I grew up a bookworm.
I was a part of the summer reading club at my local library and would check out books in stacks of ten. I would spend a month at my dad’s in the summer and most of the time was spent making up synchronized bike routines with my sister or snuggled up in my bunk-bed with a mystery novel.
A funny thing happens when you are required to read for school. It turns into an obligation, something that you must do with a pen and paper nearby to take notes and disect the plot and elements of the story.
It also turns out that in college I always feel like if I’m reading something it should be a textbook. The magazines pile up and so do my wonderful books I bought on Amazon with the lofty goal of holing up in my room at night and immersing myself in a different life.
Well, this Christmas I got a stack of books.
Do you think my family knows I have a blog and am into food?
I decided that over the one week I was out of school for Christmas break I would read at least ONE of these books.
I did and it was glorious!
I started reading Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me (and other concerns) by Mindy Kaling one night with my bedtime tea and snack. I stayed up till 2am reading! I used to get caught up in stories all the time when I was younger and I miss that!
The following morning I decided I would read this book with breakfast instead of watch Gilmore Girls (something I habitually do while on vacation).
I ended up taking two hours to finish my toast because I was so into the book! It made me wonder why the heck I don’t read more often! Inspired by how awesome it felt to read again, I decided I might start doing some book reviews for the blog.
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me (and other concerns) by Mindy Kaling
I thouroughly enjoyed this book, although it was not quite what I had expected.
Truth be told, I was unaware of what the book was about at all. All I knew was that I was obsessed with The Office and I followed Mindy Kaling on twitter and she seemed to be pretty funny and was promoting her new book.
It turned out to be a bit of an autobiography as well as a few funny essay pieces. Many of the chapters were formatted in lists or bullets…a little different than what I thought to be autobiography format, but really, who is to say what that format is anyhow?
She also shares many pictures of her past and present life and as a fan, I adored seeing candid photos of herself. Is that weird? I think not.
Since I enjoy The Office writing, it was understandable that I liked the writing in the book. Humerous and brutaly honest would be my description of the writing style.
I enjoyed the content as well. She shared pieces of her past that were probably a little tough at the time, such as being the fat kid in school and being made fun of. It was very refreshing to see her call out the kids by name and confess to feeling terrible and going to the extreme of dropping a bunch of weight very quickly in order to avoid being made fun of again. It was a little heartbreaking, but I could tell that Mindy had gotten over it and was able to relate the story humorously for the readers.
It was also very interesting to find out that after graduating college, she did not have an acting/writing job for quite awhile. I like hearing stories of people who don’t make it right away, but who press forward to the place they know they are meant to be. I remember being half-way through the book and wondering when she was going to describe how amazing it was to write for The Office. It turns out she did have a life before that, shocker, I know.
Of course I gobbled up all that was said about the behind the scenes Office stuff. I also loved that she, too enjoys typing on her laptop in her pj’s and is a little messy. (One of the pictures is of her office and there are clothes strewn every which way.) These details make her relateable and make me feel like we could totally be pals. 😉
I finished the book in about two days, which in the preface she had told me I would. It was a very easy and enjoyable read and I would recommend it to ladies everywhere who have goals in life and may or may not be discouraged with where they are now. Especially those that are working towards being a writer and want to know what it takes to accomplish this goal.
The book also made it to my lunch as well. Apparently I like to multi-task. For some reason, I feel like Mindy would be honored to be chilin next to my chilimac.
Have a great weekend everyone and consider picking up a copy of Mindy Kaling’s book. 🙂
What have you read recently?
Did you used to be a bookworm and were ruined by forced reading? (okay a little extreme but you get it)
Disclaimer: These product reviews are based on my own personal experience and are truly what I believe. I have not been compensated for any of these products except for free samples, which I have stated in the post.
