Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me (And Other Concerns)

Title: Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me (And Other Concerns)
Author: Mindy Kaling
Published: November 2011
Pages: 222 (hardcover)

Summary: 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.

My Thoughts: Can I just go ahead and say that Mindy Kaling has officially make it onto my "People I wish I was best friends with" list?  She writes with the confidence and flair that I can only wish I could have in my writing.  Very intelligent and self-aware, not to mention hilarious, Kaling's book is a must-read for comedy lovers, The Office fans, and pretty much anyone who enjoys light-hearted, fun books.

However this book does not quite hit the Bossypants a la Tina Fey level of riotously funny, I still think Kaling is one top notch comedy writer.  She's so relatable it hurts, her stories are palatable, and although she's confident in her humor-prowess, it never reads as arrogant. So yeah, add humble to the list of awesomeness that is Mindy Kaling.

Speaking of lists, I think I enjoyed that part of this book the most: her organization and her lists.  Whether it be her favorite moments in comedy, alternate titles for her book, or best friend right and responsibilities, I found that this little tidbits all had an air of honesty and hilarity to them.  Those along with the very specific topics (I love specificity), her opinions, and let's not forget the relevant photos, it made for a quick, fun, and easy read.

I loved Kaling and her writing on The Office as well as The Mindy Project and I honestly cannot wait to see what other laugh-out-loud bits of hilarious genius or observational comedy that are spawned from her career and creativity as a great writer and actor. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will definitely be recommending it to all my friends and family who want a summer read they can wholeheartedly laugh along with.
My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars