I enjoyed Mindy Kaling’s first book, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, and her second book, Why Not Me?, did not disappoint either. Reason enough to read it is the chapter dedicated entirely to a hilarious fictional email string highlighting extreme inappropriate use of workplace email.
(Image from amazon.com)
But she weaves plenty of inspiring thoughts in with her self-deprecating style of humor. She writes about how she sometimes feels really sad about how the friendships of our early twenties change so much with marriages, children, and careers, but revels in the fact that “the best laughter is that over a shared memory.” So true. That reminded me of a dinner I had a couple of months ago with one of my old college roommates. Over Mexican food and margaritas, we laughed until we cried reminiscing about the same old college stories we have reminisced about dozens of times.
One thing I didn’t really get is the title. It seems like the book would be more appropriately named Hard Work Pays Off, even though that doesn’t have much of a ring to it.
Kaling ends the book with a shout-out to a young girl who asked her a question at a speech she gave years ago. Her dedication to instilling confidence in young girls and grown women alike is evident throughout the book even if it is sprinkled with stories like that of her drinking too much champagne at a baby shower and making fun of a Hollywood mom for not getting her children vaccinated (to that mom’s face).
A HOUSE WITH CHARACTER 