Putting on the Bossypants

So, what was the first book I read on my new Nook? Well, it might sound like an unusual choice, perhaps unworthy of the "inaugural run" for my new toy, but it was Bossypants, by Tina Fey. It's a collection of stories from and observations about her life, from childhood, through her up-and-coming years in Second City, then to Saturday Night Live and now 30 Rock.

What it isn't is an autobiography. I had no illusions about that going in, and neither should you, despite how my brief description above might make it sound. Though the book is full of episodes from Fey's past, they aren't meant to form a single, clear narrative. Nor are they meant to really give you great insight into who she is as a person. They're just meant to make you laugh.

And they do that. Often. Whether I was reading this book alone at home, or on a crowded airplane, I was moved to laugh out loud several times each chapter, and didn't fight the urge. All of Tina Fey's signature wit and quirkiness are on full display here.

Things to start to lag just a little bit as you're coming around the final stretch of the book, though. The chapter about her current 30 Rock writers is just an extended thank you to her co-workers, loaded with page-long excerpts from episodes that -- if you watch the show -- you've already seen. Still, it's more than made up for by the heaps of original laughs you get in the first three-quarters-and-more of the book.

Along the way, you get a few very choice paragraphs with great things to say about feminism, gay rights, parenting, and other subjects. But no matter how clever the point, the foremost agenda is comedy, and the book always delivers. I'd rate Bossypants an A-. It's great fun, better "pound for pound" than 30 Rock itself was in this most recent season, I'd say.