What.

Up until a few weeks ago, I didn't consider myself a fan of Mindy Kaling. That's not to say I didn't like her - I liked her character on The Office (Kelly Kapoor) and I knew she wrote some episodes of the show so she must be pretty funny and awesome - I just didn't know much about her and I'd never taken the time to learn more. 

After hesitantly trying and then loving and binge-watching The Mindy Project on Hulu this month, I decided it was time to get to know Mindy Kaling, and I'm glad I did.

I have read books by the following comediennes: Chelsea Handler, Sarah Silverman, and now, Mindy Kaling. I realize it's not at all fair for me to assume Mindy's book would be anything like Handler's (a lot of sex/relationship stuff) or Silverman's (poop was a pretty hot topic) but I did. When I read the other two books I laughed out loud quite a few times, always at some story about how stupid they were. But when I laughed out loud while reading Mindy Kaling's book, it was because the humor was smart, witty, or a perfect observation about something ridiculous. I really enjoyed that difference, which I didn't even realize was something I wanted. 

I love the way she writes. It's not pretentious and she doesn't try too hard. It feels very conversational, like we're just hanging out with a group of friends.Two of my favorite quotes from the book that made me laugh the most:

When listing types of women in romantic comedies, Kaling writes (about "The Klutz"), "Despite being five foot nine and weighing 110 pounds, she is basically like a drunk buffalo who has never been part of human society."

When detailing a revenge fantasy in which her husband is murdered and she decides to beef up in order to avenge his death, "Even in my revenge fantasy where all I do is exercise, I can still do only twenty-five pull-ups. Pull-ups are tough, no joke."

I really feel like Mindy is a pretty normal person. While I don't enjoy shopping nearly as much as she does (well, I guess I might enjoy it if I actually had money to spend), I feel like we have a lot in common. Many of her opinions mirror mine so well it makes me sad that there isn't even the smallest chance we will ever become friends.