Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling

Posted October 24, 2016 by shooting in Uncategorized / 15 Comments



Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling


Review by Lauren


source: copy from BloggingForBooks; all opinions are my own


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 “Player” tells the story of Kaling being seduced and dumped by a female friend in L.A. (“I had been replaced by a younger model.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



Review:

To be honest, I’ve never watched Mindy Kaling all that much, but I do know a bit about her and I think she’s a great actress. I’ve wanted to read her memoirs for awhile now, and while I still need to check out her first one, I saw this one up for review on BloggingForBooks and I knew I had to check it out. I’m definitely glad that I did!

Mindy is amusing and real. She actually talks about not liking the term “real” when it’s related to the way she looks, because it’s almost as if they are vaguely insulting her, and I have to agree with that. I think of “real” as someone who seems down-to-earth or at least like someone who doesn’t let fame go their head. You can’t tell if a celebrity is real or faking it, but sometimes, like with people such as Mindy, you get the distinct impression that they really are how they present themselves. I think Mindy seems like a great person. She has faults and things about her that you might not like, and that she doesn’t necessarily like either, but you can still see her and read her stories and believe she’s ultimately a good person.

Why Not Me? is full of essays about Mindy’s life, mostly focusing on her time in Los Angeles and being an actress. Granted, she still talks about issues and topics that anyone can relate to such as beauty standards, dating/romance, work (no matter what work you do), and more. Sure, you get fun stories about her dating someone who worked for Obama and working on a TV show that she created, but these are still enjoyable to read. I like celebrity memoirs that give you a look at their “real life” as well as their more “famous life” if you will.

Whether you know Mindy really well or not, I do think you should check this one out. Get it from your library even! It’s a quick, entertaining read.

15 responses to “Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling

  1. I really loved this one, too! It's just as good as her first memoir and I absolutely agree that you don't have to be a fan of her work to enjoy this. Wonderful review, dear–so glad you picked this up!

  2. I know who she is but I haven't watched anything she is in either but I'm glad that even though you don't watch her, you were still able to really like this.

  3. To be honest, I only have a very vague idea who Mindy is. I rarely watch TV and have never seen her in anything but here her talked about a lot. It was interesting reading your thoughts about the book – not as a rabid fan but someone who knows who she is and likes what she does. It sounds like this was an interesting read no matter if you know/love Mindy or not.

  4. Yes, I've always thought that Mindy seemed genuine, like what she presented is really how she is, and I love her for that. I've read her other book and loved it, so I'm sure I will love this one too 🙂

  5. I love her description for real. That is so true. So often it is used as a kind of underhanded way to say something isn't up to par. Whatever that is! I am going to need to check out her book.

  6. I really need to give this one a try! I wasn't a fan of her first book, but I also feel like I didn't give it a good enough shot- maybe I just wasn't in the right frame of mind? Because I DO enjoy her, and this book sounds so fun! Fabulous review!

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