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

I have some of the most amazing girlfriends to ever exist in the history of time and space. They are funny, smart, beautiful, interesting, silly and not afraid to have a dance party anywhere in the world. There are many days where I wish I could lasso all of them, buy a small town and start a community of my favorite people. I would totally invite Mindy Kaling to live in this new utopian community. She would fit in super well since she has all the characteristics mentioned above, not to mention as a bonus her love of Beyonce, reasonably priced fashion accessories, beauty shortcuts and her fun anecdotes about celebrities.

I just finished her first book, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me, and I felt the same sort of joy and wistfulness I feel after spending an afternoon with a friend I know I won’t get to see again right away. The book is heartfelt, truthful, awkward in a funny way and had me laughing out loud inappropriately on public transit. The book starts with stories of Mindy’s childhood as the beloved, chubby, nerdy child of highly achieving immigrant parents. She finds her passion for acting and comedy at Dartmouth where theatre is in the top five things to do in the small college town. She then tries to conquer New York with her college best friends and a lot of confidence but struggles through entry level jobs before she ends up finding success in a two person play that she writes with her best friend. The buzz from the play brings her out to L.A. where she still struggles but finds her way to The Office. There are plenty of breaks in the narration of Mindy’s story to address important issues like best friend rules, the two products men need to look good and what is a good level of success to achieve.

It’s an extremely enjoyable quick read that everyone should buy immediately.

Mindy is out doing tons of press for the book so if I didn’t convince you, watch her talk about being mistaken as Sanjay Gupta on The Daily Show, listen to her talk diets with NPR, get interviewed by her bestie and keep up on other coverage on her blog or check out some other info I collected about her last month.