Amy Poehler

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Do you want to get to know the woman we first came to love on Comedy Central's Upright Citizens Brigade? Do you want to spend some time with the lady who made you howl with laughter on Saturday Night Live, and in movies like Baby Mama, Blades of Glory, and They Came Together? Do you find yourself daydreaming about hanging out with the actor behind the brilliant Leslie Knope on Parks and Recreation? Did you wish you were in the audience at the last two Golden Globes ceremonies, so you could bask in the hilarity of Amy's one-liners? If your answer to these questions is "Yes Please!" then you are in luck. In her first book, one of our most beloved funny folk delivers a smart, pointed, and ultimately inspirational read. Full of the comedic skill that makes us all love Amy, Yes Please is a rich and varied collection of stories, lists, poetry (Plastic Surgery Haiku, to be specific), photographs, mantras and advice. With chapters like "Treat Your Career Like a Bad Boyfriend," "Plain Girl Versus the Demon" and "The Robots Will Kill Us All" Yes Please will make you think as much as it will make you laugh. Honest, personal, real, and righteous, Yes Please is full of words to live by.

Yes Please

In a perfect world . . . We'd get to hang out with Amy Poehler, watching dumb movies, listening to music, and swapping tales about our coworkers and difficult childhoods. Because in a perfect world, we'd all be friends with Amy—someone who seems so fun, is full of interesting stories, tells great jokes, and offers plenty of advice and wisdom (the useful kind, not the annoying kind you didn't ask for, anyway). Unfortunately, between her Golden Globe-winning role on Parks and Recreation, work as a producer and director, place as one of the most beloved SNL alumni and cofounder of the Upright Citizens' Brigade, involvement with the website Smart Girls at the Party, frequent turns as acting double for Meryl Streep, and her other gig as the mom of two young sons, she's not available for movie night. Luckily we have the next best thing: Yes Please, Amy's hilarious and candid book. A collection of stories, thoughts, ideas, lists, and haikus from the mind of one of our most beloved entertainers, Yes Please offers Amy's thoughts on everything from her "too safe" childhood outside of Boston to her early days in New York City, her ideas about Hollywood and "the biz," the demon that looks back at all of us in the mirror, and her joy at being told she has a "face for wigs." Yes Please is chock-full of words and wisdom to live by.

Teresa Bonifácio

This book is amazing! Amy could write a book on accounting that I would read! She’s so compassionate and funny. The book is written amazingly! I would read a part 2!

Sonia Grgas

Marcy Pursell 

** spoiler alert **
           This audiobook had me laughing out loud. I haven't seen a lot of Amy Poehler's work, but the things I have seen, I enjoyed. I loved her stories, and the fact that by listening to the audiobook, you get to here a chapter read by Seth Meyers, words from Carol Burnett, Patrick Stewart and others, in addition to Amy reading the last chapter of her book in front of a live audience. A very fun listen!

Emily Files

Aamna

Read it if you absolutely love Amy Poehler (I do so I enjoyed it).

Anddy G

Ay, mi Amy Poehler. 
Este libro es mi lugar especial de la esperanza, de la felicidad en las cosas pequeñas de la vida y me recuerda que siempre le puedes sacar algo bueno a todo lo que te pase.

Cada que lo vuelvo a leer, siempre hay algo que me gusta más o me hace sentido de lo que vivo o sino de menos, vuelvo a reír como la primera vez.

Denaiir

I enjoyed the narration and think it's great that Amy Poehler did it herself. It was fun, the pace was good and it was quite lively.
That said, it was my second memoir in a row on audio and I enjoyed it less that Furiously Happy. 
I didn't care much for the non-linear timeline. Also, many chapters were about motherhood and children and I don't really care for those subjects.
I also didn't listen to the final chapter read to a live audience because the laughs were just too annoying. 
Overall it was somewhat interesting but I don't necessarily recommend it unless you are a big fan.

Lamia Hajani

3 stars

I originally rated this 4 stars, but after giving some more thought to it, I think it had a lot of room for improvement. It's very clear that Amy Poehler did not want to write this book nor did she have enough material to really write a deep enough book that was worth the pages. However, there are a handful of essays in here that are worth reading. Amy Poehler, in general, has an interesting life path that led her to where she is today, and I do appreciate her sharing that in this book.

I read this book fairly quickly, as it is quite a light read. I think the book could have probably even been shorter considering what's covered in here, but I laughed out loud often enough.

Although I give it 3/5 stars, I would still recommend as a quick and funny read to lift your mood.

Briar's Reviews

Yes Please by Amy Poehler was a fun book packed full of life experience and comedy.

I wanted to expand my reading this year, so I decided to pick up books by some of my favourite actors and comedians. Amy Poehler has always been hilarious in my eyes, so it seemed natural to pick up her book.

I love this book because it's blunt. Amy describes lots of situations that happened in her life and gives lots of real (and funny!) pieces of advice to the audience. This isn't purely a comedic book and I wouldn't recommend it if you just want comedy. This book is more of an auto-biography meets comedic event. It's really cool and very different from my typical read. It has a pinch of Self-Help, but definitely shouldn't be put on the bookshelf with those types of books. It's so... different. Good different.

Amy shows off her talents (writing, comedy, story-telling to name a few) and lets us in on some of her flaws. It felt very real and honest, and that's why I enjoyed the book and stuck it through. In one word, this book is charming.

If I had a negative, it would be that this book felt more like a journal or a diary. Except, this diary didn't include all of the juicy details. Sure, I don't need to know all about Amy Poehler's divorce like some reviewers wanted (let her have her privacy in some regards people) but I would have liked to know more of her thoughts on different events in her life. I guess I just kinda wanted... more. This book felt like it was missing something when I finished it, but I couldn't quite put my finger on what.

That being said, this book isn't my typical genre. I wanted to step out of my comfort zone and pick up something different. I'm convinced people who like this genre will be able to enjoy it far more than I did, and that's not a bad thing!

Overall, this book was good. I want to read more by Amy Poehler for sure and I'm glad I had the chance to take a peek into her world.

Three out of five stars.

Cheri Fuller

Yes, it really was amazing. DO NOT BUY ANYTHING OTHER THAN THE AUDIO BOOK. 

I think that's all I really need to say.

Colleen

Yes Please was our December bookclub selection. The idea was to have a light, funny read for the holidays. 

To start with, the hold list for this book was ridiculous. I had to wait two months. I didn't get it until two days before bookclub and was not able to finish it in time. I did not want to buy this book, and Boy am I glad I didn't! What an extremely disappointing book!!

The shortest way I could describe this book is SELF-INDULGENT. Words such as Nonsensical, Narcissistic, Avarice-driven, and Pointless also come to mind.

When writing, every writer should ask the questions, "What am I writing about?" and "Why?" In Poehler's case, those answers seem to be: "Whatever random junk pops into my head," and "For Money." The back cover, the preface, and numerous spots in the book all urge readers to buy as many copies as possible because both she and the publishers want the money. Here is a direct quote, "Mostly, let's call this book what it really is: an obvious money grab to support my notorious online shopping addiction. I have already spent the advance on fancy washcloths from Amazon, so I need this book to really sell a lot of copies or else I am in trouble. Chop-chop, people." I might have shrugged it off as a joke if that sentiment hadn't been repeated so many times throughout the book! I don't know to what degree Poehler was pressured to write this book (comedian memoirs do seem to be in demand right now), but Poehler should have either stepped up and said, "No, this isn't the project for me," or else sucked it up and put a decent effort into writing a book worth reading. This seems harsh, but countless times throughout the book she wined and complained about how hard and time-consuming it was to write a book. It was very distasteful and off-putting. The preface is even called  Writing is Hard. 

The content is a huge mess of random blather. It seems to be written like a comedy sketch; which works great for SNL segments, but should NOT be used for an entire book! This book includes includes arbitrary poetry, scripts from shows and skits, various notes, report cards, and an absurd, five page birthing plan. There are several ridiculous pitches for movies, shows, songs, or other books. She drops several claims that she came up with the ideas for popular shows or songs. I think these were meant to be jokes, but it was hard to tell. But it made it harder to believe anything she wrote. It jumps around from her parents births to present day with no perceptible order or organization. One chapter goes over what appears to be the whole plot for the show Parks and Recreation. The big glossy pictures and pull-out quotes are contrasted by sections with page-long, dense paragraphs which were mostly about her improve years. That seemed to be the only topic she was willing to discuss with any detail or forethought. Even those segments were littered with quips about her not being sure about details. She had numerous quotes such as, "I'm not sure. I could fact-check this but I'm too lazy." Or the gaps were explained away with drug-related memory lapses. 

Speaking of drugs, I was disappointed in her stance. While it is admirable that Poehler has made her mark in a field dominated by men, she is not a paradigm to look up to. I was hoping that this book would at least have some "strong woman" advise, but that is condensed into minuscule, generic bits such as "Be whoever you are," and "Everybody is scared most of the time." The very short chapter about drug use is entitled "Obligatory Drug Stories." While Poehler is very vocal against drunk driving (Thank God!), she is much more lax about drug use saying, "Drinking and driving is the absolute worst, because unlike doing coke in your basement while you teach yourself guitar, you could kill someone else." Her stance on drug use seems to be as long as you are only hurting yourself and not others it is ok. She is very casual about her own cocaine use. She states that she has "tried most drugs but avoided the BIG BAD ONES." So apparently cocaine does not count as a bad drug... although she does say that she plans on lying to her children about her drug use. So if it is bad enough to hide from your children, maybe you should voice some wisdom to the young women who look up to you?? Is that such a crazy idea?

The randomness also includes chapters written by Seth Meyers and her parents. Meyer's chapter starts out with, "I will be writing this next chapter so that Amy can take a break. It is very hard to write a book. I haven't written one myself but I know it's very hard because every time I have seen Amy in the past year she has greeted me by saying, "Hello," quickly followed by, "It is very hard to write a book."

The few funny or moving moments were more than eclipsed by the general lackadaisical approach to writing. The only sentiment I can honestly say I liked in this book was to decide early what your "currency" will be (I.E. looks, personality, brains, etc.).

I would also like to mention that the book used very heavy weight, glossy paper. I almost dropped it when I first grabbed it off of the hold shelf because it was so much heavier than I expected. Out of curiosity, I weighed another hard copy book of almost exact dimensions. It was 560 grams vs 931 grams that Yes Please weighed. Maybe Poehler was being paid by the ounce... But the weightiness of the book's physical form belied the vacuity of the content inside. The glossy pages meant that I was constantly having to readjust while reading to avoid the glare which made for a very unpleasant reading experience.

It was such a disappointing read. It certainly was not "Chock-full of words of wisdom to live by" as the book had promised. I admit, I am not found of celebrities or things that mindlessly promote celebrities. Just because you are famous does not mean you need to write a book! I'm afraid that all Amy Poehler works are ruined for me now. I won't be able to watch anything with her for a long time without remembering this self-indulgent, money-pull mess of a book. So I will end with one more Poehler quote: "I tell this story because I want to be honest about the biz. I also tell this story because I am an actor and actors are allowed to take up everyone's time and tell long stories while other people stand around quietly fuming." If her goal was to see how rubbishy she could make this book and still get it published, well then she succeeded.

Recommended for: Anyone who is such a big fan of Poehler's that they don't care that there is no worthwhile content.
Not recommended for: Anyone who is expecting worthwhile content, real humor, or cohesive writing.

Joana da Silva

Amy Poehler could write a book on territorial planning and I would read it. This woman never fails to make me laugh. Her writing is honest, compassionate and I just feel like we would be great friends. Amy, if you read this, can we be friends? I promise I'm funnier than this.

MacKenzie Hamon

Some of the best advice you could hope to receive can be found in the pages of this book - seriously. Sure, Amy Poehler is hilarious, but she is also a wizard in disguise when it comes to dealing with real life problems. I still constantly find myself reciting the mantra "good for her, not for me" whenever I find myself questioning someone else's choices. Who else but wizard-extraordinaire Amy Poehler could have such a profound effect on your every day life while still making you bust a gut every page?

Gillian Rose

Amy Poehler is the best. I appreciate her honesty and she has some incredible stories and advice.

Sidenote: it was kind of awkward to see how many times Louis CK came up though

Janessa Tolpa

I strongly urge getting the audiobook. She brings in other people with her and goes off script. It's great.

Alexa M

**4.5/5 stars**
Loved this! (side note: I FINISHED A BOOK)

Rachel Kanyid

I think Amy is a great writer and did a wonderful job of writing her life this far for her fans to read about! I love how positive she is about life and how important love is to her.

Jeannette Ordas

Holy smokes, this is one heavy book! Coated paper stock, like a boss. After reading the book, I didn't feel like I knew much more about Ms. Poehler and I thought that was usually the point about a memoir....but there's enough to like here like the chapters on her time with UCB and her improv early days in Chicago and NYC. Yeah, there's a lot of fluff and filler and stupid lists and topics. Ugh. Still, 3 stars.

Becky A

The jacket says this is a book for people who wish Amy Poehler was their best friend. I would also say if you read this book you will, by the end, wish Amy Poehler was your best friend (if you didn't already, which you probably did).

This book was funny and honest and made me cry. (To be fair, that's what I get for reading the chapter about Parks and Rec the same week as the Parks and Rec finale aired.) It also made me want to reread it and highlight all the passages that feel strikingly relevent to my life, or profound, or important to remember. I have literally never wanted to do that with a book before.

I'm so glad Amy Poehler is a person who exists.

Carol Bailey

No Please. 
It turns out that I am not a big fan of Amy Poehler and honestly I probably wouldn't have picked this up if it weren't free. So although I have found many of Amy's comedy skits entertaining it appears my tolerance for her revolves around 3 min SNL clips. 
That being said, if you are a huge Amy Poehler fan you will probably enjoy this audio book as its narrated by her in her typical narrative style.

Marisel 

So much to love about this book! I rarely read biographies, so when I do the stakes are high! Amy did not disappoint. In addition to all the interesting bits about her career, family and friends, there are so many fine morsels of self reflection and homespun philosophy. It’s all laid out with the hilarity and open heart that we’ve come to expect from this exemplary human. Such a fun and delicious treat!

Elda Mengisto

"My high school musical did not offer a shirtless Zac Efron, but it did provide me with many lessons. I learned that I loved being in a theater, attending rehearsals, and building sets. I loved listening to the director and groaning about rehearsing choreography...I started to go to theater parties and tried cigarettes. I had floated into the right pool, finally" (8-9)

Amy Poehler describing how she got interested in acting through a production of the Wizard of Oz sets up a good foundation for what is equal parts memoir, humor, and career (and sex) advice! Starting from the day she was born, Poehler discusses about her life and the lessons she's learned throughout her time on improv, SNL, and Parks & Recreation. Compared to other memoirs, we don't necessarily read it in chronological order; she starts with how she gets into improv, and then delves into life from there.

I think the unconventional structure of this book helps a lot; combined with Poehler's witty and funny tone, one is taken on a ride through what she views is the business. And it involves having the courage to declaring that they will be a waitress to parents or even overcome low self-esteem because of looks. One notable quote is how Poehler sees "Improvisation and sketch comedy helped me find my currency. My plain face was a perfect canvas to be other people" (21). I liked hearing about her experiences about growing in her craft, from SNL to Parks and Recreation. While I didn't think about the latter because I didn't really know about the show, it was really cool to see her perspective on her time on SNL, as I've gotten into the show recently since I bought the book. Hence why reading her experiences made a lot more sense.

But her arc extends beyond life in the entertainment industry; her side-stories added more color to such a fun character. One example is with her first pregnancy, when she had possibly the best gynecologist to help her through. Unfortunately, things have taken a turn for the worst, when Dr. G died before her son was born. This was told in combination of her reheresing for Saturday Night Live; the whole thing was a bunch of action. In her words, "Going from crying to laughing that fast and hard happens maybe five times in your life...and I believe it extends our life by many years" (38) She also discusses the day she was born and encourages the reader to do the same (for me, my mom was only with my dad and godparents and was in a lot of pain), and discusses about "time travel", but not in the way one would expect.

Of course, no memoir could go without Poehler giving advice about life and career. The sex ones were quite funny, even though I don't have any use for them. But it was the "treat your career like a bad boyfriend" bit which got to me, because I didn't think that way in career and love. Basically, maintain a sense of ambivalence, as "Your carrer won't take care of you. It won't call you back or introduce you to its parents. Your career will openly flirt with other people when you are around..."(222) She also subverts the explanation of fame, as she confesses to not being good at auditioning. It took a lot of them, plus connections, to become a star.

Yes Please is not your standard memoir--it's funny, open, and well-written! If you have the time during quarantine, or when your library re-opens, I would highly suggest getting this for yourself.

Rowan Myers

This book isn't so much an autobiography, but a comedic set of essays that are autobiographical. (This is for those who are expecting a chronological narrative - this doesn't have one.) Some are thematic, some simply are. I smiled a lot while reading it, and came away feeling glad that Amy Poehler is a mother. 

Those who expect their lives to change: don't. This isn't that sort of autobiographical comedy book. There are calls to arms, to try to be better, but that's not the thematic point of the book. Is it fun? Yes. Is it what you think? Perhaps not.