Equal parts sweetness and saucy wit, with a pinch of kindly grandma thrown in

A brief list of Things That Betty White is Not Afraid Of would include death, sex, working in television at the age of 89, Robert Pattinson and cracking filthy jokes about baked goods on Saturday Night Live. For a longer list, you’ll have to consult If You Ask Me: (And Of Course You Won’t), the actress’s sixth book and a very good second-place substitute for those who would kill to spend a few hours with the classy babe herself. (Naturally, she narrates her own opus.)

If You Ask Me is also an excellent primer for anyone who finds herself mystified by White’s newfound It Girl status. That particular question is answered by the book’s bite-sized essays and tidy anecdotes, which illustrate a brand of charm that is equal parts sweetness and saucy wit, with a pinch of kindly grandma thrown in. A healthy dose of showbiz gossip rounds out the mix, with White divulging that she initially turned down the opportunity to host SNL three times – “I was afraid that this Californian would be like a fish out of water on such a New-York-oriented show” – and refused to budge until Lorne Michaels himself came to her with the offer. Good thing she did, too: The show that resulted was the most-viewed SNL episode in 18 months, and – like White’s newest book – a delight from start to finish.