Yes Please by Amy Poehler

On Monday, December 7th, the Booked for the Day Book Group met to discuss, Yes Please by Amy Poehler.  Here are a few things we discussed during the meeting:

• A few of our members were unfamiliar with Amy Poehler so they did not have any expectations going into the book. No one in the group watched Parks and Recreation except for one or two episodes, a few watched her on Saturday Night Live and some of the award shows she hosted with Tina Fey.
• The other problem most of us faced was all of her name dropping. Very few of us knew who she was talking about and we spent a lot of time Googling who she was referring to. But it was nice to hear her giving credit to the many talented performers and writers she's worked with.
• Reviews were mixed, some members did not like her drug, alcohol and sex stories. We thought it odd that if she did not want her boys to know her history, why she would write about it in the book. She also indicated that she did not want to know if there was any key swapping going on with her parents and their friends so why would she think that her boys would want to hear about her stories. We thought that even if the boys did not read her book, other kids might and they would certainly make comments on their mother’s escapades.
• Something that was surprising was all the drugs and alcohol that goes on at Saturday Night Live. It is no wonder that Ryan Gosslings got the giggles on the show recently.
• We gave her credit for not talking about her divorce. So many of the Hollywood biographies are Tell-Alls. We understood why talking about it was hard to do and we liked that she seemed vulnerable without getting too personal.
• The group thought that at times the book was scattered and unorganized. Poehler seemed to be all over the place. We thought one reason was because of the way she organized the book, not in the typical “events in your life chronological order,” but in three parts, “Say Whatever You want,” “Do Whatever You Like,” and “Be Whoever You Are.” We did like the memorabilia but we also thought that it was over-stuffed with fillers.
• The question was poised, now that you have read more about Amy Poehler, has your opinion changed? Since most of the members did not know who she was the question did not pertain to them. But for those who were familiar with her work, they felt that they liked her more. They thought she showed her human side and found her honestly refreshing.

These are just a few things mentioned during the discussion. Please feel free to add any of your thoughts in the comment section.