Review: Yes Please!

I was first introduced to blogs and bloglovin’ (for following your favorite blogs) by some of my best friends (I will leave out their names, but it had something to do with their obsession with beauty gloss). Over the past few years I have started following more and more blogs and eventually I built up the courage to start my own.

I am telling you this, because the book I am reviewing this week was a recommendation from a few of the blogs I follow. Vivianna (from Vivianna does Makeup) talked about it and so did Essie (from Essie Button). The book I’m talking about is “Yes Please” by Amy Poehler. I had already read “Bossypants”, the biography of Tina Fey (a fellow comedian, like Amy) and really enjoyed reading it. So when multiple blogs started raving about this book, and additionally let it slip that the audiobook was also superb, I decided to get the audiobook. I got the audiobook instead of the bookbook, because I thought it would be easy to listen to while walking or traveling and it was also probably hilarious, since it was read by Amy Poehler herself and some guests.

The book

The book consists of three parts and each part starts with how she fell in love with improv in a different city. She talks about growing up and working hard to where she has gotten now. She also addresses body issues and how she deals with it, about being a divorced, working mother and a lot of other life things that a lot of women can relate to. I felt that she wrote them in a way that can really inspire you on how to handle your own situation.

There was also plenty of humor in the book and sometimes, because I was listening to it on my phone, I would randomly start laughing out loud. (usually while sitting in a crowded cafe or walking on the street).

Audiobook vs bookbook

I was recently in a bookstore and saw the actual book of Yes Please, and decided to look through it. Throughout the book are quotes and small poems from her youth and other bits and pieces. In the audiobook these come out a bit flat, especially the quotes. But in the ‘bookbook’ the quotes were printed out in colorful spreads, giving you something to look at, even when you’re just flipping through the pages. Also the bookbook contained pictures of her life and other images. These were clearly missing in the audiobook.

However what the audiobook has over the bookbook was that the guests that had written in Amy’s book, actually read their pieces out loud. The way Amy reads the book also adds something special. It really makes you part of the story, and she reads it in a way where you feel like she added things, just for the audiobook. The one thing that I thought was really unique was the part where she talks about a scene from Parks and Recreations (a show she is in). Instead of just reading the script herself (the book just contains the script) you hear the audio from the tv episode. I really enjoyed that, because you could really feel the emotion from the episode, without having seen it, which was the reason Amy put it in the book in the first place.

Conclusion

I really enjoyed this book and will take a few of its lessons with me for the rest of my life, especially the ‘good for her, not for me’. Also the way Amy talks about supporting other women and not tearing each other down, was a great thing to hear (or read if you’re reading the book). Definitely a recommendation for some light(ish) reading, or listening, and for having a laugh!