For most of us, the “reading for pleasure” thing just doesn’t sound, well, very pleasurable. Between the copious amounts of reading for school, the last thing we want to do is pull out another book (Netflix always seems to be calling). But these books, rather memoirs, are the exceptions you need to make time for. Written by some of our most beloved female comedians, the memoirs give advice through the writers’ personal stories and are guaranteed to make you laugh.
Having trouble with something that just isn’t the type of thing you want to go to your mom about? Chances are these women are bound to at least touch upon, if not tell you exactly how it happened to them and how they got through it. It’s like having a best friend whose great advice has been collected and written down throughout the years; except this best friend is famous. And hilarious. And not afraid to show the world her misfortunes.
The winter weather is right around the corner, so start at the top of the list, grab a spot by the fire and enjoy! (P.S these could make the perfect stocking stuffers, or gift for your girlfriends for a holiday pick me up!)
1. “Are You There Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea” by Chelsea Handler “I went out with a guy who once told me I didn’t need to drink to make myself more fun to be around. I told him, I’m drinking so that you’re more fun to be around.”
You know that one friend who is always crossing the line? Well think of Chelsea as her, but truly without ANY boundaries. She has done it all, from a naked shower slap down with Sandra Bullock to her most recent replication of Kim Kardashian’s Paper Magazine cover. The book is split into chapters based off of a specific story in her life, each laced with witty comebacks and humor about one of her favorite topics, booze. Contributing writer for Book Riot Swapna Krishna sums it up perfectly saying, “If you are easily offended or have a delicate sense of humor, turn back now. Chelsea’s sense of humor is just wrong. However, she’s hilarious while doing it, and if you can laugh at these types of jokes, you’ll probably find this book really (wrongly) funny.” If you like this book, be sure to check out another one of her hits, “My Horizontal Life: A Collection of One Night Stands”.
2. “Is Everyone Hanging out Without Me? (and other concerns)” by Mindy Kaling“If I’m at a party where I’m not enjoying myself, I will put some cookies in my jacket pocket and leave without saying good-bye.”
You may know her as Kelly Kapoor from The Office, but Mindy Kaling has come a long way since her not so secretive office romance with Ryan. She has her own show now, The Mindy Project, which is very indicative to who she is as a person, also highlighted in her book. She embraces what other people consider her flaws, keeps up with all celebrity gossip and maintains the status of a powerful working woman. Kaling not afraid to come out and say what she’s thinking, despite what others may think of her. The book embodies these personality traits along with accounting on hilarious stories in her life. She has you laughing from page one with her list of alternate titles, which are sure to not disappoint.
3. “Bossypants” by Tina Fey“My ability to turn good news into anxiety is rivaled only by my ability to turn anxiety into chin acne.”
Whether you developed your girl crush on Tina Fey during her Saturday Night Live career, or her role on 30 Rock as Liz Lemon, you are bound to heighten your crush after reading this book. The New York Times boasts, “It’s a spiky blend of humor, introspection, critical thinking and Nora Ephron-isms for a new generation. But it chronologically follows Ms. Fey through an awkward girlhood spent in Upper Darby, Pa., teenage years with a coterie of gay friends and a fish-out-of-water stint at the University of Virginia. It is a dagger-sharp, extremely funny new book for which even the blurbs are clever.”
4. “Yes Please” by Amy Poehler “I think we should stop asking people in their twenties what they “want to do” and start asking them what they don’t want to do.”
Finding it hard to cope with the fact that you won’t have your weekly dish of Leslie Knope in Parks and Rec? It’s a good thing Poehler has just released her first book so you can always have her sarcastic comebacks at your fingertips. She couldn’t let fellow comedian and friend Tina Fey steal all the writing glory, so she created her own book. While it does touch upon childhood memories, Poehler’s book is also full of more recent ones such as her times on SNL and her husband and children. Check out Rolling Stone’s list of nine things that you are bound to learn in her book.
5. “Not That Kind of Girl” by Lena Dunham“But if I can take what I’ve learned and make one menial job easier for you, or prevent you from having the kind of sex where you feel you must keep your sneakers on in case you want to run away during the act, then every misstep of mine will have been worthwhile.”
In this book, Lena Dunham describes experiences that are sure to be relatable for the average girl: being considered overweight, her boy troubles and even her “first time”. Yes, it is quite personal, but then again if you have seen her hit HBO show Girls, you know that is very much her style. Michiko Kakutani of The New York Times describes, “The gifted Ms. Dunham not only writes with observant precision, but also brings a measure of perspective, nostalgia and an older person’s sort of wisdom to her portrait of her (not all that much) younger self and her world … By simply telling her own story in all its specificity and sometimes embarrassing detail, she has written a book that’s as acute and heartfelt as it is funny.”