Book Review: “Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?” by Mindy Kaling

“Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me (and Other Concerns)” by Mindy Kaling (2011)

Genre: Non-fiction, Biography, Humor

Book Length: 222 pages (hardcover edition)

Synopsis:

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 (Goodreads)

Review:

Loved this book so much! It was a fun, quick, and most enjoyable read. I was really interested in reading this book because I watched Mindy on “The Office” (I am a big fan of the show!) and also I sometimes watch her new solo show “The Mindy Project”. The book starts of with a witty introduction of what to expect of the book and launches into her childhood years. It then talks about her teenage years and her adult years; how she got started in TV, the experience of working on “The Office”, etc.

In between these chronicled events of her life she discusses everyday topics such as: what her personality is like, how men should treat a lady, what defines a best friend, and many other things. It’s these additions to the book that making reading it so great and gives it the comedic factor. I definitely laughed out loud many times while reading. What I really appreciated the most about this book is Mindy is just so “real”. She has a very likeable “down-to-earth” personality and is a great storyteller which I connected with and I think other readers will too. She is one of the many celebrity friends “in my head”.

Final Verdict:

Recommended for viewers of “The Office” and “The Mindy Project” who enjoy her TV work. Great for a light, short, and humorous read. 5 out of 5 stars! 🙂