Monday night, instead of doing something lame and like calling a friend to hang out or whatever, I holed myself up in my room, cuddled a cup of peppermint tea, and powered through the final pages of Mindy Kaling’s Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?: And Other Concerns.
First of all, spoiler, this book is hilarious.
Second of all, also spoiler, you’re not going to think it will be hilarious until about 27 pages in.
The first chapter of the book made me think, “oh, great, another female comic being self deprecating and writing about it.” Just because Tina Fey can do it doesn’t mean you should. But that initial reaction is false! False, I tell you! Because after those first pages of nonsense that display the requiiste “Gosh, this is awkward writing about myself when I’m still in the fledgling years of my career so I guess I’ll start with some opener jokes,” what the book quickly turns into is a witty, laugh-out loud, I-could-totally-be-friends-with-this-woman tome of humor. Sitting in bed, I was quite literally cackling out loud in a steady stream of Becca-giggling (which sounds a little like this).
Kaling talks about what is was like to grow up a chubby Indian girl in Boston, her years post-Dartmouth living in a roach-infested NYC apartment while working as a babysitter, and the play that spurred her career towards Hollywood and The Office. Her story is entirely relatable, but well portrayed so you’re not left with that icky narcissistic feeling, as if you just read a book about yourself. I highly recommend pulling this one off the shelves for a quick, weekend read.
hmm, i been wanting to read this book, now I will for sure, thanks
Any thing along the same vein as Tina Fey automatically has me interested. I too often wonder ‘is everybody hanging out without me?’, and I enjoy a good giggle, so I think I may have to invest in this book.