Yes Please by Amy Poehler
On the BookRiot podcast, Rebecca Schinsky was recently singing the praises of this book so much, even though I've never seen an episode of Park & Recreation, I had to "read" it. it was the only saving grace of a 5 hour drive to Newport, RI for an hour long client lunch. Besides the amazing lobster mac n' cheese. That might've been worth the drive.
The interesting thing about this book is, besides totally delivering on the funny that you expect from a comedian, this book was also fun to listen to. The production of the audiobook was obviously important to Poehler and so many extra elements were incorporated. Guest narrators such as Carol Burnett and Patrick Stewart, a conversation with Seth Myers (including a reading by him of the chapter he contributed), asides from Parks & Recreation creator Michael Schur while Amy discussed her experience on the show, stories told by Poehler's parents of the day she was born... this audiobook had everything.
However, besides being "guffaw in my car so the people stopped at the light next to me think I'm having some sort of fit" funny, Yes Please also had very beautiful and heartfelt moments as Poehler shared some of her most closely held views on life and love. Her writing about how much she loves her sons had me in tears and wanting to get home so I could hug the stuffing out of Lorelai. Her thoughts on the beauty of life had me inspired and wanting to see the world in a more positive and generous way.
And as soon as I got home, I started watching Parks & Recreation. If that's not a ringing endorsement for this book, I don't know what is!
Synopsis:
Do you want to get to know the woman we first came to love on Comedy Central's Upright Citizens Brigade? Do you want to spend some time with the lady who made you howl with laughter on Saturday Night Live, and in movies like Baby Mama, Blades of Glory, and They Came Together? Do you find yourself daydreaming about hanging out with the actor behind the brilliant Leslie Knope on Parks and Recreation? Did you wish you were in the audience at the last two Golden Globes ceremonies, so you could bask in the hilarity of Amy's one-liners?
If your answer to these questions is "Yes Please!" then you are in luck. In her first book, one of our most beloved funny folk delivers a smart, pointed, and ultimately inspirational read. Full of the comedic skill that makes us all love Amy, Yes Please is a rich and varied collection of stories, lists, poetry (Plastic Surgery Haiku, to be specific), photographs, mantras and advice. With chapters like "Treat Your Career Like a Bad Boyfriend," "Plain Girl Versus the Demon" and "The Robots Will Kill Us All" Yes Please will make you think as much as it will make you laugh. Honest, personal, real, and righteous, Yes Please is full of words to live by.