I love Retta and her book did not disappoint! It is full of charm and humor. Her love of hockey and the LA Kings was both a surprise and a delight. A perfect escape.

I read this back in 2018, but I found it so forgettable that when I finally came back to Netgalley, I had to look up my rating to see if I had just hallucinated it. I really just found nothing interesting in this. In the way of many humorous memoirs, from Augusten Burroughs to David Sedaris, this was episodic, with little stories from the author's life. Unfortunately, I didn't find any of them funny or unique. Very disappointed with this one.

This was an amazing book. I love this actress and her character on Parks and Recreations, and it just made me love her more. She is very real with me as the reader.

It took me a while to pick this up, because I honestly didn't think she would be interesting. Let's face it, she hasn't really been in a lot of movies and shows. But I was certainly surprised. She is quite funny, in a dorky kind of way. I like dorky by the way. I would definitely recommend this title.

So Close to Being The Sh•t, Y’All Don’t Even Know
by Retta

This is one of those books from NetGalley that I allegedly got for my teenage daughter, but ended up reading myself. I got it for my daughter because she is the one who introduced me to Parks and Recreation, and the one who binge-watched it with me this past year, even though she had seen every episode while it was still on the air. As usual, she was a step or two ahead of me. Retta’s story was surprising — no slouch academically, she developed a love for comedy at Duke, and it went so well there that she abandoned plans for med school in search of her own sitcom. I especially love that she is a Jersey girl, and that her obsession with beautiful handbags may very well inspire her (force her?) to keep working forever. I’m not so sure about eating Ramen with American cheese; I’ll take a pass on that one. But if you’re looking for a fun and mostly light-hearted read covering a wide range of topics, this is it.


For Goodreads:

Why I picked it — Because I loved Parks & Rec
Reminded me of… books by Mindy Kaling, Tina Fey, and Samantha Irby
For my full review — click here

An enjoyable memoir from Retta. The book was very funny, which is to be expected from her tweets and screen presence, but was still a joy to read.

I loved Retta before reading this, and I love her even more now. I love celebrities who came from humble beginnings, because it makes them so real, you know - like I could totally relate to her KMart and Marshall's story! (Side note: I got my first pair of Gap jeans at a Marshall's-like store, and I did think I was fancy! That was my first pair of namebrand jeans!) She has the perfect way of telling stories - gives you the main point, then backs up and hilariously adds all the context to what actually lead up to the point. I do not want to spoil a single bit of this, so I will refrain from examples :-) Also, readers, you MUST listen to the audiobook version! No one can read it like Retta - and her laugh! Loved every moment. And, I have this possibly weird thing where when listening to audiobooks, the narrator's voice sometimes replaces the voice in my head - and it has been a glorious week with Retta's voice popping into my subconscious!

A funny, and some-what relatable celebrity memoir. I was starting to get jealous when she kept going on and on about all of the celebrity perks she gets, like free hockey games and getting to see Hamilton several times, while becoming friends with the cast. I really enjoyed the chapters on addiction (shopping and food), being lazy, and body image/diet and exercise.

Treat yo self! (Sorry, I couldn't help it and i am mad at myself for typing it).
Retta is absolutely hilarious. She is unique, hilarious, gorgeous and a force to be reckoned with. Someone please give her a sitcom, talk show, whatever she wants.
I highly recommend reading it, listening to it, and just enjoying her voice and perspectives.

I didn't know who Retta is. And I'm not sure she really needed a book. BUT, her enthusiasm for things is so contagious! She's at her best when talking about things she loves, like hockey and Hamilton.

So Close to Being the Sh*t is a memoir by Retta, mostly known as Donna on Parks and Rec. I was excited to read this memoir because Retta is a comedian, and I KNEW this book was going to be funny. Like most people, I recognized Retta from Parks and Rec, but besides that I didn’t know very much about her. This memoir was a fun, quick look into the comedian’s life. I think this book is perfect if you want something short and funny to read, and if you want to learn a little more about Retta.

Parks and Recreation is my all-time favorite TV show. I've watched all of the seasons four times. Being from NC, I was excited to find out that Retta attended Duke University (and there are some great references to NC and Duke in the book). I also think it's super cool that Retta is related to the (female) President of Liberia (not mentioned in the book). I loved Amy Poehler's book and was so excited to read Retta's book. It did not disappoint. Retta is funny and most of all, honest. She does not apologize for who she is. Retta tells of her interesting, although very normal, childhood living with her immigrant parents and lots of cousins. It is a relatable story of growing up loving television, deciding to become a doctor, then deciding to do stand-up, and eventually becoming rich (sort of) and famous. She geeks out on meeting celebrities like any of us would. She is basically the non-famous person's tour guide to entering the Hollywood scene. She tells funny stories about touring the country doing stand-up, working with agents, attending award shows and Hollywood parties, and of course, working on Parks and Rec. I think the book was finished before Good Girls came on the air so unfortunately, there is no mention of that. I'm holding out for her next book! There were also interesting and funny chapters about her love for social media and how it gained her access to exclusive seating at professional hockey games and the Hamilton musical which she absolutely adores. Retta is always grateful for her new experiences with the rich and famous never taking anything for granted. Her chapter on her hobby of collecting expensive purses, along with other collectibles, is a bit indulgent and unrelatable, but it balances nicely with the generosity that she shows with her newfound wealth. I was sad when this book was over and thought I might fill the gap with books by other comedians but none have compared.

Rounding up a 4.5 to 5 stars. Retta has a distinctive comedic voice and it comes through in her writing. I chuckled aloud to myself a couple of times, and her stories just made me want to be her friend even more.

I have seen this actress on a few shows over the years but I love her on Girlfriend's Guide to Divorce so when I saw that she had a book out, I had to read it. I absolutely love when a writer sounds on paper the same way they do in real life. This book was filled with real talk and I was cracking up reading about her purse addiction as well as what it has taken for her to get to where she is in her career now. Retta is a smart and determined actress that didn't sugar coat her story. I am glad that NetGalley gave me the chance to read this book because it's been a while since I have read an autobiography that was as entertaining as this one.



This book was published May 29 and Barnes and Nobles has it so I recommend you grab yourself one to read! You won't be disappointed.

Retta opens her life to her readers through these essays. From her time on Parks and Recreation to how she became a hockey fan to her crazy good twitter game. Her narration of the audiobook is top notch!

Huh. Go figure.

Although I don’t watch Parks and Recreation, the television show for which this comedic actor has become famous, I thought I would enjoy her memoir. For one thing, she’s a big woman, and I love it when well-padded women have the courage to go on stage for a purpose other than disparaging themselves. At least one reviewer on Goodreads hadn’t watched her program, yet loved this book. Thanks go to Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for the DRC; I want to like this book too, but I don’t.

Retta is the child of Liberian immigrants who sacrificed a great deal so that she could receive a stellar education. They had no clue that life would lead her to show business instead of medical school. She began her career by doing stand-up routines, and so I went to YouTube and watched a clip from Comedy Central, and I thought it was pretty good. But much of the humor she uses is in the delivery. Without the pauses, without the facial expressions and other body language, things that cannot be conveyed in writing, that routine comes out flat. I watched her perform her signature line, and whereas I didn’t feel the magic, I suspect context would improve it.

If the memoir were simply a little dull, I could likely go with a third star here, but there are aspects that I found abrasive. I don’t need to know all about the many thousands of dollars apiece that go into her handbag collection, and I wonder why anyone would find that kind of self-indulgence amusing. How many good causes could use that money? I don’t need all the details of what she does on the toilet; ew. And why insert a chapter complaining about the gifts she has received from others? Was she raised to be so ungracious? So much of the collection includes her great love for booze that I found myself wanting to hire a skywriter to fly over Southern California to say, GET HELP.

On the other hand, I’m a member of the Boomer generation. I suspect that a lot of Retta’s fan base is younger than I am. So if you already a big fan, you may like this book, but unless your pockets are deep—not deep enough for fifteen thousand dollar purses, but deep—I suggest waiting until you can get It free or cheap. Others may want to read something else.

So real and honest and funny. Can this woman be my friend? I want to go out and drink too much coffee with her and look at expensive purses.

Even though the only show I’ve seen Retta in is Girlfriend’s Guide to Divorce, I knew I wanted to read her book as soon as I saw it. And I was not disappointed! I found myself chuckling after a few pages in! This book is hilarious and SOO relatable.

This book has made me a fan of Retta, and I highly recommend it if you are looking for an honest, but funny, memoir.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and the author for providing a free copy of this book.

I am a sucker for celebrity memoirs especially if it's by a funny person. Retta is definitely funny. Donna was always a shining light on Parks and Rec...I mean who doesn't Yell "Treat Yo Self" everytime they go shopping! I knew very little about her career going into this so it was entertaining to see her journey from Prospective Doctor to stand up comedian and actor. Overall, it was a short light read.
I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

So Close to Being the Shit is a collection of stories that offer a chronologically ordered look at Retta's life. The stories are humorous, if not a bit rambling/lacking focus. I am glad to have learned more about her life, as it was quite a circuitous route to acting and I love reading about people who come across their life's passion at random. I'm not sure if the book will introduce new fans to Retta on its own, but existing fans will enjoy these stories.