Why Not Me? - Mindy Kaling (Review)

Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling
Genres: Nonfiction, Humor, Memoir
Publication date: Sep 15, 2015
Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
Format: Audiobook - 4 hours, 57 minutes
How I got it: My public library
Buy it: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
My rating: 4/5
 
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.

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. 

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 "Player" tells the story of Kaling being seduced and dumped by a female friend in L.A. ("I had been replaced by a younger model.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.") 

Mindy turns the anxieties, the glamour, and the celebrations of her second coming-of-age into a laugh-out-loud funny collection of essays that anyone who's ever been at a turning point in their life or career can relate to. And those who've never been at a turning point can skip to the parts where she talks about meeting Bradley Cooper.

..............................................................................

  

My thoughts:

This is my second Mindy Kaling audiobook and I loved it!  This book continues to follow Mindy through her life.  This book focuses more on different tails and not much on the Office as the first book focused on. 

My number one reason I love this book I think is because Mindy actually does the audio.  I think her actually reading the story really makes a difference it feels like she is just sitting right along with you telling you stories as you listen.  The other reason I like the book I feel that Mindy’s writing comes off as really honest.  She does put a lot of comedy in her writing, but the rest of it does feel like it is really her talking. 

In this book we get to hear more about the Hollywood stars life and what issues they experience.  I enjoyed listening to Mindy’s tips on how stars do things and also her helpful beauty tips.  I couldn’t help but laugh out loud while hearing her describe her beauty routine.   I also was able to completely visualize her beauty routine. 

Also, I loved her idea of where she would be if she wasn’t a writer/actor.  The email exchange that she created in the fake school was amazing.  I felt like I was listening to a show while she was reading the email exchange.  I feel her adding in the song lyric as part of her email signature was just the icing on the cake. 

Another portion of the book that I liked was she really went into her relationships with friends and her coworkers.   I enjoyed hearing about Mindy trying to find new friends and sometimes it not working out.  I also liked to hear about her relationship with B.J.

I would suggest this as a book to read on vacation.  It is a perfect beach read and a book that is great to relax your mind.

 ..............................................................................

About the Author

Mindy Kaling is an actor, writer, producer, and director. She currently stars in the Hulu original comedy series “The Mindy Project," which she also writes and executive produces.

Before "The Mindy Project," Mindy was best known for her work on the critically acclaimed, Emmy Award-winning NBC show “The Office.” In addition to directing, producing, and portraying celebrity-obsessed Kelly Kapoor, Mindy wrote 18 episodes of the series, including the Emmy nominated episode “Niagra.”

In 2011, Mindy penned the comedic memoir Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me (And Other Concerns), which continues to be featured on New York Times’ and USA Today’s best-seller lists. Mindy’s second memoir Why Not Me? was released in September 2015 and launched at #1 on the New York Times’ best-seller list.  

In 2005, Mindy made her film debut as the object of Paul Rudd's unwanted affections in Judd Apatow’s THE 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN. Most recently, Mindy lent her voice to the character Disgust in the Oscar-winning Pixar animated film INSIDE OUT alongside Amy Poehler and Bill Hader, and was seen in THE NIGHT BEFORE alongside Seth Rogen and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. She will next begin production on OCEAN’S 8 alongside Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett and Anne Hathaway.

Mindy was named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world in 2012. In 2014, she was named one of Glamour’s women of the year.

Author Links: