In 2011, I discovered a new favorite genre: Memoiresque Essay Collections by Comedy Writers Who Went to Prestigous Universities. 
While Tina Fey’s Bossypants (she went to UVa, of course!) earned lots of press (and rightly so), I had not heard of The Office’s Mindy Kaling’s (Dartmouth College) semi-similar offering, also published this year. I am so glad I picked it up in the annual book club Christmas book exchange! In the midst of rocking a cranky baby, I read this book in the course of 24 hours.
Kaling’s book is equal parts hilarious and charming. Although I’m a long-time fan of The Office, I have never liked the character of Kelly Kapoor. Don’t worry — Kaling and Kapoor are not the same. In this book, Kaling recounts stories from a “chubby” childhood, failures in showbiz, and life working on The Office. It’s really well-written, it’s heartwarming, it made me laugh out loud more than once.
I actually liked it better than Bossypants.
Rather than bore you with recaps (because I know you’ll be picking the book up anyway!), I will share a particularly hilarious passages with you.
On why she hates the song “Jack and Diane”:
As the child of immigrant professionals, I can’t help by notice the wasteful frivolity of it all. Why are these kids not home doing their homework? Why aren’t they setting the table or helping out around the house? Who allows their kids of hang out in parking lots? Isn’t that loitering?
I wish there was a song called “Nguyen and Ari,” a little ditty about a hardworking Vietnamese girl who helps her parents with the franchised Holiday Inn they run, and does homework in the lobby, and Ari, a hardworking Jewish boy who does volunteer work at his grandmother’s old-age home, and they meet after school at Princeton Review. They help each other study for the SATs and different AP courses, and then, after months of studying, and mountains of flashcards, they kiss chastely upon hearing the news that they both got into their top college choices. This is a song teens need to inadvertently memorize.
Go get this book, enjoy it now that you’ve finished Bossypants , and join me as I wait for Aisha Tyler (Dartmouth) or Amy Poehler (Boston College) to write a book soon! Fingers crossed.
