Please Pass the Funny Stuff

As with turkey and cranberries and Christmas cookies, I wanted seconds after finishing Jim Gaffigan’s hilarious take on parenting in his book Dad is Fat.  So for another humor fix I turned to Mindy Kaling’s Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?.  In her autobiographical turn, I learned Mindy Kaling and I have several things in common.  Both of us were awkward, bookish kids who never got invited to keggers.  And we also agree that Will Ferrell is the funniest guy ever. But somehow, despite our similarities, she was the one who became a successful comedy writer.  Huh.  Probably because back in college I thought that dissecting a lamprey and a pigeon would be fun.  (Which is probably why I never was invited to drinking parties…my conversation starters went something like, “Hey, you know that pigeon I cut open today?  It smelled like rotten mayonnaise!”)  Yeah, I made lots of mistakes in the social-interaction department.

Fast forward a few decades and I know I made no mistake choosing to read this very real, self-depricating account of Mindy Kaling’s road to comedic success, mixed in with a few personal opinions on life in general.  It’s a light, airy read that can be enjoyed in short doses on-the-go, which is perfect for a busy holiday season.

Mindy, meet my trumpet. My trumpet, Mindy. From the look on her face, I think even she thinks playing the trumpet is weird.