Monday, February 11, 2013

Mindy Kaling's "Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me and Other Concerns"


I just read Mindy Kaling's book (the one with the really long title that I don't feel like typing out again) and I thought it was excellent.



The book is a memoir where she talks about her childhood, how she got into the television business, her time writing and acting on “The Office” which was very interesting and funny, and other things ranging from her love for romantic comedies, to her confusion about one night stands, to revenge fantasies she plays out in her head while she works out.

So obviously, since she is a female comedy writer, everyone wants to compare her to Tina Fey. Which is difficult to do, because they have very different styles of storytelling.  The reason why I really liked Mindy’s book so much is because she is just so easy to relate to.  There were so times I caught myself nodding my head in agreement to some of the things she was saying. She has this whole section about men vs. boys. She says men, for example, own alarm clocks. Sleep on a mattress that isn’t on the floor. They buy new shampoo instead of adding water to a nearly empty bottle of shampoo. They don’t wear Velcro shoes.  Boys, on the other hand, can pack up their life in a duffel bag and move to Brooklyn for a gig if they need to. They make amazing, memorable, homemade gifts.  They are impulsive. They can talk for hours with you in a diner at 3 in the morning because they don’t have regular work hours. But they suck to date. 
I have had the man vs. boy conversation with many of my friends which is why when I was reading it, I was like, I am not the only person who thinks this way!!  I could give you so many examples from this book that I can relate to and I think a lot of other people can relate to also.  This is why I liked her book so much.  I loved Tina Fey’s Bossypants for lots of reasons.  But if you want something relate-able, read Mindy’s book. Tina is like the girl in class that you think is really cool and smart and popular and you want to be just like her. Mindy is the girl in class you play dolls with at recess while talking shit about your fellow classmates.

Something I really enjoyed about “is everyone hanging out with me and other concerns” were all of the parts where she talks about her best friends.  You don’t usually hear about celebrities and the type of relationships they have with their best friends and it was kind of cool to learn about Mindy’s personal life in that way.  She has one chapter called “Best friend rights and responsibilities” and I liked it so much that after reading it, I typed the whole thing out, word for word and emailed it to my best friends.  Its kind of long so I will just read to you some of them. 1)We sleep in the same bed.  If we’re on a trip or if our boyfriends are away, and there’s a bed bigger than a twin, we’re partnering up.  It is super weird for us not to share a bed. How else will we talk until we fall asleep? 2) I can ditch you, within reason. I can ditch you to hang out with a guy, but only if that possibility has been discussed and getting-ride-home practicalities have been worked out prior to the event. In return, I need to talk about you alot with that guy so he knows how much I love you. 3) I will hate and re-like people for you. But don't get mad if I can't keep track. Robby? Don't we hate him? No, we love him. Okay, okay. Sorry. 4)If you are depressed, I will be there for you. As everyone knows, depressed people are some of the most boring people in the world. I know this because when I was depressed, people fled. Except my best friends. I will be there for you during your horrible breakup, and you can tell me a hundred times the same sad stories about how you thought he was going to be the one. I will be there for you to tell your long revenge fantasies to, and also to Facebook stalk whoever you want. I know I will hate it and find you really tedious, but I promise I won't abandon you. And the last on the list, No two people are better than us. We fucking rock. No one can beat us.

Official website for the book:
http://theconcernsofmindykaling.com/the-book

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