Yes Please and Animals

Yes Please by Amy Poehler made me wish I was her best friend and could hang out with her every day. A perhaps unhealthy desire I feel towards most of the women I admire. She is star of the American sitcom Parks and Recreation (also starring another of my crushes Aubrey Plaza) a show which manages to be both funny and heart-warming, without making me want to puke. I also learnt, thanks to this book, about the other cool projects she’s involved in, such as - http://amysmartgirls.com/

Yes Please is her memoir/a kind of self-help book, but the kind you actually want to read. It’s full of anecdotes about her successful career as a professional funny woman and advice about life in general. She also talks very movingly about her family, her sons and the insecurities that she’s struggled with. I was almost brought to tears at some points, which says a lot, because I didn’t even cry at the end of The Fault in our Stars (for which I was labelled dead inside by my step-daughter). She manages to write about these things without seeming mawkish or mushy, but with an earnest sincerity that I found endearing. Frankly, I found her book inspiring, not to mention that obviously it’s hilariously funny.

I came across Animals by Emma Jane Unsworth in Foyles a couple of months ago. The cover and the tagline grabbed my interest ‘…Withnail with girls’, says Caitlin Moran, but as I already had three books I wanted to buy I decided to wait and get this from the library. Now that I’ve read it, I plan to buy it, tomorrow, it’s that good. I’m almost tempted to join twitter, just so I can follow Ms Unsworth because now that I’ve finished Animals I miss the characters and apparently she is just as funny as they are.

Animals is one of the funniest books I’ve ever read, in my whole life ever. I know that sounds like hyperbole, BUT ITS TRUE. I literally snorted soup out of my nose whilst reading this book on my lunch break. It’s about two best friends, Laura and Tyler, who are in their late twenties/early thirties and live in Manchester. They don’t have careers, or husbands or babies. I love books like this because they make me feel better about myself for not having my shit together yet. It’s also a terrifically honest portrait of female friendship and the female body, which can shit and puke and make bad sexual decisions, just like men can. It is also very clever in its humour, impressive in references and insightful about life. I urge all my girlfriends out there to read this, its filthy and funny and I will definitely lend it to all of you when I buy my copy.