Yes Please

by Amy Poehler

[Amber (The Literary Phoenix)]

The thing about memoirs is that they are either really inspiring, or else they are just sort of meh. Even in her prologue, Poehler makes it clear she was totally not into this whole "writing a book" thing. And that's great. The honesty is great. In fact, I thought the book started off really well. I was chuckling at parts and found it fascinating to hear about her starts in improv, and overall her brutal honest about things. However, I didn't like the disjointed style where it went from this short story to a poem to four long chapters about Parks and Recreation.

She tries very hard to appeal to all sorts of fans, despite her repeated insistence that she doesn't like meeting new people or, particularly, fans. She spends a little time on her history, a little time on her kids, a little time on SNL, a little time on opinions, and a little time on Parks and Rec. Many of the stories feel unfinished and by the time I was nearing the end of the book, I was bored. I daresay it would have grown bored much more quickly if not for the quirky recording of the audiobook to keep me listening.

As an actress and comedian, Poehler puts a lot of herself into the recording and that certainly added to the experience. She had several guest stars, even if only for a line or two, and even brought on her parents. All that was fun and interesting.

In reading other reviews of this book, it comes up that she does often complain about writing a book, and that she seems stuck up about the whole thing. My view on this is that it is simply amazing the standards to which we hold our celebrities. I found her to be very genuine and even a bit uncomfortable about the ordeal, and actually thought her honesty about the whole process was admirably, and not at all off-putting.

I love the cover. I feel as though that is the least important observation, so that goes last, but the cover is very eye-catching and fun.