Yes Please in Around the Year in 52 Books

Apr 09, 2015 Lacey Louwagie rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: memoir, non-fiction, autobiography, essays, humor, 100-book-challenge-2015

First off, I think anyone who wants to read a comedian/famous person's book should always opt for the audio. I don't know if I would have gotten Poehler's "voice" and found humor in the right moments if I didn't get to hear her own delivery.

I like that, because Amy Poehler is ALSO a writer, she actually wrote this book rather than having a ghostwriter do it for her. With that said, book-writing, as she discloses in her opening, is not her strongest suit. Many of these essays, individually, are g ...more

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Oct 21, 2015 Nadine in NY Jones rated it it was ok

Shelves: essays, audio, humor

i don't know why I keep expecting these celebrity essay books to offer some sort of insight that I have not already discovered on my own. They don't. Even if there is no fresh insight, I hope they'll be funny or interesting in some way. They aren't. I expect they are interesting if you are a fan of the particular celebrity, but I am not so much. I LIKED these people, but I'm not a fan. I don't watch TV so I'm only moderately familiar with the shows they've been on. So, note to self: unless it's i don't know why I keep expecting these celebrity essay books to offer some sort of insight that I have not already discovered on my own. They don't. Even if there is no fresh insight, I hope they'll be funny or interesting in some way. They aren't. I expect they are interesting if you are a fan of the particular celebrity, but I am not so much. I LIKED these people, but I'm not a fan. I don't watch TV so I'm only moderately familiar with the shows they've been on. So, note to self: unless it's Joss Whedon or David Boreanaz writing these books, I should probably skip it.

In sum, there's four things I could expect from a book like this:
* It could be funny
* It could be educational
* It could be engaging
* It could be insightful

But this wasn't any of those things. I expected some parts to be funny, and there were a few moments that made me smile, but that's as far as that went. Mostly, I was expecting this to be really insightful, because that was the general buzz I'd gotten about this book. But ... no. There was no insight, and I had little interest in most of it. In fact (and to my surprise) whole passages were actually boring.

If this book has a theme, that would be: "I hate writing this book" - because that is the thing that Ms Poehler goes on and on and ON about. Geez. The prologue is all about how hard it is to write a book, and okay I'm sure it IS hard and I appreciate her candor. But she keeps bringing it up, throughout this book. If Ms Poehler dreaded the writing process so much, why did she write it at all?? Much of the book was filler. Chapters written by her friends, chapters written by her parents, chapters that were just lists or categories ... Clearly, Ms Poehler struggled to come up with enough material to qualify for "book" status. She's pretty open about hating the process. So, why did she write it? I don't know. I know a lot about allllllll the different drugs she took, and the stars she (literally) rubbed shoulders with, but I don't know why she decided to write this book.

The audiobook was well done, it was fun to have surprise guest stars (Carol Burnett! Patrick Stewart! Amy's parents! and more!!!), and Ms Poehler definitely has a great delivery. So, if you're interested in this book, and you have the ability to listen to audio books, you should absolutely go audio with this one.

This book fulfilled the "Written by a Comedian" prompt for the 2016 Ultimate Reading Challenge. ...more

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Apr 02, 2020 Clare rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This memoir Is a perfect read for inspiration, commiserating, reflecting and reminiscing. All of these happen here. Amy’s self-reflections appear to be honest and they’re certainly relatable - both in time (I’m just a couple years younger and vividly remember the fashions, toys, movies & culture of various periods in her life) and in experience (especially for moms with highly competitive careers, single moms and creative women).

I did not have high expectations for the book but was happily surpr ...more

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Dec 04, 2014 Jennifer Melnyk rated it it was amazing

Shelves: non-fiction, audible, 2014

Many people that have read and reviewed this book have complained that it wasn't a comedy book, though there were funny parts.

I found this book to be equal parts light-hearted and funny, as well as serious. As I write this, I have $60 in my bank account and want to run out and adopt a Haitian orphan. Even though I realize this is unrealistic, the desire is still there.

Be kind to each other. It's the only way any of us make it through this life. (paraphrased from the last chapter of this book) ...more

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Dec 18, 2014 KT rated it really liked it

You MUST listen to this on audiobook. I don't think reading it on a page could possibly do it justice. Not only is hearing straight from Amy's (and her friends' and parents') mouth the best way to experience her words, but you don't get many chances to hear Patrick Stewart read haikus. This is one - take it! ...more

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Jan 10, 2015 martha rated it really liked it

Shelves: audiobook, nonfiction, year-2015, funny-haha

"To get ready for our first Golden Globes together, Tina and I spent a lot of time procrastinating and sending texts about how terrible it was going to be. Deep down, I wasn’t worried, because Tina is the finest joke soldier you could ever go to war with."

Also MIKE SCHUR. And Seth. And Amy's laugh when reading the audiobook, a "warm intoxicating cackle" (TM Tina Fey). ...more

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