Bossypants
4.3 | 20,869 ratings
Price: 14.95
Last update: 01-29-2026
Top reviews from the United States
- She Treads SoftlyFey tells the truth about Red Lobster cheddar biscuitsBossypants by Tina Fey is part memoir, advice column, personal reflection, and cultural essays, but every part of this nonfiction narrative is humorous. Fey's writing style is comfortable and pleasant but at the same time she is side-splittingly funny. Fey does briefly cover growing up in Upper Darby, PA and she shares some unexpected but hilarious advice about how to keep your teenage daughter a virgin.
There is actually some good advice on being a boss:
"In most cases being a good boss means hiring talented people and then getting out of their way." (Page 5)
"This is what I tell young women who ask me for career advice. People are going to try to trick you. To make you feel that you are in competition with one another. "You're up for a promotion. If they go with a woman, it'll be between you and Barbara." Don't be fooled. You're not in competition with other women. You're in competition with everyone. Also, I encourage them to always wear a bra. Even if you don't think you need it, just... you know what? You're never going to regret it." (Page 88)
"But there is not one management course in the world where they recommend Self-Righteousness as a tool." (Page 128)
There is a touching chapter about her father.
"How can I give her what Don Fey gave me? The gift of anxiety. The fear of getting in trouble. The knowledge that while you are loved, you are not above the law. The Worldwide Parental Anxiety System is failing if this many of us have made sex tapes. "(Page 54)
There are stories about her time with Second City, Saturday Night Live, and 30 Rock, as well as a chapter on a glamor photo shoot, and some stories about being a woman.
"However, of all the places I've worked that were supposedly boys' clubs, The Second City was the only one where I experienced institutionalized gender nonsense. For example, a director of one of the main companies once justified cutting a scene by saying, 'The audience doesn't want to see a scene between two women.' Whaaa? More on that later." (Page 87)
"In 1997 I flew to New York from Chicago to interview for a writing position at Saturday Night Live. It seemed promising because I'd heard the show was looking to diversify. Only in comedy, by the way, does an obedient white girl from the suburbs count as diversity." Page 119
I connected with so many of her stories, but some of the stories that deal with things only a woman would understand were priceless like the strident pro-breast-feeding moms (Fey's name for them in her book is better - I would argue that it's not only breast feeding, but these dilettantes have moved into areas of food police, sports experts, and activity booking agents for their children) and the male producers not understanding why the Classics Kotex pads commercial for SNL was funny.
Here are two more quotes for women:
"I had noticed something was weird earlier in the day, but I knew from commercials that one's menstrual period was a blue liquid that you poured like laundry detergent onto maxi pads to test their absorbency. This wasn't blue, so... I ignored it for a few hours." (Page 14)
"My mother knew the importance of getting the right fit for a bra, so she took me to JCPenney and tried one on over my clothes. She tried a bra on me over my clothes in the middle of JCPenney. I thank her for this. This early breast-related humiliation prevented me from ever needing to participate in "Girls Gone Wild" in my twenties." (Page 104)
Admittedly, Fey didn't delve in deep to her personal life of her deepest thoughts, but that's okay. She shared the information and stories she was comfortable sharing. While I did see Fey on SNL, I'll have to admit I don't watch 30 Rock. (Hey, I don't watch much TV - not enough time in the day to do it all.) This didn't stop me from appreciating this very entertaining book and I'll look forward to another book from Tina Fey someday.
very highly recommended
"There is no one of-woman-born who does not like Red Lobster cheddar biscuits. Anyone who claims otherwise is a liar and a Socialist." (Page 252)
True, so true... - Brian BahnsenFunny and Insightfully WittyTina Fey writes as I imagine she speaks... without much of a filter. This is both entertaining and informational. To hear how she shares the way she reached the current point in her career is interesting and impressive. Bottom line, I don't think you will outwork or give more to make a project a success. I also appreciated how she was real about being a working mom...hats off! It's a good read that keeps you wanting more and laughing along the way.
- Jobu T.Get the audio bookI purchased the audio book and found myself laughing inappropriately while out in public. You know how when some people are talking on their bluetooth headsets but you think they are talking to you? Or worse, you think they are crazy self-mumblers? While listening to Tina Fey's Bossypants outside the security bubble of my own home, I'm sure many strangers shot me crazy-looks when I burst out laughing all by myself for no apparent reason in the dry dog food aisle of my grocery store.
Why do I suggest purchasing the audio book instead of the actual book (or purchase both if you can)? If you are a Tina Fey fan, she narrates the book in her own funny, quirky way. Her comedic timing is excellent and adds depth to her punchlines that you may not be able to extract as wholly from a text format. You can just imagine her talking to you the way Liz Lemon does on 30 Rock. If you are not a Tina Fey fan, the audio book is an equally great purchase because you get to hear her many impressions and sarcastic tones. I also get the feeling that many of the jokes in Bossypants are better listened to instead of read. For example, hearing Tina deliver a funny sentence makes that sentence more humorous than reading it because reading it might just make me think, "Oh... what a weird sentence. I don't get it."
I am going to purchase the book book even though I have the audio version because I like the feeling of owning the tangible property of someone's written mind. I also like the feeling of being able to flip through pages of bound paper.
In Bossypants, Tina Fey takes you through how she got started, her father, SNL, 30 Rock, Sarah Palin, being a woman, the birth of her daughter, breastfeeding, and more. Her audio book was a great experience for me because it was funny and stress relieving. I liked that I could lie back on my sofa, plug her in my ears, and listen to her story without falling asleep and ruining my sleep schedule for the week when my eyes were sore from a day of staring at the computer in the office. Don't me wrong, I wasn't cracking up at every single word in the book. There were some chapters that were just okay, but nicely dotted punctuations of funniness made the book great.
I have this feeling that had I read the book first instead of listening to it, I would not have liked it as much. At any rate, I would recommend Bossypants as light reading or listening for anyone. If you are a 30 Rock fan, this book will be perfect for you. It's a great window into Tina Fey's life and perspective and makes you appreciate how and why this woman is so lovable. I AM a fan of Tina Fey and 30 Rock, but I were not a fan, I would still have enjoyed this book.