Monday, October 19, 2015

Book Review: "Seriously..I'm Kidding" by Ellen Degeneres


Howdy there! Ellen's book is number 9 on my "25 before 26 Memiors" list - and boy, was I excited to dive into this one!



Per Barnes and Noble.com: "Sometimes the greatest things are the most embarrassing." Ellen Degeneres' winning, upbeat candor has made her show one of the most popular, resilient and honored daytime shows on the air. (To date, it has won no fewer than 31 Emmys.) Seriously... I'm Kidding, Degeneres' first book in eight years, brings us up to date about the life of a kindhearted woman who bowed out of American Idol because she didn't want to be mean. Lively; hilarious; often sweetly poignant. 





Imma be real honest here: I love Ellen. And I hated her book. I didn't hate it, hate it - but I kind of had more expectations of it - and it sort of really let me down.

First, I thought it was going to be more of a memoir - it wasn't. Sure, she gives out all kinds of advice and tells stories, but it's really just that. It's chapters of her saying whatever comes to her mind - it never exactly flows. 
I'm still considering it one of my memoirs because it comes from her voice and it's considered a memoir at the library. Whatever the library says, goes. Am I right?

Secondly, I just couldn't get into it. I laughed out loud at one liners and found it an easy read (like really, really easy), but I wasn't into it and might have skipped two of the last three chapters. Oops. 

And last, but not least, I'm glad it's over. I can move onto other things.


I do have a few favorites, naturally, because Ellen is hilarious. No matter how much I did or didn't enjoy the book - there are things to be learned from in it!

1// "It's hard to understand failure when you're going through it, but in the grand scheme of things it's good to fall down - not because you're drunk or near stairs."

When things get rough, our vision is cloudy. There's no real light coming through because we're so thick in the mud and mire. But it's also a learning experience. Life would be entirely too clean if we didn't have anything bad happen to us, ever. 

2// "We're all different people and we're allowed to be different from one another. If someone says you're weird, say thank you. And then curtsey. No, don't curtsey. That might be too weird. Bow. And tip your imaginary hat. That'll show them."

Ellen is the poster child for "be you, boo boo!" and most of the time, I love it. She's a walking talking advocate for the rights of others - gay, straight, bullied..I mean, the woman wants to save us all. And she believes that we're all important and different, which, we should all get behind anyway. Get out from behind your prejudice and love, people. And bow. While tipping you're imaginary hat.

3// "Maybe at some point we won't have to break success down along gender lines. Maybe we don't have to say a man did this or a woman invented that. Maybe we'll just be able to say this wonderful, smart, creative person did something extraordinary and that will be that."

I think this is a great reminder for what we're going through in this country at the moment. Women are fighting for their "right" to be equal to a man (which..we already have, by the way..) instead of focusing on doing something. We want the recognition and win more than we want to just do the work. Who gives a crap if a man or a woman does something? I just want to celebrate the good stuffs. I'm tired of fighting for something that's already won.


Read it if you're a fan of Ellen. That's really about all I got for ya. I wanted to like this way more than I did, but that wasn't the case. I'm still going to be a big fan of Ellen and a lot of what she stands up for, but maybe sticking to watching her on TV instead.

C

2 comments:

  1. I think the fact that while Ellen is so loved but her book is nowhere near as discussed as Bossypants, Yes Please, Why Are They Hanging Out Without Me?, and so on says it's kind of meh and probably partially why I subconciously never read it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ha! I just laughed out loud at that. I think you're 100% correct! It just isn't that great. Although, I didn't exactly enjoy Bossypants either. I know, shame on me.

      Delete