Amy Poehler stopped by Late Night With Seth Meyers not to promote a new movie, but to talk about the books she’s been reading.
Poehler, the Saturday Night Live and Parks and Recreation alum, told Meyers, “I’ve been on [your show] a lot, and I’ve been hilarious and stuff, and I’m tired of that. I want to be considered an intellectual, like a smart guest.” She name-checked two of Meyers’ previous guests, the novelists Jesmyn Ward and Hernan Diaz.
She then said that she had challenged herself this year to read 50 books. Meyers introduced the first one as Dr. Fart and the Fart Monster, to laughter from Poehler.
The book was actually Tenth of December by George Saunders. “He’s a genius,” raved Poehler. “I had never read it, and the great Tina Fey had recommended it to me. We were on tour, and she said, ‘You should read that. It’s a lot of short stories, so you should be able to finish it.’”
She also talked up Miranda July’s All Fours, which Meyers said he was currently reading. “Which part of the book are you relating to more, the menopause or the affair with the gas station worker?” Poehler asked Meyers.
“They’re both getting to me,” Meyers replied.
Poehler also talked about Julia May Jonas’ Vladimir (“hot and weird”); Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own (“really, really boring”); Kate Myers’ Excavations; Anne Lamott’s Somehow; Cynthia Rylant and Christian Robinson’s Little Penguins; Bunny Day’s Catch ’em and Cook ’em; and Fyodor Dostoevesky’s Crime and Punishment.
About the last one, Poehler said, “I’ve been reading this light fare, which I imagine is about one guy trying to decide if it’s OK to kill people.”
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
