Book Review: Is Everyone Else Hanging Out Without Me? By Mindy Kaling
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling Published by Random House LLC
Publication Date: 2011
Genres: Comedy, Essays, Form, Humor, Performing Arts
Pages: 222
Format: Paperback
Source: Library
Goodreads
Mindy's conversational style made me feel like we were girlfriends out for drinks. I really enjoyed the first half, but it fizzled for me in the end.
Synopsis from Goodreads:
“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:
Mindy Kaling’s memoir was hilarious, for the first half. Her conversational style made me feel like we were girlfriends having a few drinks at a girls night out. She’s obviously very funny and delivers her story as if you are an audience member in her stand-up routine or play.
She drew me in with her childhood recollections, her stories of her best friends, many of which had me laughing out loud. I found her rise to fame very interesting and loved her escapades as she tries to make it into comedic writing in what seemed to be a largely male-dominated industry. I sailed through the first half of the book in one night. Then the book hit a lull and I struggled to finish the second half…too much detail on what an Irish party exit is and it seemed like just fluff to get to the end. I enjoyed it for its light reading, certainly what I needed after having finished the intense House Rules by Jodi Picoult, just wish she could’ve kept my interest through the end.
Favorite Quotes:
“We never needed best friend gear because I guess with real friends you don’t have to make it official. It just is.”
“Teenage girls, please don’t worry about being super popular in high school, or being the best actress in high school, or the best athlete. Not only do people not care about any of that the second you graduate, but when you get older, if you reference your successes in high school too much, it actually makes you look kind of pitiful, like some babbling old Tennessee Williams character with nothing else going on in her current life. What I’ve noticed is that almost no one who was a big star in high school is also big star later in life. For us overlooked kids, it’s so wonderfully fair.”
“One friend with whom you have a lot in common is better than three with whom you struggle to find things to talk about.”
“There is no sunrise so beautiful that it is worth waking me up to see it.”
Do you watch The Office? Do you enjoy nonfiction written by comedians? As always, let me know and happy reading!
Did I tell you how much I like your blog’s design. It not is one of my favorites. I read mostly nonfiction, but I still enjoy a good novel. I am currently reading books for my strength challenge – trying to read one book on a strength topic each month. I just finished Gavin De Becker’s The Gift of Fear. I am currently reading Catherine the Great by Robert K Massie, I wanted to read a book about a strong woman for women’s history month.
Aw thanks for the compliment on the blog design, I worked through it myself…small victory 🙂 I almost picked up Catherine the Great on audiobook but went for Bitter is the New Black. Do you like doing reading challenges? There is a nonfiction reading challenge by one of my favorite book bloggers. I haven’t signed up yet but I’d like to. I have been compiling my list, just haven’t actually signed up yet! Anyway thought I’d pass along in case you were interested. I’m trying to branch out from pure fiction and doing more classics and nonfiction as well (hence all the audiobook biographies) 🙂
Have a good night!
Thanks for pointing out the nonfiction reading challenge. I’ve been enjoying everyone’s lists – I am finding so many great suggestions.
Glad to be of help Savvy Working Gal! I love stalking…err, I mean reading other people’s to-read lists. 🙂
I only read half of this book. Like you I really enjoyed the first half, but got bored after the half-way point, set it down and that was that. Glad to hear I wasn’t the only one.
Hi Savvy Working Girl! Yea, I wanted to like it more than I did. I felt the same about Sarah Silverman’s autobiography which I just finished and I’ve yet to post my review on. I enjoy their childhood stories but once they get to their TV comedy days I find it a little too twisted, vulgar and not my kinda humor. Oh well, the books do give insights into an industry I know nothing about behind the scenes and so are kinda interesting. What kind of books do you like to read?
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