Publishers Weekly
10/12/2015
In her second collection of personal essays, actor and comedy writer Kaling (Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)) offers readers a refreshing glimpse of her life of "(minor) fame" and the work that she did to get there. Hilariously titled essays are interspersed with candid photos of the star. Kaling's irreverent take on life is both uproariously funny and dead-on. The book is chock full of cultural commentary, from the rise of "small-plates restaurants" in Los Angeles to why stars pretend not to like sex scenes; Kaling skillfully blends highbrow with low in her trademark witty voice. While narrating personal episodes, such as when she met President Obama for the first time and almost fainted at his praise, Kaling skirts larger issues like her mother's death or her "weird" relationship with actor B.J. Novak. At times her self-deprecating tone suggests that the Ivy League graduate is fluff-headed, which, based on the contents of this book as well as her meteoric career, is obviously not true. Advice on a variety of topics—including why extensions make everyone more beautiful and how the world needs to start assuming that all young women are confident—make this an empowering and entertaining read. (Sept.)
From the Publisher
Kaling has written a second book that’s funnier, sharper and more confident than her 2011 collection of personal essays and pop culture riffs called Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns). Even the title of that initial effort implied that Kaling was trying to find her place; the tone of this new one announces that she’s found it and is more than comfortable inviting people to spend time with her there.”—Washington Post
“Funny, thoughtful essays and anecdotes written in the star’s trademark voice. But this time around, things are just little more grown-up…This is Kaling at the height of her power.”—USA Today
“Mindy Kaling may be gearing up for the fourth season of her TV show, The Mindy Project, but that didn't deter her from writing another wildly entertaining and completely relatable book… Her first memoir, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns), spent time on several best-seller lists. Why Not Me? will certainly follow in its footsteps.”—Associated Press
“Hilarious…Kaling knows her strengths, and plays to them brilliantly…Aside from that effortlessly conversational tone and her pitch-perfect humor, Kaling’s biggest strength here is curatorial. She gives us the candy we came for—the advice, the anecdotes, the straight talk on body image—but sprinkles in something extra.”—Entertainment Weekly, A-
“Why Not Me? is all that we've come to expect from the creator and star of The Mindy Project: refreshing, confident, genuine, and, yes, absolutely hilarious.” —Refinery29
“…insightful personal essays from one of Hollywood's cleverest writers… Intrepid and often irreverent, Kaling humbly probes her own triumphs and defeats with laugh-out-loud results”. —Kirkus Reviews
“Kaling's irreverent take on life is both uproariously funny and dead-on…Advice on a variety of topics—including why extensions make everyone more beautiful and how the world needs to start assuming that all young women are confident—make this an empowering and entertaining read.”—Publishers Weekly
OCTOBER 2015 - AudioFile
Pithy, sarcastic, and full of irony, Mindy Kaling is the only logical choice to narrate her second volume of essays about the trials and tribulations of life in Hollywood. Reading in a jaunty, conversational tone, the star of the popular television show “The Mindy Project” will have listeners chuckling at her commentary on the excessive use of fake hair and spray tans in Hollywood. Her essays range from recollections of childhood to reflections on a career in the making. Kaling's unique vantage point as an actress of Indian descent peppers her writing and narrative style with distinctive flavor. These short essays are a perfect listen while multitasking. M.R. 2016 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2015-09-19
Light yet insightful personal essays from one of Hollywood's cleverest writers. Kaling (Is Everyone Hanging Out with Me?, 2011) dishes up another collection of humorous first-person essays on topics ranging from exposés borne of her insider's view on TV stardom—"Sex scenes are the tits"—to an inspirational speech she gave at Harvard Law School. Photographs interspersed throughout the book help underscore the author's kindly self-deprecating sense of humor and demonstrate her points about the stages of her typical 17-hour workday ("A Day in the Life of Mindy Kaling") or the value of having a flotilla of stylists prepare you for a photo shoot ("How to Look Spectacular: A Starlet's Confessions"). Fans of The Office and The Mindy Project will relish Kaling's snapshots from the writers' room and no-holds-barred depiction of the breakneck pace at which this writer/show-running actor lives while at work on her series. Readers less familiar with Kaling's TV exploits will also find interesting food for thought in more extended pieces examining friendship and varying levels of intimacy. Though the collection might easily be relegated to the shelves of chick-lit memoir for its bald appeal to young women or "a gay man getting a present for your even gayer friend," Kaling's reflections on her own self-image reveal an admirable depth of introspection. Particularly motivational is the volume's closing piece, in which the author calls out undeserved confidence: "Confidence is just entitlement...simply the belief that you deserve something. Which is great. The hard part is, you'd better make sure you deserve it." Having had to continually face the gauntlet of questions of what it's like enduring her Hollywood "otherness" due to her Indian origin, curvaceous figure, and willingness to speak the truth, Kaling espouses her hard-won mantra: "If you've got it, flaunt it. And if you don't got it? Flaunt it. 'Cause what are we even doing here if we're not flaunting it?" Intrepid and often irreverent, Kaling humbly probes her own triumphs and defeats with laugh-out-loud results.
