Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?
Summary:
Mindy Kaling has lived many lives: the obedient child of immigrant professionals, a timid chubster afraid of her own bike, a Ben Affleck–impersonating Off-Broadway performer and playwright, and, finally, a comedy writer and actress prone to starting fights with her friends and coworkers with the sentence “Can I just say one last thing about this, and then I swear I’ll shut up about it?”
Perhaps you want to know what Mindy thinks makes a great best friend (someone who will fill your prescription in the middle of the night), or what makes a great guy (one who is aware of all elderly people in any room at any time and acts accordingly), or what is the perfect amount of fame (so famous you can never get convicted of murder in a court of law), or how to maintain a trim figure (you will not find that information in these pages). If so, you’ve come to the right book, mostly!
In “Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?”, Mindy invites readers on a tour of her life and her unscientific observations on romance, friendship, and Hollywood, with several conveniently placed stopping points for you to run errands and make phone calls. Mindy Kaling really is just a Girl Next Door—not so much literally anywhere in the continental United States, but definitely if you live in India or Sri Lanka. (Summary and cover courtesy of goodreads.com)
Review:
This book feels a little old now (published 2011) because Mindy Kaling has done so much more since this book was written, but it is still well-worth a read when you need something light and funny. Kaling is highly relatable and discusses her anxieties, impulses, and frankly hilarious antics while in the pursuit of a stable career.
I didn’t give the book 5 stars because although I laughed while reading it, halfway through I realized I’d actually read the book already. It’s rare that I completely forget about having read a book, but makes sense on something this fluffy. Kaling does a fantastic job making you want to be best friends with her even as she owns up to her vanity and/or selfishness. I would highly recommend the read for folks of her humor and will likely read her other book at some points.
Rating: 4 stars!
Who should read it? Fan of the office and other shows Kaling is in.