Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?

Should guys buy peacoats? Whats the perfect amount of fame? Should a best friend fill your prescription in the middle of the night? Mindy Kaling saves the day.

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) is Mindy Kaling’s version of a no-I’m-not-Tina-Fey’s-sister-but-I-am-funny-and-cool-too gateway into writing. This casual narration of her unscientific observations on friendship, adulthood, romance and constructive struggles of her life makes it a breezy yet witty read. Without trying too hard, she makes sure that you’ll want to be friends with her by the time you keep the book down. ’The alternate title of this book’, my favorite section, is the warmest place to start any book and I’m surprised not every book does that. Mandatory, please.

Relatable is the obvious word that comes to mind flipping through stories of her timid childhood in Cambridge, Mass. As an unconventionally confident adult, her move to New York and her writing career with NBC’s The Office are the two essays that mark the turning point in her life. Although Kaling begs the readers to not follow her words of wisdom to the W, I beg to disagree. I’ll subscribe to anyone who says “They say the best revenge is living well. I say it’s acid in the face - who will love them now?”

The fact that Kaling’s writing occasionally veers into bloggy territory isn’t entirely a bad thing — one of the book’s strengths is its conversational approach, which mirrors the tone of her Twitter feed. Reading her words is like listening to a likably gabby friend chatter happily over generously poured glasses of red wine. For a light weekend read, this is an easy choice. And yes, B. J. Novak gets a couple of mentions so go giddy.