Bossypants

Bossypants by Tina Fey

I saw Tina Fey walking down 6th Avenue while listening to the Bossypants audiobook. Surreal. Like a good New Yorker, I did not scare the crap out of her by proclaiming "Tina Fey! I'm listening to your audiobook! And it's hilarious!" I just kept walking and am instead hoping that she compulsively Googles herself and will come across this blog post, thereby knowing that I exist. Wait, no one does that?

That's not really what happened. No, I don't mean that I saw Tina Fey and, because I have only lived in New York for three years and am still mastering my "I'm so bored and in a hurry so get out of my way because I have somewhere important to be" look (it is getting pretty good), then accosted her because I was listening to her audiobook. I mean that I've never seen Tina Fey walking down 6th Avenue, or ever. I did see Jason Sudeikis one time (and smiled at him like a moron before I realized who he was), who plays Joe Biden to Fey's Sarah Palin, and therefore is related to this post.

I did also listen to the Bossypants audiobook and highly recommend it. Sure, you could read the dialogue spoken by the cruise director on Fey's honeymoon, OR you could listen to her impression of the cruise director on her honeymoon. Both are hilarious, but only one will have the guy walking past you in the hallway between the 4/5/6 and Times Square shuttle in Grand Central think you are crazy because you are laughing so hard. And maybe because you snorted. Whatever.

True Grit

True Grit by Charles Portis

I saw the original “True Grit” in graduate school, one in a series of several Westerns reviewed for an American West history course. I did not care for it, and I haven’t seen the Cohen’s 2010 version yet. So, why would I read the book? I read a great profile of Charles Portis in the Arkansas Times several months ago, had the book at the back of my mind, and it was on sale on Audible. Donna Tartt’s narration is excellent, and I must say, the first film version does not do the novel justice.

Yes, I am slightly biased because the main character and narrator, fourteen-year-old Mattie Ross, hails from Arkansas, is a staunch Presbyterian, and looks down upon Texas for being an inferior land and Texans as an inferior people. I was surprised at how much I liked Mattie, particularly after finding Kim Darby’s portrayal a bit grating, but Mattie's singled-minded focus is charming. I am now a Charles Portis fan and look forward to reading more of his books.

I am currently reading The China Study and Anna Karenina and today started Bossypants and You Remind Me of Me (must read for book club next week!). Other books I’ve read this year and promise to post reviews for soon:

The Paris Wife (good)

Cutting For Stone (good)

The Lonely Polygamist (you know how much I love books about Mormons!)

Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons (surprisingly good)

The Magicians (excellent first half, could have lived without the latter half)

Unfamiliar Fishes (not my favorite Sarah Vowell, but still good)

Crazy Sexy Diet (I gave up meat for Lent and am flirting with going vegan. Chick-fil-A and an upcoming trip to Atlanta stand in my way. And turkey bacon)