Published by Three Rivers Press on Jan. 1, 2011
Genre(s): Nonfiction, Humor, Memoir, Biography, Essays
Format: Paperback
Pages: 222
Goodreads
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.
I became obsessed with Mindy after my friend got me quickly and easily hooked on her show, The Mindy Project. I had only seen her a couple of times when I watched The Office here and there, but I didn't know much about her. I now watch her show religiously and I've started watching The Office from Season 1 after finishing this book because that's how cool she made it (herself) sound. So far not impressed.... just kidding. Mindy is so real I can barely believe it.
I loved reading her story of growing up awkward and funny then killing it in NYC and Hollywood by just being herself. It's an excellent story of comedic perseverance in this harsh world that Mindy tells with her perfect airy tone of awesomeness. The only reason I am giving 4 stars is because I thought the book started off slow with the parts about her parents, and I wish she would have made the book much longer... Also, it was only laugh-out-loud funny at some parts, and I expected to have a side cramp from laughter by the end. Okay, maybe my expectations were too high for someone's first book...about their actual life...
Regardless of your thoughts (or lack thereof) on this book, do yourself a favor and check out The Mindy Project on Hulu or whatever. Mindy is basically an older, richer, more employed version of me. And it's seriously so funny.
