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

I consider Mindy Kaling's Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) to be a success in the fact that after I read it, I want to re-watch some episodes of The Office in order to see them in a different light. Kaling’s biography is a comedic reflection on her past and struggles, and her stories bring depth to her work as a comedian.

Kaling’s biography is split into seven parts, chronicling her childhood, move to New York, and her break into show biz and her work with The Office. Part 2, “I Forget Nothing: A Sensitive Kid Looks Back,” describes her struggles as a kid being chubby. Humorously, she says the word fat no longer describes Americans, so she gives twelve different categories, ranging from chubby to Jabba the Hut to Whale. When it gets down to it, Kaling loves food, hates sports, and loves how she looks, so she has had to deal with some tough bullies in the past. Her experiences are relatable and likened to her characters on The Office and The Mindy Project.

Part 3 “I Love New York and It Likes Me Okay” describes Kaling’s quick realization that although she succeeded on stage at her small college, she was going to need to work hard to make it in New York. Kaling did not have a quick rise to fame, and she made it by always having roommates, working day jobs, constantly auditioning, all while keeping a positive attitude. Her big break was when she and her friend Brenda created the play Matt and Ben (a play describing the everyday life of Ben Affleck and Matt Damon). The play did well in the Fringe Festival, and it attracted producers to make it to Off-Broadway. They both acted the parts, and it was this play that eventually landed Mindy in The Office.

As for the rest of the book, the only other biographical notes are her work on The Office, where she acted, wrote, and produced. In case you wanted to know, her two favorite Office scenes are Michael hitting Meredith with his car and Dwight trapping a bat over Meredith's head. Outside of biographical information, the book is 50% comedic ramblings on love interests, clothing, cupcakes, and duties as a best friend.

This book made me laugh out loud several times, especially the eulogy her friend wrote for her or the chapter "When You're Not Skinny, This is What People Want You to Wear.”

My favorite aspect of Kaling's book is her appreciation of her comedy, and her fight to stay in the business. She struggled on the writing team of Saturday Night Live, has argued with her writing staff on The Office, and has worked for laughs traveling to college campuses. When I watched a segment of her play that got her start in professional comedy, I didn't think it was that funny. Comedy is very subjective, and it takes a lot for a comedian to stay true to their act when not everyone thinks they are funny. I will say that I absolutely love both The Office and The Mindy Project, so I know that I am slightly biased. But it was when Kaling used her past experience to create a hilarious, relatable yet ridiculous character like Mindy or Kelly that she has truly found her niche as a comedian.

Not all of her stories were probably worth telling (I really don't care what kind of selfies she takes on her phone or her take on comedy roasts), but I got plenty of laughs from the book. If you're a fan already, this book will give you a fun, fresh insight into her life.

I read Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)  by Mindy Kaling (ISBN 0307886271) on Overdrive (a free app through your local library), but you can purchase the book on Amazon for $8.59 here.