‘Bossypants’ by Tina Fey is one of best books I’ve read in a long, long time. I enjoyed her book over the Fourth of July weekend and find myself still thinking about passages or even laughing out loud thinking about it in my car. It’s as awkward as it sounds. The laughing in my car is awkward, not the book, well, maybe the book too.
She covers everything from her childhood to motherhood to playing Sarah Palin on SNL. She makes it a point to mention that no one seemed to know she wasn’t on SNL anymore when the Palin thing came about. I sure didn’t. The original skit between Hillary (Amy Poehler) and Palin (Tina Fey) is even in the book which I thought was very cool.
If you’re looking for a book delivering substance with humor, ‘Bossypants’ is your go to. I’m not huge into biographies but Tina has a gift of storytelling and her talent shines in this book. I don’t have to keep going on and on though, the book speaks for itself. Here are a few of my favorite quotes (even though the anecdotes are the best part), enjoy!
“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.”
A prayer for her daughter:
“First, Lord: No tattoos. May neither Chinese symbol for truth nor Winnie-the-Pooh holding the FSU logo stain her tender haunches.
May she be Beautiful but not Damaged, for it’s the Damage that draws the creepy soccer coach’s eye, not the Beauty.
When the Crystal Meth is offered, May she remember the parents who cut her grapes in half And stick with Beer.
Guide her, protect her”
“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.”
“Lesson learned? When people say, “You really, really must” do something, it means you don’t really have to. No one ever says, “You really, really must deliver the baby during labor.” When it’s true, it doesn’t need to be said.”
“So, 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.”
