Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

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

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)
sixteendays avatar reviewed on + 130 more book reviews


I don't want to start playing the "comedienne memoir favorite game" but I have read exactly two, and the other one was Tina Fey's and this is my second favorite comedienne memoir I've ever read. I don't feel bad about that either, because I kind of feel like Mindy herself would think "yeah, that's fair".

That doesn't mean I didn't enjoy reading this book, I genuinely did! I love Mindy Kaling so much. You have no idea how much. But strangely we have very little in common. She is very big into things like fashion and makeup and dropping comments about how not a big deal her weight/body size is two chapters after off-handedly talking about exercising. These are things I've never really understood, this kind of conspicuous femininity. There is absolutely nothing wrong with it, it's just not something I can identify with. I think I might have been called a "tomboy" once or twice as a kid but mostly it's always been a case of "I don't give a fu**". I'll wear a skirt if I feel like it (I rarely feel like it) and I'll dress like I only shop at Walmart if that's the kind of mood I'm in. Sometimes I wear makeup to work, sometimes I can't be bothered. I get the feeling like Mindy Kaling would have trouble with these things. But I digress.

The thing is, I enjoy Mindy's comedy, and I think that's the reason why she wrote this book. To showcase her brand of personal comedy. And I really enjoyed that. I also noticed she is working on a follow-up book and I will be first in line to buy it (or on the reserve list at the library, I don't know, it depends if I'm a poor student again by the time it comes out).