If you can't get enough of Ellen DeGeneres from her talk show, picking up a copy of her latest book and flying through its easy read pages will certainly sate you. The fast-paced, often silly, rather cheesy and sometimes hilarious read is delivered in the exact stream of consciousness manner the world's most famous lesbian displays on the tube. Seriously ... I'm Kidding is the third book from DeGeneres, and it is best described as a mishmash of her philosophies on life, which are delivered as she comes up with them in her head, or so it seems. This stream of consciousness manner of writing may leave you wondering whether it's better to get the book on tape, which the author reads herself, but even if you read it all by yourself you can hear her voice clearly in your head. "Opinion polls have become incredibly popular. I know that because I read it in an opinion poll," sums up the types of one-liners the book is burgeoning with. It's a long way from the stark and confronting autobiography from her wife Portia, Unbearable Lightness, which dealt with her eating disorder and struggle for her notion of perfection. However Ellen touches on the couple's life together in domestic anecdotes, which are seriously cute. DeGeneres does have more serious moments, particularly in a chapter on labels where she recalls coming out, and having some groups thinking she wasn't gay enough, and others accusing her of being too gay. "It didn't occur to me that when I announced I was gay I would have to clarify just how gay I am. What does it matter? What does it mean? All I can say is I'm gay enough for me." She also discusses her time on American Idol, summing it up as "fun but hard", because she struggled with hurting people's feelings. It's clearly the opposite of her mission in life, which is to make people laugh and leave them feeling all giggly and fluffy, which this book will probably do for a lot of people, from all walks of life. If you don't like Ellen's humour, don't bother, as it will only grate on your nerves. If you're a fan, you'll love it, and it will certainly give you a pick-me-up, Ellen style. Jacqui Stanford - 29th January 2012