Let's just get the gushing out of the way right off the bat. I. LOVE. THIS. WOMAN. Seriously, love love love love love Tina Fey. It cannot be said enough.
The book was pretty good, too. Okay, the book was phenomenal, everything I'd hoped when I put it on hold at the library all those weeks ago, and more. Not only was it bursting at the seams with bite-sized doses of Fey's self-deprecating wit, there was actually some genuinely poignant advice to be found in its pages.
Of the things I learned in reading this, about Tina and about life, these are a few of the things that stood out:
1. She made the best of a lot of crappy jobs before hitting it big, and now she gets to do her dream job, every day. I am simultaneously envious and extremely inspired by this.
2. She has a surprisingly healthy and, frankly, kind of awesome relationship with her parents, and especially her father, who earns a whole chapter dedicated to him. He's old school and sounds like kind of a hard-ass at times, but rather than resent that she talks about how she's come to understand and respect it. I know better than most that it can be hard to accept your parents for who they are, but seeing someone who's done that so well is a really nice change.
3. She genuinely has no idea how gorgeous she is. Seriously, there are a ton of us girls (yes, most of us nerds, but that's beside the point) who would kill to be a petite brunette firecracker who can pull off thick-framed glasses better than just about anyone who's not a 65 year old man. Her "beauty tips" are self-deprecating and hilarious, and for me it's a confirmation that no, she doesn't take her looks too seriously, and she has no intent to do so. As a movie star, that's a pretty darn admirable trait.
4. She shares my love of/adoration for/worship of Amy Poehler. Except coming from her it's not as borderline creepy, since you know, they're actually friends in real life. But seriously, reading and hearing these two talk about how much they admire each other is such a breath of fresh air from all the Hollywood ladies constantly bickering with one another, and I LOVE it. And it reminds me of the great friendships I've had, currently have, and hope to have as I get older and move forward in the world.
5. She balances the mom/fun scale. I know some women who try too hard to be Supermom, and the result is that they're tense and marginally crazy all the time. On the flip side, I know women who try way too hard to be "cool" moms, and thus are terrible at the actual parenting side of things. From what Tina writes about here, it's clear that she's made striking a balance a priority. There are very few celebrity children that I foresee growing up to be well-adjusted individuals, but I'm pretty sure her daughter (and future child) will be among that minority.
6. She really is a fantastic writer. I've known for years that she could write amazing, hilarious things for television, but that doesn't always translate to ability to write a full-length book. And yet, I picked this up and didn't put it down for the two hours it took me to read, because it just flew by. The prose is as crisp and unembellished as the episodic style we usually see from her, and mixed in with the humor and interest naturally occurring in the stories she tells, it just plain works. If this woman wanted to write anything else-- novel, comic book, toaster operation manual-- you can bet that I would be first in line to read it.
If you're still reading this post, then you are wasting valuable time you could be spending reading Bossypants. Go do that instead. I promise it'll be worth it.
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