Mini Reviews: Midnight in Austenland and Girl Walks into a Bar...

Midnight in Austenland 

by Shannon Hale

★★★

This book was fun and light. Charlotte is a successful business woman whose husband leaves her and their two teenage children for another woman. She discovers Austen’s work and takes a vacation to Austenland. This one tends more towards Northanger Abbey than Pride and Prejudice, but don’t expect too much from the mystery in the book. You should definitely not be reading this series for depth. It works as a standalone novel, but I’d recommend reading Austenland first. It’s the better of the two books and introduces the place and quite a few of the returning characters. 

BOTTOM LINE: Pure fluff, but enjoyable fluff. I read it during the Dewey Readathon and it was a great choice for later in the day.

**Side Note: Have you guys seen the Austenland movie? It's hilarious and I loved it!

Girl Walks into a Bar... 

by Rachel Dratch 

★★ 

Rachel Dratch tells her story in the latest in a line of hilarious memoirs from SNL alums. Where Tina Fey and Amy Poehler were more entertaining and gave more life advice, Dratch seems to dwell on coming to terms with being type-cast. She also talked a lot about getting offered bad roles and how her career changed after her time on SNL. 

She also had an interesting turn of events that drives the book. She unexpectedly got pregnant when she was 44. Because of this she talks more about dating issues in her 30s and then struggles when she became a mom. The audiobook is fun because the author reads it. It even includes some Debbie Downer SNL clippings. 

BOTTOM LINE: Easy quick read, but I would recommend Fey or Poehler’s book instead.

Mini Reviews: One More Thing, Tao of Pooh, & Yes Please

One More Thing 

by B.J. Novak 

★★★★ 

So clever, that’s what I kept thinking over and over again and I read this collection of short stories. I knew who Novak was and so I was curious about his book and the sense of humor behind it did not disappoint. The topics are wide, everything from a bit about Wikipedia Brown (as opposed to Encyclopedia Brown) and a rematch between the famous tortoise and the hare. 

Some of the stories work better than others, which is almost inevitably the case with collections like these. But I was surprised by the sheer number of ones that really cracked me up. 

The stories cover such a variety of subjects that there’s no chance for them to feel repetitive. There’s an invention gone wrong in Vegas, an ambulance driver who chases his dreams, stealing writers, the only way to get closure, dating a war lord, concerts in heaven, receiving constructive criticism, and even an update on where Elvis has been. Some of them feel more like an idea than a fleshed out story, but there’s enough meat there to carry the book. Some are just short little gems, other are more elaborate, funny, or poignant. 

BOTTOM LINE: The collection shows Novak’s skills as both a comedy writer and short story writer. I’d highly recommend for fans of David Sedaris.

  

 

The Tao of Pooh 

by Benjamin Hoff 

★★

A look at philosophy and the spiritual side of things through the eyes of the simple, but surprisingly wise Winnie-the-Pooh. The playful structure has the author speak directly to Pooh as he attempts to explain what Taoism is. I loved that he continued to ask Pooh questions and ask him for songs, etc. as he worked on the book. The style worked well, removing all pretension. 

There's advice about how to avoid the frustration of life told through A.A. Milne’s Pooh stories. The author takes each tale and dissects it to present a life lesion. I understand the basic premise behind it, but the problem for me is at the end of the book the real message is: ignorance is bliss. 

It basically makes the argument that if you try to fill your head with knowledge and wisdom you're only wasting your time and making yourself unhappy. Instead, try to be like Pooh, who knows nothing and doesn't care. You'll find wisdom in the simplicity of just doing exactly whatever comes to you in that moment. While that may be true for some people, I think there's also a joy that comes from expanding knowledge and wisdom in your own life. 

BOTTOM LINE: The structure worked well, but it’s not something I’ll remember in a few years. Also, the message fell a bit flat for me. 


Yes Please 
by Amy Poehler 
★★★★☆ 

This is one of those books that most people will already know if they want to read or not. It’s exactly what you would expect, funny stories and advice from Amy Poehler. I love her sense of humor. From her manic Hilary Clinton laugh on SNL to her Smart Girls videos on YouTube to Leslie Knope’s eternal optimism on Parks and Recreation to her perfect co-hosting abilities at the Golden Globes, I am just a fan. 

So it was fun for me to hear Amy Poehler talk about self-esteem, giving birth, growing up loving attention and later joining SNL. I loved the conversational, sweet tone she took. She’s proud of where she is, but she’s also honest about the hard work that it took to get there.  

BOTTOM LINE: I loved it. I’ve been a fan of Poehler’s for a long time and Parks and Rec is one of my favorite shows. You probably already know if you are going to read it, but if you are PLEASE read the audio version! It is so much better to hear her reading her own stories. There’s also some adlibbing and tons of fantastic guest readers (Carol Burnett, Seth Meyers, Patrick Stewart, Kathleen Turner, and Amy’s Parents)! 

“People are their most beautiful when they are laughing, crying, dancing, playing, telling the truth, and being chased in a fun way.”  

“I believe great people do things before they are ready.” 

“That is the motto women should constantly repeat over and over again: Good for her, not for me.”

Lean In

Lean In
Women, Work, and the Will to Lead
by Sheryl Sandberg
★★★★☆

I tend to avoid books like this like the plague. They often strike me as self-help nonsense that only tells people what they want to hear or what they already know. For me, this was not that at all. Sandberg’s goal with the book is to help women in the workforce to step up to the plate and get involved in their offices. So much of what she talked about (women not noting their own accomplishments, women being viewed in a negative light if they took on authority roles) were things I had seen for myself in my own career. Oh and did I mention she’s the COO of Facebook?
 
“A 2011 McKinsey report noted that men are promoted based on potential, while women are promoted based on past accomplishments.” 

Though we have come a long way in gender equality in the workplace, we still have stigmas connected with certain decisions that affect the way we see ourselves. There are “working” moms and “stay-at-home” moms, yet we never quantify our male counterparts in the same way. Sandberg addresses these issues without ever condescending or saying that one choice it right for everyone. The important thing is to understand that you have a choice as a woman.

“For many men, the fundamental assumption is that they can have both a successful professional life and a fulfilling personal life. For many women, the assumption is that trying to do both is difficult at best and impossible at worst.”

One thing that particularly stuck in my mind was the Howard/Heidi study. People were asked to evaluate a potential employee based on a detailed resume with past experience, education, expertise and more. The only difference was that the name was female for some and male for others. Again, all the details of past jobs and experience were identical, yet people saw the female job candidate as someone who was aggressive or overly ambitious. They thought she might be qualified, but no one wanted to work with her. This was the response from both men and women! When a man is in a position of power he tends to be respected. When a woman is in the same position her actions are often seen as harsh. I kept thinking of Tina Fey and Amy Poehler’s SNL Weekend Update bit about “Bitches get stuff done!” It’s the same idea. Women are seen as bitches if they make hard decisions, while men are seen as strong leaders.

After reading The Feminine Mystique just last month, I found this one infinitely more applicable to my current life. She talks about the problems but she also provides actual advice and logical steps to take to overcome those hurdles. It was interesting to read them both and see how far we’ve come and how far we still have to go. She doesn’t simplify matters and make it seem like there’s an easy answer, but she addresses the problems without flinching and often the problem is the women themselves. She talks about this without blame or guilt. We’ve been trained that it’s more important to be liked than to be successful. Her approach is not to disregard out self-doubt completely, but to be confident in our abilities moving forward.

BOTTOM LINE: I really loved it and want to get my own copy for future reference and lending (I read a library copy.) Having just started a new job I hope that I can incorporate some of these tips into my daily interaction.

“The cost of stability is often diminished opportunities for growth.”

“In today’s world, we no longer have to hunt in the wild for our food, our desire for leadership is largely a culturally created and reinforced trait. How individuals view what they can and should accomplish is in large part formed by our societal expectations.”

“Searching for mentor has become the professional equivalent of waiting for Prince Charming.”