If You Enjoyed "Dear Girls"...Here are 3 more books (plus one movie!) to check out
Wow! The Badass Women really loved this month’s book! I got so much positive feedback from members about Ali Wong and this collection of hilarious and insightful essays! And, while I read the book version, many of our readers highly recommended it on audio!
So if you enjoyed Dear Girls, here are some more recommendations for you…
The book was full of insight into the world of women in stand-up comedy. This is a great book that looks at that issue in depth and really captures how badass you have to be to succeed in the business.
From live comedy to television and bestseller lists, women rule the comedy industry―and, as this fascinating oral history shows, they have fought long and hard to make their way to the top. In We Killed, Yael Kohen assembles America's most prominent comediennes―along with the writers, producers, and nightclub owners in their orbit―to piece together the rise of women in American comedy. Beginning with the emergence of Phyllis Diller and Joan Rivers in the fifties and moving forward to the edgy intelligence of Elaine May and Lily Tomlin on to the tough-ass stand-ups who would take SNL by storm, Kohen chronicles the false starts, backslides, and triumphs of female comedians. With a chorus of more than one hundred creative voices, We Killed takes us backstage to tell the story of the revolution that brought us Tina Fey, Sarah Silverman, and Chelsea Handler―and a world where women can be smart, attractive, sexually confident, and flat-out funny.
And, if you are looking for more books by women in comedy, check out this post!
Ali Wong is very open about how many times she failed as a performer. I think it’s part of what endeared her to many of our members. Check out this book for more on failing…
Inspired by her hugely popular podcast, How To Fail is Elizabeth Day's brilliantly funny, painfully honest and insightful celebration of things going wrong. This is a book for anyone who has ever failed. Which means it's a book for everyone. Uplifting, inspiring and rich in stories from Elizabeth's own life, How to Fail reveals that failure is not what defines us; rather it is how we respond to it that shapes us as individuals. Because learning how to fail is actually learning how to succeed better. And everyone needs a bit of that.
Wong was also open about her miscarriage and noted that Michelle Obama also addressed hers in her memoir. Much like Wong, Obama is very open about her challenges and struggles…
In a life filled with meaning and accomplishment, Michelle Obama has emerged as one of the most iconic and compelling women of our era. As First Lady of the United States of America—the first African American to serve in that role—she helped create the most welcoming and inclusive White House in history, while also establishing herself as a powerful advocate for women and girls in the U.S. and around the world, dramatically changing the ways that families pursue healthier and more active lives, and standing with her husband as he led America through some of its most harrowing moments. Along the way, she showed us a few dance moves, crushed Carpool Karaoke, and raised two down-to-earth daughters under an unforgiving media glare.
In her memoir, a work of deep reflection and mesmerizing storytelling, Michelle Obama invites readers into her world, chronicling the experiences that have shaped her—from her childhood on the South Side of Chicago to her years as an executive balancing the demands of motherhood and work, to her time spent at the world’s most famous address. With unerring honesty and lively wit, she describes her triumphs and her disappointments, both public and private, telling her full story as she has lived it—in her own words and on her own terms. Warm, wise, and revelatory, Becoming is the deeply personal reckoning of a woman of soul and substance who has steadily defied expectations—and whose story inspires us to do the same.
And, if you can’t get enough of Wong on screen, check out her recent movie, where she was both the star and the writer!
Always Be My Maybe is a 2019 American romantic comedy film, written by Ali Wong, Randall Park and Michael Golamco and directed by Nahnatchka Kahn. It stars Wong and Park as childhood friends Marcus and Sasha, who have not been in touch since a brief teenage fling ended badly. When Sasha returns to San Francisco to open a restaurant and romantic chemistry from their teenager years remains, Marcus's fears and Sasha's fame and demanding career challenge their potential new relationship.