Teas and Trees: Book Review: Yes, Please by Amy Poehler

This is the fifth book I have read this year that is essentially an anecdote of an entertainer's life whom I love and admire. Amy Poehler is the latest, I have also read Iliza Shlesinger's book Girl Logic, Anna Kendrick's book Scrappy Little Nobody, Lauren Graham's book Talking As Fast As I Can and Mara Wilson's book Where Am I Now? And I plan to read many more. I've got a queue.

They were all equally entertaining, but I would have to say at this point my favorite thus far is Anna Kendrick's book, sorry Amy. I'm thinking it has something to do with where I am in my life; I just related more to 30 year old wacky Anna than I did mid-40s, mother of two, finally figuring your life out Amy.

Yes you are Anna!

This in now way made her book any less enjoyable and I look forward to perhaps picking this book up again when I enter that phase of my life. Until then I will simply explain my most recent reading experience of her book.

First off, I did enjoy it. It was clever and funny and part of why I have become obsessed with books like this is because of the ability to listen to the audio book which inevitably is narrated by the entertainer themselves. So I got to listen to Amy's entire book read to me by Amy herself.

GOOD POINT: Amy found a way of narrating her book to make it feel like a stand-up comedy routine, which was an interesting twist compared to the other books I have read in this genre. It made it where I almost forgot I was reading an actual book and not just listening to her tell her unique life story.

Just imagine this reading to you. Epic, yes?

This book tends to go back and forth more so than the others. Meaning that it's not very linear. Where other people talk from their early days up to the present, Amy kept jumping back and forth, but it wasn't tiresome.

I was able to keep up with the jumps. It never got to the point where I was having to go back a few pages to make sure I was in the right place. It was a different way to tell the story and one that I got behind rather quickly. Everything she mentioned was relevant and it didn't feel like she was going off on some weird tangent.

GOOD POINT: I thought having various other entertainers read parts of her book would annoy me. I didn't come here for them after all, I came here for Amy. But I found those pieces were light and again added a unique feel to her story. It's one thing to write from strictly your perspective, but to have someone else come in and retell a story from there perspective is something you need to be strong enough to handle. Though I doubt she would have invited these people if they weren't going to at least say one nice thing about her. I know I wouldn't.

Seth Meyers read a chapter

There wasn't much about Parks and Recreation, which is the show I know her the most from. I'm guessing because at the time of the books publication the show was still filming albeit its final season, but I can see how it would be different if she were looking at those days through rose tinted classes of nostalgia. It just hadn't hit her yet as it did say to Lauren Graham when talking about Gilmore Girls.

I did enjoy her nods to each cast mate on the show. I thought they were very sweet and funny and very Amy. I adore that entire cast and if any of them write a book I will probably devour it as well.

Another great thing about these books is being able to learn things about the person you didn't before. While I enjoy Amy as an entertainer I never bothered to look into her personal life, mainly because duh, it's personal. I had no idea that she had been married to Will Arnett and had two kids with him. It's just a fun tidbit that I now know, not sure what I'll gain from it, but it's nice all the same.

GOOD POINT: She was very protective of her marriage, divorce, and now ex-husband. She doesn't mention him much, not even many good memories. In a way you can find this sad, but I think it shows that some things you just want to keep to yourself. As she says Divorces are hard and though no good marriage ends in divorce, you want to try and preserve those good times especially if children are involved. I applaud her for taking that route. Besides she had many other tales to tell, no need to tell that one.

BAD POINT: This is all me. I just wish my overall reaction to it hadn't been, "It was alright." I know my tune will change once I have two kids and my writing career takes off. Your words will help me then Amy, I'm sure of it.