Tuesday, March 21, 2023

The World's Worst Assistant | Sona Movsesian


Would you happily boast about being the world's worst assistant? Well Sona Movsesian does! This book delves into the life of working for one of the most prominent comedic figures in our current age, Mr. Conan O'Brian. Movsesian takes us on a wild journey that spans over a decade into her life working in the Tv and Entertainment industry. She discusses the transformation from a friendly working relationship with her comedic and legendary boss (as his assistant), to a relationship that resembles more of a sibling dynamic and familial love. 

If you are a mega fan of Conan, than this book will be quite an easy and quick read. However, if you are a newer fan and have not seen all of the segments that Movsesian refers to, than this book may actually be even more fun to indulge in. For me personally, I really became a bigger fan of the terrific duo through their podcast. So, I really enjoyed pairing the readings and recounts that Movsesian offers in conjunction with a healthy dose of googling and YouTubing in order to see all the hilarious moments from their working relationship unfold for myself. It may sound like a great deal of time, but it took me a good 6 months reading the entirety of this book. I think it took me so much time because I savored each story and appreciated the funny subtleties of Movsesian and O'Brian's friendship in small doses along with a healthy binge session of online comedy content related to the pair. 

A really delightful feature of this particular book is the comic strips sprinkled through out, Movsesian's playfulness with font sizes and the picture inserts. There is a magic in bringing forth a playful childlike feature to this book which makes it interesting and reminds us to harness and enjoy a more sillier side to life (that I think we all need).

I was pleasantly surprised when I was moved to tears by the end of this book. It saddened me that it came to an end. This book is a perfect example of not every memoire needing to include moments of darkness, sadness or trauma in order to be considered a great piece of writing. What I really liked about this particular book was that it didn't need any of that emotional material in order for me to consider this book a quality read. A happy workplace and a healthy friendship (although the author may counter argue this label), can be just as an important of a read than any other and this book demonstrates that in a beautiful way. 

Movsesian's final message is to find people and work that you enjoy. I'm going to take this lesson with me moving forward!

The World's Worst Assistant can be found at your local bookstore in the 'Humour' section and here. Happy Reading! @ThatFunnyAmy

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