Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)
By: Mindy Kaling
This book should really just be titled And Other Concerns. It’s a very loose collection of essays about some incredibly random stuff. The only unifying theme through the book is that Mindy Kaling wrote all of the essays. Beyond that, it’s vaguely chronological – it starts with some stories from her childhood, moves through her experience in college and trying to make it in New York City, and then into her current role writing and performing on “The Office”. It then concludes with some random chapters on guys, appearance, and, somehow fittingly, instructions for her funeral.
Something I really liked about this book was the insight I gained into the kind of person Mindy is. And I have to say, she seems pretty great. She’s smart, sticks up for her beliefs (including kicking her boss’s car when he doesn’t like a story line she’s pitching), calls bullsh*t when she sees it, loves her friends and family, and embraces her girliness. She is a very charming mix of quirky, nerdy, and girly.
I can’t help comparing Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? to Bossypants. I realize this isn’t fair – Tina Fey and Mindy Kaling are two completely different people and Bossypants was awesome – but I can’t help it. I think if she had waited until 2012 to release her book, the comparison would be less immediate and I might have been able to give her a fair shake (not that I expect her to wait to release her book because of my personal bias, but, hey, it’s a thought).
Outside of the Tina Fey comparison, I had high hopes for this one because Mindy Kaling has written some of my favorite episodes of “The Office” (see: The Dundies). Unfortunately, this wasn’t Dundies-caliber writing. The book is still entertaining – I ripped through it in about two days and I laughed out loud at points, but it just wasn’t great.
In a nutshell: I liked this one but I was hoping to love it. Three stars.
[…] this was going to be a book of funny essays. Something along the lines of Chelsea Handler or Mindy Kaling (but never Tina – no one can hold a candle to Tina). My assumption was not unfounded – […]