Review | Why Not Me?

Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling
September 2015 by Crown Archetype
240 pages
Three stars


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 “Player” tells the story of Kaling being seduced and dumped by a female friend in L.A. (“I had been replaced by a younger model.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



I read Mindy's first book and I really enjoyed it. At that time, I had no idea who she was. To be honest, I've never watched The Office or The Mindy Project. Mindy is much more noteworthy now and the internet just loves her. I was really looking forward to this book and all her new stories.

I love Mindy's writing and humor. She is so down to earth and not afraid to make fun of herself or Hollywood. When I was reading this book, it felt like I was just listening to an old friend. She gets real about filming sex scenes, having friends in Hollywood and relationships. One of my favorite sections of the book was hearing about her relationship with a staff member of the White House. 

A big part of this book is talking about her show, The Mindy Project. As I said before, I've never watched it. I just didn't feel connected to that part of the story. You can tell she really cares about it though, which makes me want to watch it. If you are someone who loves Mindy and follows her projects, you may love this book more than I did.

Don't get me wrong, I adored this book. It was so funny, and I had such a good time reading it. I just didn't always feel connected to the story. I really do recommend any of Mindy Kaling's books.