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

Mindy Kaling seems like the kind of girl with whom I could stay up all night and gab.  She puts on no front and is, therefore, incredibly accessible.  We don't always want to admit we enjoy watching trash tv, but she happily does, which makes her endearing and her writing nice and zeitgeist-y.  Essays explaining why she finds one night stands unappealing, archetypal romantic comedy heroines, and franchises she would like to reboot are just so darn cute and on point.  In between these quirky pieces she weaves in bits of information on how she became the comedic writer and actress we all know and love, a status I think she very much deserves based on how much I enjoyed reading this book.  


The book is a collection of essays that you can read in one to two days.  I know this for a fact because I purchased it for my sister in law for Chanukah but couldn't resist reading it myself before taking it to the UPS store the day after buying it.  (Allison, if you're reading this - sorry to have technically made your gift secondhand, but I promise I was very careful with it and made sure not to stain the pages.)  Kaling knows what it's like to be a girl with a million thoughts running through her head and knows just how to articulate those sometimes random thoughts with the perfect cultural references.  Waiting for her next book to come out (not that I know there is a next one - just hoping) is like waiting for your friend to call you back.  Well, Mindy, I'm waiting by the phone.