AUTHOR: Mindy Kaling
STARTED: March 19, 2012
FINISHED: March 25, 2012
PAGES: 240
GENRE: Memoir
FIRST SENTENCE: Thank you for buying this book.
SUMMARY: [From Barnesandnoble.com] 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.
THOUGHTS: If you like Mindy Kaling on The Office then you will enjoy this book. It's frothy, light, and interesting enough to be an enjoyable read. The substance of this book is about how Mindy came to be where she is today. She throws in just enough random chapters about love, shopping, and lists to keep the book "gossipy."
Mindy talks to her readers as if they we were all friends at a happy hour. The book is structured chronologically with random diversion chapters scattered through the book. The text reads very much like a chatty girlfriend recounting her life's story. The book has a sort of "valley girl" tone but still manages to not be too annoying or vapid. Mindy is just a girl talking.
I would give a deeper review, but the summary above says everything I would say. This is not a deep book, nor is it groundbreaking, but it is a fun and quick read. (If anyone needs books for read-a-thon this would be a good one for your stack.)
RATING: 6/10 [Good]
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