Review: Yes Please

Pin It Yes Please by Amy Poehler
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It may be impossible to read Yes Please without attempting to compare it to Bossypants by Tina Fey (which I didn't love and gave up on only a short time in), however, these books are so unrelated in style and purpose that an attempt would be foolish on my part. Let's just put it this way: I liked Yes Please but I didn't like Bossypants.

Now, with that out of the way, this was not even close to being a perfect book. It is essentially a series of very loosely related autobiographical essays with a mix of humor, advice, and general observation of what Poehler experienced on her way to the top of show business. Some of those essays are much better than others and some just plain old felt self-indulgent (which I suppose is allowed when you are writing a memoir of sorts). I actually listened to it in audiobook format which I think in this case was a good choice. It is narrated well and feels very natural. I'm fairly certain that it might be hard to catch some of the humor without hearing her say it in her voice.

The parts I liked, I liked a lot. Some of her discussions on parenting were hilarious and quite inspirational at times. On the other hand, other parts of her book felt a bit judgey... which is a bit ironic considering she points out several times how we need to stop judging each other.

All in all, this was a great book in the humor/memoir category. It actually made me laugh out loud a few times which is a rarity for me.

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