Books I Read in April (And Whether or Not You Should Read Them).

Favorite quote(s): “My brain turns toward fiction like a flower toward the sun, like writing with my right hand…spinning tall tales… knitting yarns made of stories is my dirty little vice, and I like it. But it’s not just a bad habit. I need to do it, I have to do it.”


“My point is that it can be scary to graduate. That you can lie on the hardwood floor of your dorm room and cry while your mom packs up your stuff. That you can have an impossible dream to be Toni Morrison that you have to let go of. That every day you can feel like you might be failing at work or at your home life. That the real world is hard.


And yet, you can still wake up every single morning and go, “I have three amazing kids and I have created work I am proud of, and I absolutely love my life and I would not trade it for anyone else’s life ever..”


You can still wake up one day and find yourself living a life you never even imagined dreaming of.


My dreams did not come true. But I worked really hard. And I ended up building an empire out of my imagination. So my dreams? Can suck it.”


My Thoughts: I got this book because this woman is a writer who pretty much owns television right now. I wanted a look behind the scenes, to hear stories about my favorite shows. I assumed it was just going to be a very interesting autobiography. And it was-but there was so much in there I wasn’t expecting! She talks a lot about creative process, about failure and fears, and even surprising things such as being a good mom. It left me feeling inspired and motivated and like all my dreams could come true.


Should you read it? Yes!


Bossypants by Tina Fey 


Plot: “Before Liz Lemon, before “Weekend Update,” before “Sarah Palin,” Tina Fey was just a young girl with a dream: a recurring stress dream that she was being chased through a local airport by her middle-school gym teacher. She also had a dream that one day she would be a comedian on TV. She has seen both these dreams come true.


At last, Tina Fey’s story can be told. From her youthful days as a vicious nerd to her tour of duty on Saturday Night Live; from her passionately halfhearted pursuit of physical beauty to her life as a mother eating things off the floor; from her one-sided college romance to her nearly fatal honeymoon—from the beginning of this paragraph to this final sentence. Tina Fey reveals all, and proves what we’ve all suspected: you’re no one until someone calls you bossy.” -via Goodreads

Favorite quote: Way too many to list. I started keeping track of them, until I realized there was at least one on almost every page. She hilariously recaps her thoughts on Kim Kardashian and the expectation of women’s bodies, what she prays for her daughter,  stories from high school and college. One of the more serious quotes from the book: 


“So, my unsolicited advice to women in the workplace is this. When faced with sexism, or ageism, or lookism, or even really aggressive Buddhism, ask yourself the following question: “Is this person in between me and what I want to do?” If the answer is no, ignore it and move on. Your energy is better used doing your work and outpacing people that way. Then, when you’re in charge, don’t hire the people who were jerky to you.”


My thoughts: Tina Fey for President. Really. This book is a hilarious look at her life and successes, but it also covers some serious issues. Any book that can make me laugh out loud while also bringing up real-life issues is a winner.


Should you read it? If you know who Tina Fey is, then yes. If you don’t, first reexamine your life, then read this book. Priorities, you know.


What are you reading this month?