I know that I'm about two years late in reviewing this, but I finally just got around to reading it only last night! I know... pathetic. Even my dad read it eons ago (though, to be fair, he's a much bigger Tina Fey fan than I am). I'm not even a busy person, so really there's no excuse for the lateness here.
Thoughts & Parts I Loved
- Hearing the phrase "my thick virgin eyebrows" made me laugh for about three full minutes.
- "This is what I tell young women who ask me for career advice. People are going to try to trick you. To make you feel that you are in competition with one another. "You're up for a promotion. If they go with a woman, it'll be between you and Barbara." Don't be fooled. You're not in competition with other women. You're in competition with everyone."
- When talking about her experience on a cruise: "There are some wonderful Filipinos who fold your towels in the shape of a different animal every night. It might be an elephant wearing your sunglasses, or a duck wearing your sunglasses. It's just fun. Don't overthink it." - I can't really put into words why exactly, but the "It's just fun. Don't overthink it." part of that made me laugh a lot.
- Honestly, the whole chapter about her honeymoon on a cruise ship is just wonderfully funny, especially her description of cruise ships in general: "Luxury cruises were designed to make something unbearable - a two-week transatlantic crossing - seem bearable. There's no need to do it now. There are planes. You wouldn't take a vacation where you ride on a stagecoach for two months but there's all-you-can-eat shrimp. You wouldn't take a vacation where you have an old-timey appendectomy without anesthesia while steel drums play. You might take a vacation where you ride a camel for two days if they gave you those animal towels wearing your sunglasses."
- The line, "At a certain point your body wants to be disgusting." Ugh, just love that.
- The chapter "Remembrances of Being Very, Very Skinny" is too great for words. The final paragraph of it especially: "We should leave people alone about their weight. Being skinny for awhile (provided you actually eat food and don't take pills or smoke to get there) is a perfectly fine pastime. Everyone should try it once, like a super-short haircut or dating a white guy."
- My favourite lines from "Remembrances of Being a Little Bit Fat" are: 1. "Even though I only liked McDonald's fries, I believe it was more nutritious to make a meal of it and have two cheeseburgers as well." 2. "If I was really ambitious, I would get a Whopper Jr. at Burger King and then walk to McDonald's to get the fries. The shake could be from anywhere."
- When talking about the ever-issue of women being funny: "I think of this whenever someone says to me, "Jerry Lewis says women aren't funny," or "Christopher Hitchens says women aren't funny," or "Rick Fenderman says women aren't funny....Do you have anything to say to that?" Yes. We don't fucking care if you like it."
- When talking about the overuse of Photoshop: "I feel about Photoshop the way some people feel about abortion. It is appalling and a tragic reflection on the moral decay of our society...unless I need it, in which case, everybody be cool." And "Photoshop is just like makeup. When it's done well it looks great, and when it's overdone you look like a crazy asshole. Unfortunately, most people don't do it well. I find, the fancier the magazine is, the worse the Photoshop. It's as if they are already so disgusted that a human has to be in the clothes, they can't stop erasing human features."
- Her description of Amy Poehler makes me really want Amy Poehler to write a book. She seems like the coolest woman alive.
- "Politics and prostitution have to be the only jobs where inexperience is considered a virtue. In what other profession would you brag about not knowing stuff?"
Just a really great book, you should definitely read it - what am I saying, I'm sure you have already since it came out a billion years ago. In that case, read it again! She's an incredible woman and I sincerely hope that she writes another one sometime soon. You can purchase it here or peruse one of your friends bookshelves, 'cause I'm pretty sure you'll find it there, too.