''Bossypants'' is an

autobiographical An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

book written by the American comedian

Tina Fey Elizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey (; born May 18, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, writer, producer, and playwright. She is best known for her work on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' (1997–2006) and for creating the ...

. The book topped ''

The New York Times Best Seller list ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. John Bear, ''The #1 New York Times Best Seller: intriguing facts about the 484 books that have been #1 New York Times ...

'', and stayed there for five weeks upon its release. As of November 2014, the book has sold over 2.5 million copies since its debut, according to

Nielsen BookScan BookScan is a data provider for the book publishing industry that compiles point of sale data for book sales, owned by The NPD Group in the United States and the Nielsen Company in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, India, So ...

. Additionally, Fey's Grammy nominated narration of the

audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sc ...

has sold over 150,000 copies on Audible.com. A paperback reprint edition was released in January 2012, from Reagan Arthur Books, an imprint of Little, Brown. The front cover features hand model and actor Joe Rosario.

Background

In 2008, the prospect of a Tina Fey book was reportedly the subject of a bidding war among publishers, which led to an advance of $6 million. As part of her deal with Little, Brown & Co., a gift was made to the New York-based Books for Kids Foundation.

Reception

''Bossypants'' received greatly positive reviews,

Janet Maslin Janet R. Maslin (born August 12, 1949) is an American journalist, best known as a film and literary critic for ''The New York Times''. She served as a ''Times'' film critic from 1977 to 1999 and as a book critic from 2000 to 2015. In 2000 Maslin ...

for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' calls ''Bossypants'' "a spiky blend of humor, introspection, critical thinking and

Nora Ephron Nora Ephron ( ; May 19, 1941 – June 26, 2012) was an American journalist, writer, and filmmaker. She is best known for her romantic comedy films and was nominated three times for the Writers Guild of America Award and the Academy Award for ...

-isms for a new generation."

Katie Roiphe Katie Roiphe (born July 13, 1968) is an American author and journalist. She is best known as the author of the non-fiction book '' The Morning After: Fear, Sex and Feminism'' (1994). She is also the author of ''Last Night in Paradise: Sex and Mora ...

for ''

Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

'' is favorable toward the humor in ''Bossypants'', especially how Fey wields jokes as a personal display of power. The book was also praised by

Mary McNamara Mary McNamara (born 1963) is an American journalist and television critic for the ''Los Angeles Times''. She won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. Biography McNamara moved from Baltimore to Westminster in elementary school. She graduated fro ...

of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

'', who wrote, "...any concern that Fey, like so many before her, has been ruined by fame is quickly dispelled by ''Bossypants'', a book that reminds you why Fey has succeeded where so many have failed — because she is precise, professional and hilarious." Ellen Wernecke of '' The A.V. Club'' similarly said of Fey, "The artistry of her autobiography-turned-polemic raises the bar for every comedian who dares put cursor to Word doc." It received a more mixed review from

Carole Cadwalladr Carole Jane Cadwalladr (; born 1969) is a British author, investigative journalist and features writer. She is a features writer for ''The Observer'' and formerly worked at ''The Daily Telegraph''. Cadwalladr rose to international prominence in ...

of ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...

'', however, who opined, "There's lots to enjoy, particularly if you are, as I am, a Tina Fey fan girl. It's just the bookiness of it. Fey is out of her genre, and it shows: it takes an age to get going, and it's less like prose non-fiction than a sketch comedy in book form, with a disproportionate number of one-liners, not all of which work."

References

{{Tina Fey 2011 non-fiction books American autobiographies Little, Brown and Company books Comedy books American memoirs Show business memoirs