Bossypants by Tina Fey

This was a good read. It was a well put-together book, great for jumping into whenever I had a few spare minutes for a few pages here and there. Also great for traveling, as it's funny and light-hearted, doesn't require too much concentration to take it in. Fey told funny stories about her childhood, adolescence, all the way into her post-graduate years touring with an acting & improv group, to her time working her way up on SNL, and being the big boss at 30 Rock. What endears Tina Fey to fans and readers, I believe, is her ability to stay grounded, humble and even unaffected by her own fame and acclaim. When she wrote of her accomplishments, she wrote about the stressful or awkward parts in getting there, so you know she's a real person who worked for her success and experienced normal everyman/everywoman stuff like anxiety and weight struggles. But she never dwelled on any of those things in a "I went through a bad time" way - instead she retold them, reflecting on the humorous aspects of her struggles and dilemmas. She talked about professional lessons she learned and the good bosses she had, and talked very little crap on people whom she didn't like.

Fey's positive and amused outlook and poised writer's voice were refreshing in a world of celebrities who all seem to "write" their own books at some point. You can tell Fey is actually a writer, and the stories which were included in the book were short, sweet and to-the-point. It felt appropriately concise and entertaining. This was a story about her life, yet she didn't seem to self-indulge ever. My favorite parts of the story were when she told of her lessons learned from SNL creator Lorne Michaels, and about working with Amy Poehler, who is my all-time favorite SNL actress and comedy actress. Perhaps though, my very favorite thing about this book, was the way Fey delivered her brand of feminism, through humorous musings, without coming off entitled, bitter or bitchy. Choice excerpt: "My unsolicited advice to women in the workplace is this. When faced with sexism or ageism or lookism or even really aggressive Buddhism, ask yourself the following question: "Is this person in between me and what I want to do?" If the answer is no, ignore it and move on. Your energy is better used doing your work and outpacing people that way. Then, when you're in charge, don't hire the people who were jerky to you....don't waste your energy trying to educate or change opinions. Go "Over, Under, Through!" and opinions will change organically when you're the boss. Or they won't. Who cares?...Do your thing and don't care if they like it."