Reading: Why Not Me by Mindy Kaling

I don't know what it is about me, but the end of the year always signals a kind of slow-down in my reading appetites. I genuinely struggle to become addicted to books during the holidays. It is by far the time that I read the most romance novels just to have something to read.

This year is no exception. I've been fairy ambivalent towards the last few books I've read.

I'm a huge fan of the comedienne-memoir genre of books. I enjoyed Tina Fey's wit in Bossypants, raved over Amy Poehler's relatability in Yes Please, and teared up over Felicia Day's raw honesty in You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost). I also read Mindy Kaling's first book Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? and enjoyed it.

That's why I cannot decide if my feelings towards Why Not Me are due to the book or my own personal feelings. We do all have completely different experiences with exactly the same books. Large parts of the book were simply self-indulgent and talked about nothing. Mindy is young and has a lot ahead of her, so I don't know that she needed a second book just now. If she waited a few years, she might've been able to say a lot more and include fewer filler chapters. Even her advice chapters were sarcastic and disengenuous, which not all young girls who look up to her will fully comprehend.

I thoroughly enjoyed the chapter where she included a transcript of a speech she gave at Harvard. Had the entire book contained the clever wit and depth of thought that the speech contained, then it would be a marvel.

I'm also not sure how I feel about all of these stream-of-consciousness narratives. I know that you've worked very hard to get to where you are, but come on. Authors spend such a long time working over their prose and voice and you are literally talking into Siri and letting her record your thoughts. I digress.

I actually liked the book by the end, but I did have to force myself through a few of the chapters.

Three Stars.

#book #nerd #memoir #nonfiction