Life can be a hot mess sometimes. Whenever possible, I think it’s important to find the funny, and laugh until your tummy hurts. I’ve recently read the life stories of three fabulous and funny ladies, so let’s review them, shall we?
Even the cover is funny. Tina Fey with man hands!
Tina Fey! She’s smart and funny! She wears spectacles! She looks kind of like Sarah Palin and did one of the funniest political impressions SNL has ever seen during the 2008 presidential campaign! She is the creative genius behind 30 Rock! And she wrote a book! I think the exclamation points will speak for me here, but I was really excited to read Tina Fey’s book, Bossypants. It takes you through her humorously quirky childhood up through the present. She pokes fun at the difficulty of being a woman working in a male dominated field. She discusses the pressures of comedy writing, as well as the unorthodox behavior of her male counterparts (there’s a pee jar. Yes. I just said that.) She does a brilliant job of showing the challenges of motherhood while not condemning anyone’s position on mothering. I suppose she might come across as offensive to someone who’s really really dedicated to a particular way of doing things… But if you’re not at least a little offensive, you’re not funny. So. If you like Tina Fey (which you SHOULD because she’s funny and smart and wears spectacles) you should read Bossypants.
Have we not ALL wondered that from time to time?
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling is another hilarious new memoir. You know Kelly Kapoor from The Office? That’s Mindy Kaling, and she also writes for the show. At least she did until recently, because this fall she has a new sitcom on Fox called, appropriately, The Mindy Project. I have not seen it, but since I love The Office and her book, I’m going to go out on a limb and tell you to watch it. Mindy had me busting a gut several times throughout her book. Her voice is smart, but in a way that sounds a little vapid-the effect of which is hysterical. Mindy discusses her oddball childhood, her early obsession with comedy, and the way she accidentally found fame… By pretending with a friend to be Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. She’s from an Indian family, so you get an element of culture disparity between her and her parents, which is wonderful. Read it, yo!
The cover image is Hamlet Von Schnitzel… He’s a taxidermy mouse. Giving a soliloquy. What?
Have you heard of The Bloggess? Her name is Jenny Lawson, and she’s one of the internet’s funniest bloggers. She wrote a book called Let’s Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir. If you like her blog, you’ll love her book. It’s bitingly funny while telling sometimes painful stories of her life. She discusses her unorthodox childhood, her struggles with mental illness, and her love of ethically taxidermied animals in human clothes. She’s nerdy and quirky and wonderful. Check out her blog if you don’t believe me. If you don’t squirt water out your nose at least once, I’ll give you a dollar. Not true. Not everyone is as prone to snarfling beverages as my friend Chrissy, and I just can’t afford to take that chance. But seriously, she’s one of the best blogger-turned-authors ever. Support weirdos! Read her book!
Who are your favorite funny females, bookworms?
Lyssapants
I effing LOVE your taste in books. The end.
wordsforworms
I effing LOVE that you leave me fun comments!
Kimberly Perry
I love these…I also read “White Girl Problems”in the same stretch…HYSTERICAL!
wordsforworms
I got a lecture from my friend Chrissy that I need to read Chelsea Handler too. So many awesome books, so little time!
jackattack29
Read Mindy’s book and thought it was quite funny! I also recently heard about Chelsea Handler’s stuff and will be checking it out soon!!!
wordsforworms
I’ve heard great things about Chelsea Handler’s books too- you’ll have to let me know how you like them!
Mel
Read Jenny’s and Tina’s books and I wish you actually were giving out dollars as I would be a gazillionaire (okay, tenionair but doesn’t sound as dramatic). I also read Chelsea Handler’s and felt the same way as you do. I was kind of tired after reading it, like after being with a kind of friend who is always ‘on’. There is no break in between her craziness, and as I’m sure you know, we need to store up the crazy before we let it all out.
Words for Worms
Thanks for visiting, Mel! I’m glad I retracted my bet, I knew there had to be other snarflers out there. If you read Jenny and Tina, try Mindy. She’s delicious too 🙂
Susann Borin
Does anyone know of a book, I believe autobiography, whose author was on Chelsea Lately. The only think I remember is the author tried all different cults looking for enlightenment. She really didn’t expect to find anything and it was for humor that she was trying out these different places. I think it was a humor book.