Comedians can often give us valuable insight into the world and offer a new perspective because they see things differently than most people. With humor and wit, comedians can help us see the world more positively and improve our mood.
Amber Ruffin is one of the most popular comedians of today. She’s appeared in and written for numerous TV shows and ceremonies, including the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards, Late Night with Seth Meyers, and The Amber Ruffin Show.
Ruffin has also written two books. Here, we’ll review both.
Who is Amber Ruffin?
Amber Ruffin was born in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1979 and graduated from Benson High School in 1996. In 2001, Ruffin started performing in local theater improv and productions. While she was with her improv troupe in Chicago, she met Charna Halpern, comedian and owner of iO Theater.
Halpern encouraged Ruffin to move to Chicago, believing she would find a full-time job as a comedian within a year. After finishing her classes at iO in 2008, Ruffin decided to move to Amsterdam, where she worked with the Boom Chicago Amsterdam improv group.
When she returned to the states, Ruffin became a part of The Second City (an improv comedy enterprise) and performed in Chicago and Denver. In 2011, Ruffin moved to Los Angeles. She joined several comedy groups and wrote sketches for both children and adults.
In 2013, Saturday Night Live was criticized for not having any black women on the cast. A year later, Ruffin auditioned for the show, along with Leslie Jones, Tiffany Haddish, Nicole Byer, and others, but the audition wasn’t a success.
Just a few days later, Seth Meyers reached out to Ruffin, asking her to be a writer on his new late-night talk show, and she accepted. Ruffin became the first black woman in American history to write for a late-night talk show.
Besides writing for the show, she appears in a few recurring segments, such as Amber’s Minute of Fury, Amber Says What?, and Jokes Seth Can’t Tell.
In 2019, Ruffin worked as a writer for the first season of HBO’s Black Lady Sketch Show.
In 2020 during the pandemic, NBC announced the launch of a new Peacock late-night talk show titled The Amber Ruffin Show, with Ruffin as the host. The show departs from the typical late-night structure and focuses mostly on topical sketches.
Ruffin advocates for the rights of black people and often discusses police brutality toward African Americans. When the George Floyd protests began, Ruffin opened her show by talking about her own experiences with racism and police brutality.
She published her first book in 2021 and the second a year later. Both books focus on racism.
Amber Ruffin’s best books
Here’s a list of Amber Ruffin’s books you you may want to add to your book list:
You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories About Racism
This is the first book Amber Ruffin published, and she wrote it with her sister Lacey Lamar. The sisters discuss absurd anecdotes from their lives. They tackle everyday experiences of racism white people often don’t think about.
This New York Times bestselling book portrays things black people face on a daily basis. From racist donut shops to being mistaken for Harriet Tubman, the eye-opening book describes experiences with a perfect balance of humor and complexity.
At first glance, this is a collection of funny stories and sister banter. At a deeper level, the sisters dig deep into modern-day racism the Ruffin family and millions of other families deal with constantly.
According to numerous celebrities like Mindy Kaling and Retta, this is a must-read for everyone. Kirkus Reviews called this indie next pick both maddening and funny, capturing its essence perfectly, while Publishers Weekly complimented its vivid insight.
The World Record Book of Racist Stories
The new book coauthored by Amber Ruffin and her sister Lacey Lamar was published in 2022. As with the first book, the sisters tackle racism and mention how white men and white women have treated them in the past.
This time, the story doesn’t focus on Lacey. Instead, the book contains the most shocking and hilarious tales of racism from their parents, siblings, nieces, and nephews.
Ruffin uses her exceptional writing skills to approach such a serious topic with humor. However, this great book also shows that racism doesn’t know gender, appearance, or age, which is devastating for such a modern society.
Like the previous book, this one received many starred reviews. Both books were published by Grand Central Publishing.
See the world through Amber Ruffin’s eyes with Speechify Audiobooks
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FAQ
What genres are Amber Ruffin’s books?
Amber Ruffin’s books can be classified as biographies because they tell about real experiences regarding racism in America.
Who is Lacey Lamar?
Lacey Lamar is Amber Ruffin’s sister.
