Do you ever wonder what it would be like to be best friends with four of the funniest female comedians today? Because I do. Mindy Kaling, Lena Dunham, Amy Poehler and Tina Fey are all known for their roles they play on TV, but these four hilarious women happen to all have published books chronicling their personal experiences and giving readers advice on life, love and sex.
Here are 4 books that you should definitely pick up the next time you’re in Chapters and looking for a funny and easy read to escape the tiresome life of being a university student:
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling
The Mindy Project is obviously on all of our weekly TV schedule listings and if she isn’t already your spirit animal, she will be once you’ve finished her book. Detailing everything from her acceptance of not looking like a model, her play Matt & Ben that pushed her onto the theatrical scene to her days on The Office. The book reads as if you’re having a casual conversation with Kaling, from her telling you about the instructions for her funeral to her thoughts on one night stands and male chest hair.
Excerpt from Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?: “I think when men hear that women want a commitment, they think it means commitment to a romantic relationship, but that’s not it. It’s a commitment to not floating around anywhere. I want a guy who is entrenched in his own life.”
Not That Kind of Girl: A Young Woman Tells You What She’s “Learned” by Lena Dunham
Creator, writer and producer of the HBO series Girls, Lena Dunham is not shy in broaching any subject, whether it’s on her TV show or in her book. Some might say that Dunham over shares her personal experiences as it has been a bit of a controversial topic in the media since the book was released. I would say that it’s honest and candid. Dunham gives us a detailed glimpse into how she handles mental disorders, the awkwardness of filming sex scenes to her personal stories of falling in love and losing her virginity. She reminds us that whether we’re a celebrity or not, we all have personal battles to overcome.
Excerpt from Not Think of Girl: “I didn’t know why this was happening. The cruel reality of anxiety is that you never quite do. At the moments it should logically strike, I am fit as a fiddle. On a lazy afternoon, I am seized by a cold dread.”
Yes Please by Amy Poehler
Amy Poehler gives us a glimpse into her own mind with her book Yes Please. If you’re a true Poehler fan who has been following her work from Saturday Night Live to portraying Leslie Knope on Parks and Recreation, you’ll really appreciate what she has to say. Poehler brings more advice and words to live by for the readers, rather than only being a book about being funny.
Excerpt from Yes Please: “Because what else are we going to do? Say no? Say no to an opportunity that may be slightly out of our comfort zone? Quiet our voice because we are worried it is not perfect? I believe great people do things before they are ready.”
Bossypants by Tina Fey
Like Poehler, I think we all started to fall in love or want to be Tina Fey since being on Saturday Night Live and portraying Ms. Norbury on Mean Girls. Bossypants chronicles the trials and tribulations she has faced in becoming a comedian, from The Second City in Chicago to creating and starring on 30 Rock. Fey is not shy in being self-deprecating towards herself and gives us a little peak into her personal life. Once you get to the end, you’ll wish it was longer just do you can learn more about what makes Tina Fey, Tina Fey.
Excerpt from Bossypants: “Don’t waste your energy trying to educate or change opinions; go over, under, through, and opinions will change organically when you’re the boss. Or they won’t. Who cares? Do your thing, and don’t care if they like it.”
Guaranteed to make you laugh out loud and wish among other things, to either be as funny as they are, or to wish you were their friend in real life.