Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Best known for her role as Kelly Kapoor in The Office, comedian and writer Mindy Kaling gives you more than just her life's story in this funny memoir.

Mindy Kaling is only 34. She does not have enough life experience to write a memoir. But since when did that stop anyone? And I, for one, am glad she did. Between stories of her childhood, you'll find lists of "Franchises I Would Like to Reboot", "My Favorite Eleven Moments in Comedy" or my personal favorite, "Types of Women in Romantic Comedies Who Are Not Real." She also dispenses plenty of unsolicited advice for married couples, guys, and whoever plans her funeral.

It won't even take you long to read! According to the author: “This book will take you two days to read. Did you even see the cover? It’s mostly pink. If you’re reading this book every night for months, something is not right.” She's right. It's the perfect book to bring to the beach and polish off in a weekend.

This memoir was written in 2011, before the last season of The Office and the start of her own show, The Mindy Project - which leads me to hope that she'll write a follow-up that is just as warm and witty. And go out for cocktails with me, because that sounds fun.

Definitely pair this with Tina Fey's Bossypants, the audiobook version of Kristin Chenowith's A Little Bit Wicked: Life, Love, and Faith in Stages, and/or Yael Kohen's nonfiction book We Killed: The Rise of Women in American Comedy. (Both Fey and Chenowith narrate their own audiobooks, and it is well worth checking out these two performers, especially if you've never listened to an audiobook before.)

Further words of wisdom from Mindy:

• “As my mom has said, when one person is unhappy, it usually means two people are unhappy but that one has not come to terms with it yet.”
• “I really think guys only need two pairs of shoes. A nice pair of black shoes and a pair of Chuck Taylors.”
• “There is no sunrise so beautiful that it is worth waking me up to see it.”