“Messays” from your favorite snarky, sarcastic but also secretly sincere girlfriend
Early watchers of The Daily Show may recognize Lizz Winstead’s name from its credits — she’s one of the show’s creators. Before The Daily Show, Winstead was a standup comic and co-creator of the departed progressive radio station Air America, and now she’s released a book discussing her history as a comedian and media maven. Those looking for Winstead to dish extensively on her publicly rocky working relationship with former Daily Show host Craig Kilborn will be disappointed. Winstead warns up front that this isn’t a revenge book, but it’s not lacking in bite or sarcasm, either (Winstead takes the opportunity early on to vent about how much she hates the word “appropriate”). Comprised of a batch of “messays” (Winstead is fond of mashing pre-existing words together to form new ones, some of which seem like they should become listed in the dictionary), Lizz Free Or Die excels the most when the author tracks her career as a comedian, feminist and commentator. Some of these are more obvious, such as looks at her fledgling standup career whereas others are a little subtler, such as her fond looks at her crotchety, conservative but supportive and humorous parents. As Winstead reads her work, her tone is reminiscent of your favorite snarky, sarcastic but also secretly sincere girlfriend.