What I'm Reading: 'Modern Love' by Aziz Ansari

I expected to love this book as much as I already love Aziz Ansari -- I've watched every episode of 'Parks and Rec' multiple times and I've seen all his stand-up specials. But this just hasn't done anything for me. Maybe it's because I'm married and didn't have much of a dating life before I got married, so in many ways the entire concept of the book is antithetical to my lifestyle? Frankly, it just wasn't what I expected -- at all. It doesn't come across as a humor book written by a talented comedian, which is something we've all come to know and love in the past few years (see: Mindy Kaling, Judy Greer, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, etc, etc etc). Ansari works with another writer/researcher and the first chapter is a long list of research notes, as if he actually set out to write about modern love as a sociological concept. There are many charts and graphs and so forth, and not that many jokes. It's not a terrible book, or even a bad book -- it's just a confusing and maybe slightly disappointing book.

Books For TV Lovers: 'Broad City'

There are no literary references worth discussing on this show but it's my favorite and it's amazing so here's the Season 2 trailer. If you haven't gotten into this yet, I'm not sure what's wrong with you. If you think we're friends and you tell me that this isn't your sense of humor, we won't be friends anymore, FYI.

If you really insist in squeezing a book recommendation out of it, I guess I'd advise Yes, Please by Amy Poehler, as Broad City's beloved mentor and executive producer, or Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me by Mindy Kaling, because funny women on tv deserve your attention. Also any book about stoners or NYC.

'Broad City' Season 2 premieres tonight on Comedy Central.

Books For TV Lovers is a recurring post that rounds up a reading list of titles inspired by my favorite TV shows.

Books by Funny Women

Lena Dunham's memoir Not That Kind of Girl follows in a long and illustrious (albeit recent) tradition of famous, funny women publishing essays and memoirs. Part of the reason she received such a publicized advance on the book was because of the incredible (and somewhat surprising) successes of her predecessors. Below are some of my favorite funny lady books, including some titles to watch for in the coming months.

Bossypants by Tina Fey -- The O.G. of books by funny ladies in the modern era. I like how seamlessly she blends autobiographical stuff with funny essays, and then somehow manages to give you really profound advice about feminism without your realizing what just happened.

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling -- Another classic, which you've likely already read. If not, got on that, and also watch her show on Fox, 'The Mindy Project,' and then join me in anxiously awaiting her second memoir, which she's currently working on.

I Don't Know What You Know Me From by Judy Greer -- I cannot abide this one because she claims to be from Detroit and then reveals she actually grew up in Livonia. This is simply too much for me, but I still love her in everything, but mostly 'Arrested Development.'

 I Hate My Neck by Nora Ephron -- She's an incredible wit, a strident feminist, and a very sweet lady, whose personal voice as a writer is probably the strongest of this group. When you read her essays, you feel like you're reading something written by a friend or a very hilarious mother. This particular volume is focused on aging and womanhood, but all her writing is excellent.

Yes, Please by Amy Poehler -- Forthcoming in October! She earns the very high praise of being worth saving my next Audible credit for, as I'm hopeful she'll be the reader in her own audio book version. She's talented and funny and if her presence in Bossypants is any indication, she has plenty of sage feminist wisdom to dispense with as well. Additionally, if you're not already enjoying her incredible media empire that is 'Smart Girls at the Party,' go remedy that.

This Week in Books: Hillary Clinton, Kindle Data, and Jane Eyre

It's Hillary Clinton week! I haven't finished her new memoir yet, but you can expect a full report when I do, and in the meantime, check out this NYTBR by Michiko Kakutani and then laugh aloud while you read the New Republic's non-sensical companion piece. I cannot tell if either of these people actually the book or not, so I'll be making up my own mind, thankyouverymuch.

I am not a Kindle user currently; I'm not against them, but I am both an avid book collector and a super library user, so I'm not sure yet how a Kindle would fit into my literary life BUT! that doesn't mean that I didn't find this really interesting/ mostly disheartening. Everyone needs to spend more time reading and/or highlighting modern novels, I guess. 

The terrific Christy Childers, creator of Postcards to Authors (which you should be following) wrote a really nice blog post about her personal connections to Jane Eyre, as something of a response to Rebecca Mead's My Life in Middlemarch. I especially love this as someone who has also re-read Jane Eyre multiple times.

Finally, Mindy Kaling has announced her follow-up to the hugely successful Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) which I loved. Her announcement is surprisingly frank and detailed, and includes a strong hint that her feelings on the Elle cover controversy will be included.