Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? And Other Concerns by Mindy Kaling. Reviewed by Louise Hilton
You may know Mindy Kaling as the actress who plays boy-crazy Kelly Kapoor on NBC’s The Office, but did you know she also serves as an executive producer and writer on the show? And now, in her debut Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? And Other Concerns, Kaling offers a hilarious take on her life in Hollywood. Beginning with her childhood and teenage years when she first discovers she’s a self-described “comedy nerd”, through college and her early days in New York struggling to make it as a comedy writer, she also devotes a good part of the book to her rise to fame on The Office.
Kaling describes her book as being about “romance, female friendships, unfair situations that now seem funny in retrospect, unfair situations that I still don’t think are funny, Hollywood, heartache, and my childhood. Just that really hard-core, masculine stuff men love to read about.” So, sorry, guys, this book might not appeal as much to you as it might to the ladies, but Kaling’s stories do make for a good laugh. She comes across as endearingly quirky and genuine, and, although she has by all accounts “made it” in Hollywood, she remains relatable and human.
I highly recommend Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? And Other Concerns for those looking for a quick, funny read. For those interested in similar titles, try Bossypants by Tina Fey, Official Book Club Selection by Kathy Griffin, and I Was Told There’d Be Cake by Sloane Crosley. And be sure to check out Kaling and her co-workers in all seven seasons of The Office, available on DVD at your local library. The Library also owns the original U. K. version of The Office.