When picking vacation reads, I often go for light memoirs, fun stuff. With the release of Pixar's Inside Out, Amy Poehler has been on my mind, so I added her memoir, Yes Please, to my vacation reading itinerary.

PLOT - In Yes Please, Poehler meanders through her life. She pulls tidbits from her childhood, how she got started in entertainment and her life as a single mom. There is a heavy emphasis on her life in show business, detailing the general nuttiness of how Hollywood works. 

LIKE - It's undeniable that Amy Poehler is a power house. Just reading about all of her accomplishments made me feel exhausted. I was glad that she referenced her insomnia, if only because it made me feel marginally less lazy. Maybe if I didn't sleep I'd be just as accomplished as Poehler? Eh, probably not.  I enjoyed Yes Please, because it gave me a glimpse into the life of a strong, successful woman. 

The book includes a chapter titled Sorry, Sorry, Sorry; in which Poehler explains the fallout from an SNL sketch that was not only in poor taste, but in which Poehler unknowingly referenced a real woman struggling with severe disabilities. It turns out that the wife of actor Chris Cooper had written a television movie about this woman and was very upset by the SNL sketch. The Coopers wrote a letter to Poehler expressing their feelings and she didn't respond. This lack of an apology weighed on her for many years until it came up in conversation with director Spike Jonze. Jonze helped open the lines of communication between Poehler and the Coopers, leading to a subsequent apology and also putting Poehler in touch with Anastasia, the woman who was inadvertently mentioned in the sketch. I liked that Poehler included this in her book, because it so clearly shows that 1. Everyone screws up. 2. It's never too late to own up to your mistakes. 

DISLIKE - I didn't feel like Poehler's heart was in this book. Many of the chapters felt like filler, like she didn't have enough solid content to fill a book. It was unevenly interesting and not very funny.  In Yes Please, Poehler mentions the importance of learning to say "No" to people, I think that she should have said "No" to the publishers, waiting until she had the time and proper energy to focus on a book. It seems like every comedian has their memoir out now, but that doesn't mean they should.

RECOMMEND- Only if you're a huge Poehler fan.