Yes Please by Amy Poehler Book Review

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.

My Review:

When I first started reading Yes Please I wasn’t sure if I would like it.  I didn’t think Amy Poehler and I would have anything in common.  What if there was nothing in the book I could relate to?

I was pleasantly surprised to find that we have more in common than I thought.  We were born only 3 1/2 years apart, so we have many of the same childhood experiences.  We both read Judy Blume and obsessed about scoliosis.  We both wore silk blouses, jodhpurs and stirrup pants.  We both curled our hair and used lots of hairspray (although Amy preferred White Rain and I used Aqua Net). We both slow danced to Faithfully by Journey.

We have some of the same favorite authors (Anne Lamott, Stephen King, David Sedaris). We both fear large crowds because we are small people.

Here are a few of my favorite quotes from the book:

Now that I am older, I am rounder and softer, which isn’t a bad thing.

I find that, in general, the amount of sharing men do with each other in one year is about the same as what I share with my female friends while we wait for our cars at the valet.

Telling me to relax or smile when I’m angry is like bringing a birthday cake into an ape sanctuary.  You’re just asking to get your nose or genitals bitten off.

I really enjoyed this book.  Since it is a collection of essays, you don’t have to read it all at once (in fact, I would recommend against it).  Poehler’s sense of humor is both sweet and salty, so you won’t be bored, no matter which humor style you prefer.

I give Yes Please four stars.  A fun, fun read!!

I received a complimentary copy of this book for the purpose of review through Birchbox.  All opinions are 100% my own.