This book was simply fun, and I unexpectedly learned a lot about various topics such as: female friendships (the essay about Mindy befriending Mavis was one of my favorites), health insurance (& how much Kaling loves it), The Office (& how Rainn Wilson’s so horrible), Irish exits, “and a healthy dose of unfair situations that now seem funny in retrospect, unfair situations that I still don’t think are funny, Hollywood, heartache, and my childhood.” 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

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. This was the essay I’d been waiting for!!! And I was not disappointed, especially when she made an actual list of what Kelly and her have in common:

Success!

What do we fight about? I wish I could say they were big, smart, philosophical issues about writing or comedy, but sometimes they’re as small as “If we do that cold open where Kevin dumps a tureen of chili on himself, I will quit this show.” We did that cold open, by the way, and it was a hit, and I’m still working at the show. I can get a little theatrical.” 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! I spent a great portion of my adolescence trying to look, sound and act less Indian. I straightened my hair, tried to keep my skin light by avoiding the sun and even trying skin bleaching products, and avoided anything that suggested ‘tradition’ or ‘culture’ like the plague. I felt like if I wanted to have the exciting lives sold to me by the white heroines on TV, I needed to look and act like them too. What didn't I like? The conversational tone could sometimes be too conversational, and so it sometimes felt too casual and more like a blog post or super long tweet rather than a book. Other than a few insightful moments, I didn't feel enough powerful moments. And that's okay, I don't think this book was trying to achieve that, but I like themes and messages and I didn't feel like any strong stances were really taken about anything.

Was my culture just a spectacle for the white majority, or were they meaningfully connecting with a diverse narrative? To be sympathetic, Jess had to be a pretty-but-not-too-pretty, nice, likeable Indian girl, defined by her culture and her inability to fit into the western world. Where did this leave me, as a fellow Indian girl, who was less compliant, less likeable? It has been said many times, but it is true: Steve Carell is a very nice guy. His niceness manifests itself mostly in the fact that he never complains. You could screw up a handful of takes outside in 104-degree smog-choked Panorama City heat, and Steve Carell’s final words before collapsing of heat stroke would be a friendly and hopeful “Hey, you think you have that shot yet?” Mostly because when my white friends laughed at the depiction of the Indian “aunties” toddling along the footpath in their kameez-and-sneaker combos, or the exaggerated Indian accent of Jess’ mother screeching “You don’t even know how to cook dhaal”, I couldn’t tell if they were laughing with me or at me.

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. stars! I love Mindy. Her essays are honest and relatable, they are fun to read and they teach you life lessons. In this particular essay, Mindy wants to be a big shot but what does it truly mean to be one?

This was exactly what it wanted to be. It felt like sitting in an LA coffee shop and chatting with Mindy for a few hours, hearing a bunch of funny anecdotes, and getting to know her a little better. 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. I liked the book good enough, she is really funny. I could give a million funny excerpts but I won't do that, but there is one where she is giving her daily routing driving to work and this one thought was particular funny and scary to me. lol Even though Mavis was my secret friend, she is the only one I hope I see again. She’s the only one I wonder about. I hope she wonders about me too.” 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.”

Publication Order of Plays

I'm not usually one to read celebrity biographies and/or memoirs, but come on—this is Mindy's book we're talking about here. OF COURSE I was going to read it. 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!”

For so long, I’ve been used to swallowing whatever crumbs I’m thrown when it comes to diverse characters in pop culture, even when their entire plotline revolves around their cultural difference (Lane Kim from Gilmore Girls), and when they’re clearly there to signify the intangible notion of “racial diversity” in an otherwise primarily white cast (Tina and Mike in Glee).The list of things guys should do. It would not be ok for a man to write this about women, and it's not ok for women to write it about men. Even if it is 'funny'.