“Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling
3 stars
This book is a light, easy-breezy read. Even I, the slowest reader here, managed to finish it in a day and a half.
Mostly, I found it entertaining, if not side-splittingly funny. I really like Mindy Kaling's acting on The Office so I was pre-disposed to have a positive reaction.
I did find it interesting to learn about her early childhood and how she actually broke into the business. I always wonder how people who get these dream jobs actually well, get them.
What diminished the book for me was that Mindy inserted some "lists" into the book, and I personally found them kind of boring. Maybe if I was a huge fan of comedy and had prior knowledge of all the films and moments she references - - maybe then, I'd have been more engaged. But I sort of doubt it. For example, "My Favorite Eleven Moments in Comedy" - - I maybe knew one of the moments. Or "Franchises I Would Like to Reboot" . . .none of them really stood out to me. And her descriptions just weren't that funny since I didn't have the right references. This may have been more my problem than Mindy's, but nonetheless, I wasn't an appreciative audience.
I also felt the book started really strong and then sort of weakened as it progressed . . .so in the end, it was definitely good, certainly very readable for anyone who likes Mindy Kaling, but not so great that I'd give it that fourth star.”
