Customer Reviews

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)

5 star:		(79)
4 star:		(31)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(18)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Mindy Kaling, writer/actress on The Office, is funny. Very funny. She can turn an average story about summer camp, to one where the main character (herself) falls off a diving board, bleeds upon hitting the water, and is told, by an older camp counselor, to never tell her parents about the situation. She turned an ongoing gag with her friend into an award-winning play/TV show pilot. So, it's natural progression for her to try her hand at writing a book.

People will almost definitely compare Kaling's new book, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) to Tina Fey's best-seller, Bossypants. It's not because the two authors look the same (they don't), or are on the same TV show (they're not), it's mostly because the two are well-known female television writers and actors. And Kaling knows the comparison will come, as she points out in the beginning of her book, noting that Fey's book will be seen as better.

"Unfortunately, I can't be Tina, because it's very difficult to lure her into a Freaky Friday-type situation where we could switch bodies, even though in the movies they make it look so easy. Believe me, I've tried."

The thing is, she shouldn't see it that way. While I haven't read Bossypants, I can say that Kaling's book is really very good. Smart and funny, she writes with an honest voice. The book reads more like a letter to a friend than a memoir, and I liked that about it. Because the book isn't really a memoir - sure, it's true stories about her life - but it's broken up into short essays, much like that of Sedaris (only much more conversational). She only mentions the humorous or thought provoking parts of her life, those that contributed to her career today. The book also has lists (or pliests as she calls them), essays that are mainly lists. (Like my favorite, "Best Friend Rights and Responsibilities.")It worked well. (However, it did leave me hanging at times. Like, why wasn't Brenda in California? When did Mindy become Kelly on The Office? I want details!)

The book is divided into a few different sections, which span her life: "I Forget Nothing: A Sensitive Kid Looks Back" (on her childhood), "I Love New York and It Likes Me Okay" (her move to NY and attempts to break into writing), "Hollywood: My Good Friend Who Is Also A Little Embarrassing" (her time on The Office), "The Best Distraction In The World: Romance and Guys" (obvious), "My Appearance: The Fun and the Really Not Fun" (her style and look), and "My All-Important Legacy" (her planned funeral, of course). Her writing is fast and always attention grabbing. The stories are never too long, and give you just enough detail to feel satisfied. (And, yes, I loved when she dropped in the names of celebrities. Amy Poehler is nice! I knew it!) But what I liked most was that even with every funny instance, there's a lot of heart in the book. She loves her job and it shows. She didn't break into the industry easy, and reading about her progression was inspiring.

Her story about how her play, Matt & Ben (a not-so-true story of the Matt Damen/Ben Affleck friendship) came to be was fantastic. I loved her attempts at babysitting (where she got to discuss the merits of N'Sync), and and stories of writing for SNL. And it broke my heard to hear her discuss how, during a photo shoot for People magazine, only size 0 dresses were available. She has a gift to write about painful moments, but make them feel hopeful and light.

I felt like, towards the end, she was trying to find something else to write about (thus the essays on romance). It's not to say they were bad - they were just as good - but I would have liked more personal stories.

I like Kaling because she doesn't make excuses for herself. She loves the color pink and shopping. She posts pictures of her getting zits before big interviews. Truly, she's just being herself and it's refreshing. I admit, I've only seen a handful of episodes of The Office, but the book convinced me to tune in. (I admittedly really wanted to read this because I love her blog. Have you read it? Go to it now.)

Kaling's book is remarkably enjoyable, and spotlights the writer in a new way.In the introduction, she says she'd like to be friends with Beyonce. Well, I'd like to be friends with her.

In her book Mindy claims to want to be friends with Beyonce, but after reading this book I think Beyonce would rather be friends with Mindy. I've always enjoyed her character on The Office and randomly bought this book last night. I read it until my eyes crossed and then woke up and finished it today. She is irresistibly funny and charming. I laughed out loud throughout out the whole book. I have a feeling this is just the beginning of her career or at least I hope so!

If you like Chelsea Handler's books or Tina Fey's then read this one asap. It is just as funny, if not funnier, and actually much more relatable. Her personal stories, lists, and general musings flow together and by the end of the book you will feel like you know her and want to go brunch with her. It is just entertaining. If you are looking for a deep emotional book full of metaphors about the meaning of life and only enjoy a book that makes you sound smart, because you read it then this book is not for you. Actually, if you are that person read it, because you need to lighten up and laugh and this book will do that for you. My only complaint is that it went by so fast and left me wanting more.

I hope she writes another one soon, because I can't remember the last time I was that entertained.

She's so cute, don't you think? I love Kelly on the Office. Prior to this book, I really had no idea Mindy was a writer, and I'm really impressed with her accomplishments in the entertainment industry. That said, I felt as if for most of the book I was reading the diary ramblings of a 13 year old girl. I didn't buy the book with any expectations of self-revelations, so I assure you I wasn't disappointed, but it felt like one of those books teenage best friends write with one another thinking its sooo hilarious with its inside jokes and random name dropping, but everyone on the outside just doesn't really get it. I wish I got it, I really do. It made me want to be her friend. So, Mindy, if everyone is hanging out without you, come to South Florida and we can hang out and make tons of funny sketches (I do a great Martha Stewart), and then write a book about it so then I know what is going on.

I really wanted to love book. I love The Office, I love Mindy's blog, and I follow her Twitter. I really wanted to like this book, but it fell flat. She comes off as shallow in parts and it's just really uninteresting. It's not poorly written - it's just that nothing terribly interesting has happened to Mindy except that she works in television. She seems like a really fun person but this is not a book I would read again. That said, if you want to read the book, borrow it from the library, don't bother buying it.

I bought this book as a gift for someone, and ended up reading it before I gave it to them. It is a funny text, and will give you a few pleasant hours reading. Some have called the book fluff, some of it is, but that is too broad a statement for this work. Ms Kaling has written a collection of essays that vary between memoir, sketch comedy, observational humor, and social satire. The varying style and tone of the book works very well for what this author was trying to do. It is a collection of random memories and thoughts. It is not meant to be some profound social statement, and as the author herself says in her introduction, "If you're reading this book every night for months, something is not right."
Contrary to some reviews posted here, it is indeed funny. I laughed out loud on many occasions. Ms. Kaling has a very dry and subtle sense of humor and her "voice" permeates the text. Mindy Kaling is a writer, not her character Kelly Kapoor from "The Office", and I think many readers were hoping for the latter.
Mixed in with the humor are some very sweet and thoughtful essays. Every high school student should have to read her essay "Don't Peak in High School" as truer words were never spoken, and teenagers need to be reminded of this very important fact of life. Her eulogy, as written by a former coworker, is also quite good.
As one reads you cannot help but be impressed by Kaling's almost old fashioned work ethic, and sense of family and values. She loves her family, does not engage in one night stands, has no issue with her homework pushing, strict parents, etc. It is kind of refreshing and simple. And she is unabashedly unapologetic about it.
So, a fun, quick, informative, and enjoyable read. You could spend your time doing worse things.

I liked this book. She made me laugh a lot. I can't wait to hear more from the author. She knows.

I read this book while on a beach vacation. Yes, it was mostly fluff. Much of it was not meant to be taken seriously. But I did laugh out loud many times while reading this book.
I will save this book for my daughters to read when they get a little older... the chapters on how it's good to not peak in high school and how dumb it is to "hook up" are fabulous.
I've never watched "The Office" (gasp!) but I might start watching it from the beginning after reading this book.

I enjoyed reading about her experience of; writing (with her roommate), acting in and succeeding with her hit Off-Off Broadway play, "Matt and Ben", and the stepping stone that was for her. (This was the pivotal moment leading to her becoming a writer at the Office.)

Beyond that this book was a waste of time. But I guess she got my $10 so bully for her. The "chapters" lacked much substance. Many were just random lists of her opinions. It felt as if she had gotten halfway through her story and lost momentum but instead of working past the writer's block (and in order to meet her publisher's page requirement) she'd conceived of these lists for filler.

Nothing about this book was funny. For a self-avowed comedy lover I would have expected more of Mindy. I had no laugh out loud moment while reading this book.

I'm an admittedly fast reader, but this book was so bare bones that I was able to get through it in very little time.

Well, I was a little disappointed. I have read quite a few female comedian memoirs(or collection of essays as they are called I think) of late and this one, while charming in it's own right, was just okay. I think the younger audience would prefer this book. It's fairly innocent content wise, a testimony to how grounded, moral and genuinely nice a person Kaling really truly is. But if a young 30 something is going to write a book, she better well be battered by life enough to make 300 pages of her life story to point worth the 14.99. Kaling came into fame and success rather early, making her struggles in New York to "make it" rather short lived, given she was in her late twenties when The Office came along. She seemed to have had few hard knocks. In fact, she basically worked hard, stayed away from the stuff that derails careers early (drugs, lots of sex etc.) seemed to genuinely enjoy college. Heck, I envyed her lovely life. She's a great writer, she's just not world weary enough to write this book yet. I look forward forward to her later works, both in television and memoirs.

I've read a decent amount of books by female comics (Chelsea Handler, Olivia Munn, Tina Fey, etc) and I must say, if you've read one, you've read them all. They all follow the same basic format and story line- weird as kids when nobody understood them, as adults they are still weird and don't like sex (Chelsea Handler not included), they like girly things and aren't a perfect model size so they are soooo unique in Hollywood. Unfortunately for this narrative, all of these women are beautiful and hilarious on their TV shows, everyone is weird as a kid, and barely anyone is model size. One look at the cover of this book shows that Mindy Kaling is gorgeous so her rantings on being too weird and unique for Hollywood kind of bored me.

Beyond that, it was just like reading a 13-year-old girl's diary, as other reviewers have noted. I DID read the disclaimer in the front that the book was mostly composed of random rantings, musings, and lists, but it wasn't the structure that bothered me as much as the content. Throughout the whole book she basically bragged about being naive, silly, and unappreciative (ex. completely disrespecting her boss at the Office, contributing nothing to SNL). The lists were pointless and completely random, for example, the scenarios she dreams up while exercising and how many calories they burned. IT all just seemed trite and not funny.

Fortunately Mindy's writing translates much better on the Office than in this book, so if you're a huge Mindy fan, I'd just keep watching the Office and maybe get this from the library for a rainy day.