September 21, 2014
While this weekend overall hasn't been my most productive, I have gotten a good amount of reading done. Or maybe it just feels that way. This book is one of three that I'm reading at once, the necessary electronic copy that I could read on the Kindle app at the gym. I also have a hard copy of a book for reading at home, and another book for work (if my students are reading, there's only one thing I should be doing: reading as well). This may not even be my only blog post today...we shall see.
So I think that Mindy Kaling is a gorgeous, funny lady. However, I've never gotten into The Office, nor have I ever watched The Mindy Project. I don't even have cable anymore! But you have to love a minority-race, normal-sized woman busting stereotypes and busting guts. But what drew me to this book was the title, which I feel tells a lot about her personality. And I know I can relate to that feeling of paranoia about being left out!
Kaling's writing style is very funny, especially as she laughs about mortifying incidents from her childhood. The first half of the book is the best, as she shares snippets and important events from her life up until she is hired on at The Office. I'd never heard of the Off-Broafway play that she did with her best friend Brenda about Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, but I may try to hunt up a video of that later, at least a scene to really get a feel for it.
It seems that Kaling's success is earned; she didn't get lucky, she and her friend came up with a fun idea that caught on. But she's very humble about her success, I think. She presents herself as still being awkward, shallow but intelligent, and very down-to-earth. She definitely doesn't take herself seriously.
The second half of the book got a little tedious, as some of Kaling's essays were random and maybe a bit TOO shallow. Plus, declaring Amy Poeler and Will Arnett as an ideal married couple was a bit silly, since they're totally divorced now. Speaking of Arnett, I saw that Kaling's taste in comedy was very different from mine, as it didn't include any Arrested Development (to quote GOB: "Oh, come on!"), nor any It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, which is brilliant and, unlike The Office, is still on the air. However, I did love the section on revenge fantasies. I have those, too, though typically for people who actually have crossed me. Watch out, motherfuckers, before I go straight up Monte Cristo all over your asses.
This book was exactly what it was intended to be, a light and entertaining read. I find myself thinking, though, that I would love to read a book of musings by Rob McElhenney or Kaitlin Olsen (or shit, they could even co-write something). That would be a fucking hilarious read.
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