Bossypants

Tina Fey, the creator of 30 Rock, one of Saturday Night Live’s best stalwarts and she of the uncanny Sarah Palin impressions in the run-up to the 2008 USA elections, may not be as widely known here as she should be. But take it from us – 30 Rock  is one of the smartest, consistently funny sitcoms America has ever produced, and it’s all largely down to Tina Fey.

Bossypants is part-memoir, part-instructional guide for women trying to make it in the entertainment industry, nay any industry. Peppered with jokes, scathing insights into the male-dominated world of comedy and barbs at right-wing governments, Tina Fey paints a picture of herself as a permanently-inward looking, pop culture-obsessed comedic genius with a particularly unhealthy dislike of her feet. As we weave through her early days in stage schools, comedy circuits and then the writers’ room of Saturday Night Live, we see where Tina Fey ends and her onscreen alter-ego, Liz Lemon of 30 Rock fame begins. They’re pretty much the same person.

Bossypants is exactly why the world (well, Americans and anyone with access to the Comedy Central channel on Sky) loves Tina Fey – she is brutally honest and not afraid of good jokes, bad jokes and puns. Her writing is light and nuanced and never not funny. An engaging memoir from someone who is probably funnier than your favourite comedian.