and in tears the next. She has her own way of bringing to light so many issues that women face daily, and her hard ass approach to deal with them was a breath of fresh air. As a career minded woman, I appreciated so much of what she had to say, and her comical writing made it even better. As a writer, I enjoyed her description and loved that she read her own audiobook. Thanks Tina for the advice and knowledge for all
...more

Listen to the audiobook for this one--Tina read its, and she's brilliantly hilarious!
...more

"I experienced car creepery at thirteen. I was walking home from middle school past a place called the World's Largest Aquarium - which, legally, I don't know how they could call it that, because it was obviously an average-sized aquarium. Maybe I should start referring to myself as the World's Tallest Man and see how that goes? Anyway, I was walking home from school and I was wearing a dress. A dude drove by and yelled, "Nice tits." Embarrassed and enraged, I screamed after him, "Suck my dick."
...more

In my opinion, Tina Fey is a gifted comic and while I know I’m really late to the party on this memoir (actually I think every last piece of confetti has been picked up by now), I’m so glad I waited until I could listen to her narrate it. Her affable personality and razor-sharp wit shine through the telling while providing us a fun ride through her background, some interesting behind-the-scenes glimpses into her SNL experiences, the making of 30 Rock and the genesis of her spot-on portrayal of S
...more
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Elizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey is an American actress, comedian, writer and producer. She has received seven Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, four Screen Actors Guild Awards, and four Writers Guild of America Awards. She was singled out as the performer who had the greatest impact on culture and entertainment in 2008 by the Associated Press, who gave her their AP Entertainer of the Year awa
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“Do your thing and don't care if they like it.”
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