Review: Yes Please!

Confession: I had already read Yes Please before I decided to read it this month. I know, I know. I probably should have picked a book I haven’t read, but it’s just such an inspiring book that I felt compelled to read it again.

Little bit of back story on the first time I read it – I picked it up in the Atlanta airport last year on my way to one of the my most spontaneous adventures well… ever.   I was high on enthusiasm and rather proud of myself for saying “Yes please!” to something so uncharacteristically me that I had forgotten my book in the car. I went in search of something to pass time on the impending cross country flight I was about to embark upon, and it was beckoning to me from the shelf.

Into my hot little hands it went. Man was it great.

I’ve read a number of the reviews and people have either loved Yes Please or hate it.

I loved it.

Yes Please, in the the classical definition of the word, isn’t a memoir. Instead of chronically her life in a linear progression, Poehler jumps around her life sharing different stories and advice as it fits into the book’s different themes. She hops from the story of her birth, to the time she spent in Chicago, back to the day her son was born, to a letter from Seth Myers for a good measure.

In addition to being an atypical memoir, Yes Please isn’t necessarily written to be a comedic book or even a book about comedy either. While definitely incorporated, I mean come on, she is a comedian, the book is much like Poehler herself; funny yet charming, sweet, and personable. Poehler doesn’t chronicle every comedy sketch she preformed before arriving on the set of SNL, nor does she talk about every minute of Parks and Rec. It is simply a collection of her thoughts which include inspirational quotes, transcripts of letters, and lists of pertinent information sprinkled between the pages.

So, then, what is Yes Please?  Yes Please, is, in the best way possible, a paper-back 239 page  life conversation with your best friend. Overall it is touching at points, deep at other moments, occasionally uninteresting, but then all of a sudden has you crying from laughing so hard. Poehler’s book has captured the essence of a best friend and will give each reader exactly what they need whether it be humor, a pick me up, an “atta boy” or a hug.

The book, whether you’re expecting it or not, will meet you just where you are, and take you where you need to go.

Overall rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

Who are your favorite comedic authors? Let me know!