Thanks @scribnerbooks for the ‘My Squirrel Days’ ARC!

If I had to describe this book in one word (or two), it would be ‘charmingly quirky’! Ellie Kemper writes this book with her usual candour which makes the reading insightful and lighthearted at the same time! It was an easy breezy read and I didn’t even realise when I finished the book!

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I thoroughly enjoyed Ellie Kemper’s book! She’s just so cheerful, funny, and awkward...making her extremely relatable. I usually don’t enjoy celebrity memoirs but I loved this one due to her comical nature of telling various stories. If you enjoyed her character in The Office and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, you’ll enjoy this memoir! Thank you to Scribner and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book. Publish Date: October 9, 2018.

I love Ellie Kemper, but I think I was looking for more from this book. While it was entertaining to read each of these stories with her voice in my head, it didn't make me laugh as much as I thought it would. I think most of it was due to the fact that I've already read quite a bit about UCB improv in Amy Poheler's book, so it seemed like variations on stories that I had heard before. I did love the way she continued to make jokes throughout the book about things that happened in earlier stories. It made everything more cohesive. Overall, it was a fun and quick read.

It took me a bit longer to get into Ellie Kemper's book than it did with other books I've read by comedians, but she's worth the effort! Funny, charming, engaging, it was fun to be pulled into her world!

Let me start by saying I think Ellie Kemper is adorable. Funny, genuine, the type of person you want to be friends with. Also, I never watched The Office, nor The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (though the latter has been on my to-watch list forever.) When this book came up as an advanced read, I had to read it. I wasn’t disappointed.

The Ellie Kemper I’ve admired comes across loud and clear on the pages. She shares stories from childhood and adulthood that are sweet and comical. Stories that you can hear her telling in her own voice. I loved reading about her childhood creating plays that Ellie would force her best friend and sister to perform (have to admit, we used to be forced to do the same thing in my family.) Loved her stories about not being college’s greatest field hockey player, despite being her high school’s greatest. Especially loved the back story on auditioning for SNL.

I am not a huge fan of autobiographies or memoirs. The only ones that I gravitate toward are those written by funny people, because let’s face it, life is pretty grim already. No one needs anything else depressing in their lives. And celebrity memoirs often feel like pages of name dropping (or name hiding) and a window into “look how great I am.” Comedians tend to be more self-deprecating and honest.

So if you are in for a good read, not pee your pants funny, but humorous and honest, pick this one up. Can be read really quickly and in short bursts. Ellie is fun. I would love to have bike 12 right next to Ellie in the next Rooster SoulCycle class.

I was really thrilled to be approved to read this book... Ellie Kemper is one of my favorite actresses. I loved her on The office and in Bridesmaids, and love her on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. That being said, I liked but didn’t love this book. It was funny in many places, but wasn’t as good as Tina Fey or Mindy Kalings books. It was an enjoyable read, and her spunky personality really shines through. I especially liked her background stories about The office and Kimmy Schmidt. Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley. Love you Ellie!

MY SQUIRREL DAYS, by Ellie Kemper, is a delightful collection of Ellie's musings about growing up, struggling as a young actress, and finally feeling such bliss at becoming successful as well as becoming a mother.
This book was exactly (which is rarely the case) what I thought it would be and wanted it to be. Ellie's writing is spirited, intelligence, whimsical, and downright funny. It is clear through this book that despite her happy, bubbly exterior that seems to never have a sad thought, that inside Ellie has smart, anxious and driven energy that has guided her life. Each chapter tells of a story in Ellie's past, from young girl to just a couple of years ago, and has a certain amount of sarcasm and a lot of self-deprecation, in a hilarious style that reminds me of David Letterman. And by the way, her passage about being on Late Night with David Letterman is a highlight of the book.
Ellie Kemper has a unique wit, and in MY SQUIRREL DAYS, her style and humor is on full display. I challenge anyone who reads this book to not laugh out loud constantly.

Sweet, funny and entertaining. I don't think I liked it quite as much as I enjoyed Tina Fey's or Mindy Kaling's books, but all in all I got what I wanted out of it. I enjoyed it and liked the glimpses of Ellie's personal and professional lives and how she came to be a success in such a difficult industry. I would read another book by her.

My Squirrel Days by Ellie Kemper is a humourous memoir by the actress who starred in the Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and The Office. Her upbeat look at life and self deprecating jokes make her relatable and true to the reader. She talks about her family growing up, her relationship with her now husband, being a mom, and becoming a comedian & actress. Hilarious tidbits about celebrities she has come into contact with are a real treat. I've already recommended this book to everyone I know. Highly recommend!

Let me be honest here for a second.... I wanted to absolutely love this book. I really really did. And I did like it, but did not LOVE it like I wanted to. I thoroughly enjoyed watching The Office and I like Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, but this book just wasn't that funny. Kimmy has a normal, carefree (and assuming at least somewhat wealthy) upbringing in St. Louis, attends Princeton to play field hockey and ends up quitting the team at the beginning of her sophomore year. Shortly after, she joins an improv group and lives happily ever after.

Not really, but that's what it certainly seems like. After she graduates Princetons, she attends Oxford since she doesn't know what she wants to do with her life and is still being financially supported by her parents. Then she moves to NYC and starts doing more improv (and is still being financially supported by her parents). She eventually gets to audition for The Office and the rest of her career falls into place. It just all seems very happy-go-lucky and like she didn't have any hard times to deal with while trying to become a famous comedic person in NYC/Hollywood. The only bad thing she mentions in the book career wise is the fact that she auditioned for SNL (and got Lorne Michaels' name wrong in the process) and didn't get a callback.

I just think I would have enjoyed this book more if there was a little bit more substance behind it. More gritty details. Not a memoir for someone who doesn't seem to have had that much super interesting stuff happen to her. Or if she wrote this book 10 years from now and had more stories to add to it.

PS (and these are a little too TMI on her part) The fact that she wrote about how she randomly pees her pants from laughing too hard (and that was before she had a child so she can't even use that as an excuse) and how she doesn't wash her hands after going to the bathroom in her own house is so gross.

I love Ellie Kemper, but I'm sad to say that I didn't love this. While her funny voice and wit shines through in a lot of the essays, overall, I was underwhelmed. She's talented, for sure, but her life is incredibly privileged and average - and that doesn't make for a compelling read. This was far too basic for my liking, although I enjoyed the bits about The Office and her Netflix show a lot!

This book was such a great read! Very entertaining! It felt as if you were sitting at a cafe having a conversation with a friend who is talking about her life. She spoke of emotional, funny and learning moments for her. Each chapter showed us what her world was like growing up and working in the entertainment business. The best parts were those where she didn't take herself seriously.

Love this book! She has such a wonderful voice for story telling. I laughed out loud throughout the book.

I love, love, love the Netflix show Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and when I saw that Ellie Kemper had written a book I knew I had to get my hands on it. This book was delightful in so many ways, I loved getting to know Ellie more, even though she actually reminded me of her character, Kimmy. The book is basically a series of essays on topics ranging from her childhood hobbies (which involved squirrel watching, hence the title), to her college experience, to her auditions for SNL and The Office. The only thing that would’ve been better would’ve been listening to this book on audio. It was the perfect light, funny read for me and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoyed the books written by Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and Mindy Kayling.

*thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review*

I loved watching Ellie Kemper on The Office and in Bridesmaids, and this is exactly the book I was expecting from her. The memoir covers her childhood, path to comedy via NYC and Chicago, and her major acting roles. I enjoyed reading about her tenacity to make it in comedy and how much effort she put into improv.

Ellie didn’t have a difficult upbringing, and this book is not in any way similar to hard-hitting memoirs of this year like Educated. However, what her memoir lacks in dramatics it makes up for in humor. I laughed out loud several times during this book and ended up reading it in a day. If you want something fun and not too serious to read, this is a great choice.

I was so excited to see this book on NetGalley – I knew I had to read it. As a self-proclaimed Office and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt fan, and as a St. Louis native, I knew I had to read Kemper’s book. And I am so glad I did!

Kemper’s humor comes across in her writing so well. I giggled constantly while reading this book. Each chapter tells of a different experience or memory from Kemper’s life and she is very open and honest in her writing. She includes a disclaimer in the beginning of the book that her stories will be embellished – and there are plenty of moments where you can see this in action, and it gives the work an artful storytelling quality that I quite enjoyed, because really, everyone remembers things differently than how they happened. Kemper uses this to channel her humor and creates a scene that almost feels like you’re reading the scene of a movie.

It was wonderful seeing all the bits and pieces that Kemper includes about St. Louis in her story. St. Louis is both a fairly large city and at the same like a small town (where you bump into people you know more often than not), so it often gets passed up when people consider major cities in the US. It was nice to get this little nod of recognition from Kemper. As she related bits about her childhood, I could easily picture the places she mentions and I got a little thrill every time.

It was also amazing to hear a little behind the scenes tidbits from the shows and movies she’s acted in, like getting a little Office trivia. It was very cool to see things from her perspective about a show that I’ve watched so many times. She actually lived some of it!

I would definitely recommend this to fans of the Office or Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. It’s also just a really funny book with lots of slice of life scenes that are made larger than life with Kemper’s humor and storytelling. A fun, quick read that’s worth picking up.

First line: There comes a time in every sitcom actress’s life when she is faced with the prospect of writing a book.

Summary: In this short memoir by actress Ellie Kemper we get a look into her life as a kid, breaking into show business and getting a starring role on a Netflix sitcom.

Highlights: I love Ellie Kemper and her roles on The Office and The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. I always imagined her to be similar to her characters and after reading this, I think that she is. She seems to be a happy person with lots of energy. She is funny and goofy. I believe she would be a great person to have as a friend. I was happy to read this. It was very quick and enjoyable.

Lowlights: I did not have any laugh out loud moments but just some internal chuckles.

FYI: Perfect if you love Bossypants!

“I am a natural born shut-in who dreads leaving the couch.” -Ellie (but also me)😆
I’m a big fan of The Office and really liked The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, so I enjoyed this fun little book of quirky stories from Ellie’s life. It was self-deprecating, quick, & sarcastic. It also includes interesting little tidbits from The Office, Bridesmaids, and stories of celebs she’s encountered. The chapter called Slob about germaphobia after she had a baby made me giggle. Fun fact: her puke in Bridesmaids was made up of graham crackers, vanilla pudding and whipped cream😆 Now you know! *Thanks to @netgalley and @scribnerbooks for the free advanced copy for my honest review.*

Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC.

I already loved Ellie Kemper, but this collection of short stories just makes her even more relatable. She weaves a wonderful portrait of her life. If you like fun relatable series, give My Squirrel Days a read. You will be pleasantly surprised.

This book is a perfect match to my perception of Kemper's persona: cute, harmless, mildly amusing. I smiled at parts, but I never laughed out loud. And I certainly never chuckled or guffawed. More than that, though, I don't feel like I learned anything about Kemper. There were no surprises, no insight into the inner workings of a woman who is most certainly smarter and more interesting than the characters she has played.