The project where I read a book a week this year. See more about my project here (and feel free to leave your book suggestions). You can read my other 52 in ’11 posts here.

Book 7: Bossypants by Tina Fey
My rating: Worth your time.

I’ll admit it for you all to hear. I don’t like Tina Fey.

There I said it. Feel free to attack me in the comments and tell me what a horrible woman I am who has no sense of humour.

Now that’s over with, let me say how much I thoroughly enjoyed this book. While there were times that Fey got a little too overly feminist for me (I know, I’m a woman hater), the majority of the book made up for it.

I was constantly snickering and, at times, even laughing out loud (I’m not afraid to admit it, OK?). Fey gives some wonderful advice for all young women (hell, women in general), who are hoping, or trying, to achieve at their career and may face hurdles (men) in their way to doing so.

She talks about her time at Saturday Night Live and creating 30 Rock with great candor and interesting stories. Her chapter on playing Sarah Palin, and how that affected her, was one of the most telling and great to read. Some choice quotes from it:

By the way when Oprah Winfrey is suggesting you may have overextended yourself, you need to examine your fucking life.

There was an assumption that I was personally attacking Sarah Palin by impersonating her on TV. No one ever said it was “mean” when Chevy Chase played Gerald Ford falling down all the time. No one ever accused Dana Carvey or Darrell Hammond or Dan Aykroyd of “going to far” in their political impressions. You see where I’m going here. I am not mean and Mrs. Palin is not fragile. To imply otherwise is a disservice to us both.

What I really took away from Fey’s book though was how much she loves what she does — and how unwilling she is to give it up. That really struck a chord with me. I’ve always said because you work for so long, you have to like what you do — otherwise your life will be quite miserable.

But Fey took it a bit further — she not only loves what she does, she loves working for NBC. Where you work is just as critical as what you do. I can attest to this: You may be doing what you love, but if you’re at a company that doesn’t appreciate you or recognize that, it can be just as soul crushing as doing something you don’t like for 40-odd years. (Thankfully, that is not the case for me right now, where I currently work is a dream come true for me.)

I’d highly recommend Bossypants, but would warn any men looking to buy it: It’s quite pro-women and contains (what you may find) graphic information about birthing and breastfeeding. But if you can get past all that, it’s well worth it.

And one day I too hope to be a Bossypants (though my boyfriend would likely say I already am one).

Have you read Bossypants? Do you find Tina Fey funny? Do you think I’m crazy for not finding her funny? Leave a comment below and continue the discussion.