Why Not Me?

Product Information

you might love this if you are a huge fan - or as kaling herself states it in the book “are obsessed with her” this might be wonderful for you. What did I like? I liked the conversational tone, the funny stories, the pictures, learning about her climb to becoming a comedy writer, some insightful moments, the emphasis on family, her love of comedy and creation, and her all round positive and "be a good person" attitude. In Why Not Me?, Kaling shares her ongoing journey to find contentment and excitement in her adult life, whether it's falling in love at work, seeking new friendships in lonely places, attempting to be the first person in history to lose weight without any behavior modification whatsoever, or most important, believing that you have a place in Hollywood when you're constantly reminded that no one looks like you.

It's a shame, because the first two-thirds of Kaling's effort is an engaging memoir chronicling a thoroughly conventional upbringing and an unlikely rise to notoriety and television scripting fame. Her circuitous route to her career is both affable and a fun read—which makes it all the more disappointing that once she reaches the heights at NBC, the rest of the book sputters out when it has nowhere to go. Of all the books I've read in the past few months, this is the book that has me wondering several things. A) How did it get so much pre- and post-release publicity and b) why do so many people like it? No offense, but this book can't hold a candle to 'Bossypants'by Tina Fey, or 'Are You There Vodka, It's Me Chelsea'By Ms. Handler or 'I know You Are, But What Am I' by Samantha Bee. Or any number of funny-memoir type books I've read. Which is weird, because I usually finish a book like this no matter what, but this one I returned to the library with a third left unread. It just didn't 'take'. Funny, thoughtful essays and anecdotes writtenin the star’s trademark voice. But this time around, things arejust little more grown-up…This is Kaling at the height of her power.” — USA Today Edit (January 2022): I read Mindy’s book and wrote my review in 2016, this was before I’d ever seen an episode of The Office. In the past few years I have watched the show (many times through from beginning to end) and I am now a HUGE Office fan so I’m sure my review and rating would be very different were I to read her book again (which I will not do). From the author of the beloved New York Times bestselling book Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? and the creator and star of The Mindy Project comes a collection of essays that are as hilarious and insightful as they are deeply personal.Growing up with a single mom and watching her do single mom things, I was totally able to resonate with Mindy in these essays. Mindy talks about our expectations of romantic relationships and marriages vs. reality. I really enjoyed hearing about her personal story of being a single mom, and how it might be nice to have a husband, but it's not necessarily the best option for everyone. It's refreshing for someone like Mindy to talk so openly about how the traditional way isn't the only way and anyone can be a parent with or without a partner. I expect the white characters in TV shows to have complexity and depth, motivations that are well defined and a personality that is individual and unique. But I’m so used to there being a dearth of diverse characters that I forgive their two dimensionality, and tell myself to not be greedy, to just be grateful there’s diversity at all.

In Never Have I Ever, I get to experience what my white friends have had for their entire lives. A character who has many similar experiences to me – I too got a nose ring as an act of teen rebellion only to be celebrated by my parents as an act of Indian femininity – but who isn’t trying to be every brown girl. Because she’s not the only brown girl in the show: there are multiple culturally diverse lead characters, each with their own complex storyline. especially if it’s not at all an unintentional but seems to be more of a power play of “oh look at me, i am here now so let’s get started now!” In "How to Look Spectacular: A Starlet's Confessions", Kaling gives her tongue-in-cheek secrets for surefire on-camera beauty, ("Your natural hair color may be appropriate for your skin tone, but this isn't the land of appropriate- this is Hollywood, baby. Out here, a dark-skinned woman s traditional hair color is honey blonde.") "Player" tells the story of Kaling being seduced and dumped by a female friend in L.A. ("I had been replaced by a younger model. And now they had matching bangs.") In "Unlikely Leading Lady", she muses on America's fixation with the weight of actresses, ("Most women we see onscreen are either so thin that they're walking clavicles or so huge that their only scenes involve them breaking furniture.") And in "Soup Snakes", Kaling spills some secrets on her relationship with her ex-boyfriend and close friend, B.J. Novak ("I will freely admit: my relationship with B.J. Novak is weird as hell.") Last, but obviously not least, is this short but hilariously relatable piece on Kaling's writing process and being productive. So, she was born the same month and year I graduated from high school, which technically makes her young enough to be my daughter...I STILL want to be Mindy's best pal!Big Shot - 4 Stars - Mindy shares a lesson she learned about generosity and expecting gratitude. She gives her readers endless curiosity over who “Max Davis” really is. She also shares a day in her life as a kind of bonus essay. I laughed out loud multiple times during this, but particularly when she talked about babysitting for some rich parents and eating a lot of their kid-friendly food: this is shorter and more rushed / less personal than her other two (amazing, generation-changing, genre-defining) memoirs, but it's still nice to have New Mindy Content. Whining about married people who say that it's hard work, because she doesn't want it to be like that.

maybe that’s just me again but if you do something to apparently be nice there shouldn’t be expectations attached to that and you certainly shouldn’t talk about it with a completely different group of people and gossip about it just to make sure that others know what you did!

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Now I begin my drive in the dark from West Hollywood to Universal Studios. I have seen some fascinating examples of humanity in these hours. Meth heads arguing in the parking lot of a Kumon, a man pleasuring himself on a bus-stop bench. Years ago I would've called them creeps. Now I call them my commute buddies. In which Kaling learns the difference between appearing generous and being generous. Kaling is one hundred percent right that most people getting labelled as big shots are white men so it's awesome that she's getting out there and shattering expectations that a woman of color can't be a big shot, too. and while i liked the first of this little series enough and even found some moments entertaining, the rest and especially the last to essays/stories of this a little series makes me think that kaling is an incredible insecure and jealous and at the same time self absorbed and selfish person that believes that everything she does should could more because she did it. The cliff notes version of my thoughts on Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me is that I enjoyed it, but Kaling was very clearly being selective with what she wanted to share and what she wanted to leave out, and the whole thing felt slightly incomplete. Overall, it was funny but ultimately unsatisfying. I was curious to see what direction she'll be taking with this book that hasn't been done in her previous one. I mean it's somewhat a biography.. what is more to tell than what has been told and what we already know about Mindy? apparently a lot. Her book is more anecdotes about past experiences or fictional stories she made up. You seriously feel like she is directly speaking to you. Her choice of photos and captions are stellar.

Are you kidding me? The thrill of living was high school? Come on, Mr. Cougar Mellancamp. Get a life." It’s about time, then, that the prolific multi-hyphenate has entered the world of publishing with a new imprint. Starting today, Mindy’s Book Studio will publish titles from a diverse roster of new and established literary voices. In honor of the launch, Kaling is recommending some of her favorite recent reads that also happen to make great gifts. “I love Bridget Jones as much as Agatha Christie,” she says, “but all of my favorite books have one thing in common—they’re cinematic.” Just no. But once again she had a redemption arc by admitting that everyone in Hollywood lies about the fact that doing a sex scene is “uncomfortable” and “just another part of the job.” Nope, Mindy freely owns that “sex scenes are the tits.” Hehehehehe. Kaling later developed the innovative TV show The Mindy Project, which centred on the life of Mindy Lahiri, an obstetrician-gynecologist who is fixated on finding a romantic partner. The character Mindy is self-involved, impulsive, and prone to romantic delusions and has a great fondness for designer clothing. The half-hour show premiered in 2012 and became known for its clever dialogue and singular take on popular culture. In addition to starring on the show, Kaling also wrote and served as executive producer. The Mindy Project moved to the Internet video streaming service Hulu for its fourth season. The series ended in 2017. She then cocreated the TV series Champions (2018), about a theatre kid who moves in with his dad so that he can attend school in New York City. Kaling wrote several episodes and played the boy’s mother. In 2019 she cowrote an adaption of the 1994 romantic comedy Four Weddings and a Funeral as a limited series, featuring a more diverse cast, on Hulu. Drawing inspiration from her own life, Kaling then cocreated and cowrote the Netflix show Never Have I Ever (2020– ), about a first-generation Indian American teenager. She later created and cowrote The Sex Lives of College Girls (2021– ), a comedy series that centres on four college roommates; it aired on HBO Max.Mindy Kaling is an American comedian, actress, and New York Times bestselling author from Cambridge Massachusetts that is best known for her eccentric humor. Before she became the first woman of color to win an Emmy for writing, she had been a fan favorite character named Kelly Kapoor on “The Office.” She was a pop culture obsessed customer service representative and also served as director, producer, and writer on the show. Before writing, directing, producing, and starring in “The Mindy Project” and “Champions” her newest sitcom, she lent her voice to Pixar’s Oscar award-winning picture “Inside Out,” where she was the character Disgust. She also made the TIME’s 100 Most Influential People List of 2013 and a year later was a winner of the GlamourWomen of the Year Award. Mindy Kaling had previously authored a popular comic strip titled “Badly Drawn Girl” that satirized campus life and was published in The Dartmouth magazine. She made her name as an author with the publishing of “Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me,” a New York Times bestselling title that came out in 2011. I don’t actually understand the meaning of generosity. It means giving to people and expecting nothing in return. It doesn’t mean giving to someone with the expectation, or even hope, that they will regale you with praise for being such a generous person.” While Kaling doesn’t shy away from bringing culture into the story – Devi’s cousin Kamala is in the throes of navigating an arranged marriage set-up; Devi has her textbooks blessed at the mandir, which she also attends for Ganesh puja – it isn’t the defining and only driving force behind the show. There's a little part of me that stands up and applauds whenever I see someone on TV that doesn't look like everyone else...someone whose nose is not pertly turned up, who isn't a size 0 and who doesn't have blonde hair and implants. I just want to grab that person, and hug them, and invite them home for grilled cheese sandwiches and a huge slab of chocolate cake. I want to congratulate them on making it big in an industry that values looks above all else. Mindy is one of these people.