Book Review: Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling
When it comes to Mindy Kaling, I’m a fan.
In case you haven’t heard of her, let me break down exactly why she’s so awesome. She’s a kick-ass, laugh-out-loud hilarious comedian, writer, director, producer, and actor. A quintuple-threat, if you will.
You may recognize her as Kelly Kapoor from The Office, or as Mindy Lahiri from her new show: The Mindy Project. (Side note: if you don’t already watch that show, you should. It’s fantastic.)
Though her character on The Office was relatively small, she was also a staff writer on the show, and was responsible for penning some of the funniest episodes. (Like the one where Michael burned his foot on a George Foreman grill – priceless.) She even directed a few of them!
Fast-forward to post-Office days (see what I did there?), she created and stars in her very own show on Fox called The Mindy Project. Which, by the way, just started its second season. (Again: watch it.)
Now you may not realize just how incredible that is. Not only is she a female producer/writer/director/actress (which is already extremely rare in Hollywood), she’s a female minority actress who isn’t a skinny white woman – as the central character on a popular network tv show. That’s a HUGE deal.
Okay – mad respect for Mindy Kaling aside – let’s talk about this book.
It’s a non-fiction autobiography of sorts, written as a series of witty personal essays. Some are more informative and discuss her life and journey to the top, and some are hilarious lists, like: “Alternate Titles For This Book” (When Your Boyfriend Fits Into Your Jeans And Other Atrocities, Harry Potter Secret Book #8), and “Franchises I Would Like To Reboot” (Ghostbusters with all women).
She’s self-deprecating, funny, wise, and remarkably honest about herself and the industry. If you’re a fan of hers, I recommend it. If you’re not: expose yourself to any of her work and you soon will be. x
