Mindy Kaling asks 'Why Not Me?' in new book

It was 6:55 on Monday, Sept. 14, and Mindy Kaling was seated in a folding chair near the entrance of the Brookline Booksmith in Brookline, Mass.. A long, long line of eager fans wrapped around the street’s corner and down the block, all of them waiting for the doors of the warmly-lit bookstore to open and to celebrate the release of the comedienne's second book, "Why Not Me?" Kaling, most famous for her dual role as actor and writer on the Emmy-winning series "The Office" (2005-2013), is having quite the week. The publication of "Why Not Me?" on Sept. 15 coincides with the release of season four of her series "The Mindy Project" (2012-present) on Hulu, which picked up the show after its cancellation by Fox last May.

Wearing a monochromatic Bella Freud sweater and black and green Kenzo skirt, Kaling was dressed in a decidedly more reserved fashion than is typical for her public events. One thing she noted that she and her character, Mindy Lahiri, have in common is their penchant for loud, bold patterns and bright colors -- a preference that has led to both praise and criticism from the world of fashion bloggers. The sophisticated playfulness of her outfit on this night, however, is no fluke. It pairs perfectly with the portrait of newfound maturity presented in so many of her essays throughout "Why Not Me?"

While her first book "Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)" (2011) depicts a twenty-something comedienne dealing with relatable neuroses on her path to success, "Why Not Me?" presents Kaling as a comedienne with the same neuroses, but this time they're coupled with the hard-earned confidence of a show-runner and a bona fide TV star. Although she continues to divulge details about past relationships, offer tongue-in-cheek advice about health and beauty and share anecdotes about professional experiences, Kaling’s perspective on herself and the world has noticeably shifted and grown in the four years since her last publication.

In essays like “Bad Sport” and “Some Thoughts on Weddings,” Kaling’s writing manages to be simultaneously hilarious and vulnerable, and she frames her jokes with compelling honesty about her fears and shortcomings. She is able to shift with ease from griping about the bridesmaid-groomsman disparity of responsibility (“Being asked to be a groomsman means you get to give an incredibly inappropriate two-minute speech and every woman there will still want to sleep with you.”) to exploring the pain of lost female friendship. “Soup Snakes” delves deeper into her complicated relationship with former "The Office" co-star B.J. Novak and is a treat for readers already familiar with their history.

The book is not without its faults: one section presented in a "You’ve Got Mail" (1998) style email exchange between Kaling and a fictional teacher at the Dalton School in Manhattan is funny at first but continues on for much too long and, in the end, doesn’t amount to much. Her style is not for everyone, but fans of her shows and previous book will find much to love, including the depth of her comedy. She takes risks, devoting many pages to small ideas and a few pages to big ones, and ultimately inspires laughs (and even some tears) throughout.

In an essay on the perks and disadvantages of her “minor fame,” Kaling writes, “One very gratifying compliment I sometimes hear is that women want to be my best friend,” and it’s no wonder as to why. For her Brookline signing, Kaling made an arrangement with Paris Creperie to provide a service that would deliver crepes and frozen chocolate concoctions to the people waiting in line. She also had her favorite candies sent with the first 2,500 online pre-orders of "Why Not Me?" accompanied by small pins and notes. In her book, she claims she isn’t fighting for the “best friend” title so many fans have awarded her, but rather that she just enjoys sharing what she loves.

In the end, it’s not actually the gift giving that makes her so accessible and beloved; it’s her honesty and talent. In this book, Kaling not only recognizes her desire to people-please but also chooses to focus on where hard work has gotten her, a value she learned from her immigrant parents and years of fighting to be heard in the spaces she occupies. Though this sense of hard-earned confidence permeates "Why Not Me?," it is perhaps best exemplified in the book's introduction. Kaling writes, "If my childhood, teens, and twenties were about wanting people to like me, now I want people to know me. So, this is a start."