So I’m not actually behind on my goal to read a book a week this year. I’m actually a little ahead. What I’m behind on is blogging about the books I’ve read. Because I’ll be thinking, oh I need to post a book review about that Tina Fey book I read in August and then my baby will do some genius thing like, I don’t know, stand up. Which means that I, in turn, have to be all “INTERNET! MY BABY CAN STAND UP! HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF SUCH GENIUS?! WAIT YOUR TURN, TINA FEY!”
The two books in today’s review are vastly different. I like a little variety in life.
Bossypants by Tina Fey – I liked this book but I didn’t love it. I think I just expected to laugh a lot more. I mean, Tina Fey is funny. But I think she’s the kind of funny that translates better when someone is delivering her lines in say, a staged fake news show that recaps events of the week in a manner that is both sarcastic and amusing. Saturday Night Live should really borrow that idea from me.
I say that, although the whole time I was reading I was randomly laughing out loud and Jeff was all “WHAT are you reading?!” which I think might have been code for “Seriously woman, your incessant giggling is interrupting my football game.” If you are a 30 Rock fan, you’ll probably really like this book because it has a lot of background information about the show and it’s origins. Since I’ve seen exactly three episodes of 30 Rock, that did nothing for me.
Also, I might be a bad person because when she bemoans how hard it is to go to work everyday and how much she thinks that choice costs her daughter, I couldn’t help but think “Aren’t you like, a really rich celebrity who could, you know, make a different choice?” But then she talked about all the people who’s jobs depend on her and I was like “Okay Tina Fey. Respect. What you want, baby I got it.”
Overall, it was just different than what I expected. It has a lot of advice on being someone’s boss which actually works out great for me since I’m the boss of no one. Don’t say Scarlette. That baby is obviously the boss in this house. Who wipes who’s bottom, that what I’m saying. And the book is also full of life lessons, some I agreed with and others I didn’t. It’s a good, funny read but it’s not one that I’d be all “OMG YOU HAVE TO READ THIS BOOK” about. Partially because I don’t say OMG. I say “Oh my crumb.”
What Women Fear by Angie Smith – I first began reading Angie’s blog when she was pregnant with her daughter, who passed away shortly after birth. I was captivated by both her story and the poignancy with which she told it. I bought her first book, I Will Carry You, shortly after it’s release. I loved it and so I might have bought her second book anyhow, but I purchased it solely because it deals with the issue of fear and anxiety. Those two things have played such a huge role in my life, escorting me all the way to the door of a therapist, that I thought I might be meant to read it.
I wanted to hear what Angie had to say as someone who has lived out my greatest fear and not remained fallen beneath it’s weight. I’m glad I did. So much of the book made me would think “Yes, me too.” When she talked about lying awake at night as a child and the irrational fears that plagued her I almost wanted to call her on the phone and be like “OH MY CRUMB WE ARE THE SAME PERSON!” I won’t do that, of course, but only because I don’t have her phone number.
If fear is a struggle in your life, I recommend this book. It’s not a 12-step program but it is heart-healing. I’m not a huge fan of the format. Honestly, I have a bit of a pet peeve about being addressed as “friend” in a book and I dislike it when the author prints their prayers after each chapter, but I think those things are worth overlooking for the rest of the message.
(As always, those are my Amazon affiliate links b/c that is where I buy my books, unless I get them for free at my local library. Support your local library. Or support me. It’s practically the same thing. No it isn’t.)
