Our friend Christopher told me to read this book, like, three years ago. Something like that. Anyway, I finally got around to it. And it was worth it.
Books by comedians are usually like having a one-sided conversation with that comedian, and Mindy Kaling is no different. Each chapter is totally random (one is all the photos that are on her Blackberry and a brief description of each one... another chapter consists of detailed instructions on how her funeral should be set up... another is all about the non-traumatic things that make her cry) but it all works together.
Total honesty? She and I probably wouldn't get along. She admits to being a drama queen and loving shopping and crying at trivial things and arguing with pretty much everyone... but it's funny. And I don't have to be her friend; I just want to laugh at her stories. And I did. Out loud, and confusing my husband. (And then reading passages at him. Not to him... at him.)
It's a quick read, and a funny read, and the kind you can put down often if you need to because some chapters are literally one page, and a lot are two or three pages. And I've only ever seen about five episodes total of The Office, so I can also attest to the fact that you don't need to have seen it to get it. (Although it helps to know who Steve Carrell and Rainn Wilson and Michael Schur are, because she talks about them a couple times.)
Little known fact: I usually hate books written by comedians. Why, you might ask? Because, usually, they're not as funny as I think they should be. I think they should be hilarious, and they so often are not, probably because, let's face it, most comedians are not writers.
Kaling, however, is a writer who writes comedy. For a living. It is her JOB to make me laugh via writing. So I was unsurprised when I DID like this book, and I DID laugh out loud a lot because she has that quirky, dry, sarcastic kind of humor that I have and enjoy.
I, like Alex, have limited knowledge of The Office (i.e., I've never seen a single complete episode. I've never even come close to completing an episode. The closest I've come is seeing the Leverage parody of The Office. Which was hilarious.) But knowledge of The Office is completely unnecessary for it to be funny.
If you're going to pick up a book by a comedian, I would recommend this one.
Kaling, however, is a writer who writes comedy. For a living. It is her JOB to make me laugh via writing. So I was unsurprised when I DID like this book, and I DID laugh out loud a lot because she has that quirky, dry, sarcastic kind of humor that I have and enjoy.
I, like Alex, have limited knowledge of The Office (i.e., I've never seen a single complete episode. I've never even come close to completing an episode. The closest I've come is seeing the Leverage parody of The Office. Which was hilarious.) But knowledge of The Office is completely unnecessary for it to be funny.
If you're going to pick up a book by a comedian, I would recommend this one.
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