Review: The Office BFFs by Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey

The Office BFFs: Tales of The Office from Two Best Friends Who Were There by Jenna Fischer

Recommended: yes
for people who like the show The Office (the American version, anyway), for fans of the authors in general, for some insight into the details of the show but also of the people in the show (including those we don’t directly see but who affected it so much!) and a little bit of showbiz side

Summary

Receptionist Pam Beesly and accountant Angela Martin had very little in common when they toiled together at Scranton’s Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. But, in reality, the two bonded in their very first days on set and, over the nine seasons of the series’ run, built a friendship that transcended the show and continues to this day. Sharing everything from what it was like in the early days as the show struggled to gain traction, to walking their first red carpet—plus exclusive stories on the making of milestone episodes and how their lives changed when they became moms—The Office BFFs is full of the same warm and friendly tone Jenna and Angela have brought to their Office Ladies podcast.

Thoughts

I think the obvious point to make about this book is the one I’ll just get out of the way first: yes, it’s got lots of fun and near-deadly anecdotes and insight into the show, the characters, and the people. I like The Office, and I enjoyed this book (plus it made start a new rewatch). For people who LIVE AND LOVE THE OFFICE — yeah, you’ll like this one. But even if you’re a casual viewer, you’ll enjoy it! If you’ve never seen The Office, this book is probably confusing and definitely full of spoilers, but you can still read it if you want! Why not?

Jenna and Angela alternate their narration within each section and it’s clearly labeled who is narrating at each point. They add details and pick up the stories with their own perspectives, and it all rolls very naturally together. The sections themselves do the same for the overall structure. They start at the beginning, and end at the end. Each time a new section was started, I felt like it made sense to start talking about it at that point (from behind the scenes people to awards shows to specific season details). This contributed a lot to how enjoyable this book was to read, because there was no struggle with back and forth or placing things in the timeline.

If anecdotes and behind-the-scenes is your jam, this is PERFECT. Jenna and Angela (and others involved as well) include photos from the whole series that add such a level of joy and insight to the show and their stories. I also learned a ton about tv in general and the making of, which was fascinating.

There’s a section dedicated to each author’s on-screen relationship, and they were both wonderful. I payed close attention to the 27 seconds of silence scene when I did my rewatch! It was so fun to have the extra info and context for episodes again. I also never finished the series, and have only watched up to about season 8, so toward the end of the book they discuss or reference things I hadn’t actually known or seen before. That was perfectly fine, as it turns out. They gave enough context everywhere else that it was all pretty easy to follow and enjoy even on the bits that were new to me.