I’m unimpressed. It’s fine, it’s just been done better (like Tina Fey’s). I think she could have waited ten years to have a little more to say.

Four stars because Ellie's writing is charming and I enjoyed the BTS stories of some of my favorite shows.

That being said, a good life does equal a good memoir. By her own accounts she had a pretty standard childhood. She studied at Princeton and Oxford. When she decided her heart was in comedy she hustled in the Chicago and NY scene until she was noticed by the right people.

In the future, I'd love to see any fiction that Ellie writes. I do think she could write stories for young readers like Kimmie does.

Ellie Kempers book My Squirrel Days takes a look back at her start as an actress. She played the receptionist Erin Hanson in The Office (US version) to her Netflix show The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. She also appeared in the movie Bridesmaids.

The book is written like her character Kimmy., Very chipper in personality. She includes some Interesting Hollywood stories about other celebrities along with her own story.

But at the age of 38, it’s too soon to be writing her autobiography.

My Squirrel Days is a jumbled collection of essays by Ellie Kemper. I have no idea who Kemper is as I've never heard of her before this book nor do I watch the shows she has been in. Her book was interesting and quirky. I liked the parts pertaining to her childhood and family the best.

While this book may not be the most thrilling, I thought it was a really fun read! Not everyday will like this book as much as I did..

Ellie Kemper comes off as very charming and relatable.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Ellie Kemper is delightful, as is her book. Fans of Kimmy Schmidt, laughing, and being cheerful will enjoy reading My Squirrel Days.

I love Ellie Kemper, and this book is just as cute as she is! This is a great read if you are looking for something fun to read. It will definitely put a smile on your face. I feel like I know her now!

Ellie Kemper is hysterical. As soon as I saw this book as an option, I was super excited. It was a light, fun read. Not too serious, but a fun, quick relaxing read. Ellie's humor is shown in this book and while reading, you can imagine her telling you these stories! Thank you NetGalley for the chance to enjoy this one!

Fans of The Office, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and Bridesmaids will enjoy Ellie Kemper's light-hearted memoir, My Squirrel Days.

Kemper's anecdotes, (and this is really a collection of anecdotes, rather than a traditional memoir,) begin with her happy childhood in Missouri and follow her to school at Princeton and Oxford, to New York City where she studied improv, to her success on The Office, Bridesmaids, and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and to marriage and motherhood.

I especially enjoyed the chapters on her time spent in New York, breaking into the improv and comedy scene. Kemper took several classes, performed in multiple troupes, and wrote and acted in several one-woman shows while working to become an actress. She put time into her craft and it rewarded her well.

I'm also a huge fan of The Office and Tina Fey, so I really enjoyed the passages describing her work with both.

If there's a theme among the anecdotes, it's that Kemper is just as charming, witty, and relatable as the multitude of characters she's played. The problem with that narrative is this: Kemper has lived a very privileged life, and as such, isn't always relatable.

Kemper is from a loving, wealthy family that financially supported her through Princeton, Oxford, and her time in New York City. Yes, she worked hard, took as many acting classes as she could, and performed in a variety of shows and locations. But the financial assistance she received from her parents afforded her freedoms and opportunities that most can't relate to. To be fair, she clearly made the most of the opportunities her family gave her. Still, I'm guessing this will keep many readers from relating to her. Because it's just not that relatable.

I enjoyed the book and laughed out loud at several points - her run-in with Doris Kearns Goodwin was especially memorable to me. The publisher's description advertises My Squirrel Days as "contagiously cheerful, predictably wholesome," and I'd agree. The stories are happy, silly, and a little safe. Is this book going to change your life? Probably not. But it's a fun read all the same.

Pub Date: 09 October 2018
Price: $26.00
ISBN: 9781501163340
Page count: 256p
Publisher: Scribner

I received an ARC of this work from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
<<<I'll post this review to my blog, Jamie the Bookie, closer to the release date.>>>

I got an advanced copy of this book to read for my honest opinion. I’ll actually be reading this book again post-publication because I’d like to see how it reads in its final version. This version isn’t bad. It rambled quite a bit and a lot of times for no purpose and to no real end. Some of the rambling is good. It makes the book and Ellie seem personable. However, some of the rambling seems a bit overdone and needs editing. There are a few essays I’d also take out because they interfere with the flow of the book. Maybe there could be some rearranging instead of omitting. Either way, there is some issue with the flow of the essays in the order in which the advance copy had them. Pair that with the overdramatic purposeful rants and rambling that I feel we’re used to induce humor, but fell flat and became annoying instead, and the book is flawed, but fixable. I like Ellie quite a bit, so I gave the book 3 stars for the state of the current writing and editing and an additional star because I actually like Ellie and was interested in seeing what her book was like. I also think there was something not quite right about some of the cussing in the book. I’m a sailor mouthed girl myself and I have a hunch Ellie might be too, but editing might have tried to tame her and it made the cussing seem awkward in most places—especially when it seems she says bumper for butt and they tried maybe too hard to make Ellie into Kimmy a bit too much in this book. Maybe I’m wrong and the editors added to cussing and Ellie herself is not a potty mouth. In that case, if still made the profane language that was used in the places it was used seem inauthentic in a way. Ellie says over and over her personal and professional lives are kept strictly separate, yet I feel like they were trying to make Ellie’s voice come across as Kimmy. Maybe it’s just my opinion, but I think the Reader should try this book and come to their conclusions on the matter. You can tell Ellie is smart and educated and the book uses actual vocabulary of an articulate, educated woman and that was refreshing for a celebrity—especially a comedian—read.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for granting me and ARC of this book. I love Ellie Kemper and I could hear her voice in this book. I was just a little underwhelmed. And honestly it was probably more of a 3.5 than a 3. I love her sarcasm and her positivity. I identified a lot with her references to pop culture as we are almost the same age so that aspect was fun. I thought the part about parenthood was hilarious. I felt like overall the book was not as funny as I expected. There were several funny parts, but I would've liked to see more. I also wish there would've been more discussion about working on Kimmy Schmidt. It's one of my favorite shows.

This book is hilarious! Ellie Kemper's personality really shines and I found myself reading it in her voice.

This book is exactly what I wanted it to be. It's funny, it's upbeat, and it includes some great behind-the-scenes stories from The Office, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and Bridesmaids. Ellie Kemper is such a gift, and I could hear her voice in my head as I read every word. I'll definitely have to check out the audiobook for this, as I'm sure it will be even funnier. If you're a fan of Kemper's work and comedic style, you're sure to love this book!

I mostly know of Ellie Kemper from watching The Office, and I was excited to read more about her in her book. I felt that unlike other actors’ memoirs, this felt a little disjointed. While there were some laugh out loud moments in her essays, it took a while to get to those parts. Overall, this was a fun, lighthearted read, but just felt a little long. Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC!

While I am a fan of Ellie Kemper, I was not a huge fan of this book. While I get the want for celebrity memoirs, I feel there are too many. Like Anna Kendrick's memoir, I felt this was unnecessary. Kemper does not really have a reason at this stage of her life to write a book.

This quirky book is a perfect RA suggestion for readers who are looking for their next celebrity memoir! Kemper is wholly original and her memoirs are just as offbeat as the characters she plays on TV. With many comedian memoirs, it's hard to tell where the jokes end and the real story begins, but even so, this is a fun and feel-good story that will definitely appeal to the right reader, and will require very little arm-twisting in a reader's advisory session.

I found this book dull to the degree that I gave up halfway through because I couldn't force myself to go any further. I get what she was trying to do with her quirky writing style but it's just not for me.

I love Ellie Kemper, but this really didn't seem to be her format. It wasn't really a funny book and didn't have much to say. It wasn't as bad as Anna Kendrick's book, but it was no Bossypants by any means. Ellie still seems like a likeable, good person whose career I look forward to following as it flourishes, but this memoir fell short for me. It also bothered me a bit how she underplayed her academic successes in favor of athletic ones or attributing successes to luck - she must be quite smart and have worked hard, and it seemed sort of oddly glossed over.

As far as celebrity memoirs go, this one was light and funny, and enjoyable to read. These are never the most well-written or fleshed-out books, but I did find myself engaged by Ellie’s tales. If you’re a fan, I would recommend this. If not, skip it.

Amusing little book.. Nothing special. A few smiles and few fun stories. Good to skip around. Some chapters and stories were more fun than others but easy to skip through.