Shaped by a book discussion

Hey everyone! I hope you enjoyed reading our third book. To start of, I will write a bit about my initial impressions. I gave this book 4 stars, because I thought some of it was funny and smart, however I did get a little board in the middle. I liked some chapters more then others, and I specifically enjoyed when she talked about her childhood. I liked how honest Mindy Kaling was, and I think overall I enjoyed this memoir. I am interested in hearing what you guys thought!

I just finished this book and I really enjoyed it! I thought the parts of the memoir that seemed like they would be more personal to write about were actually more interesting to read on the whole. I agree, some parts got a little repetitive and therefore boring, but I do think overall it was really good! I laughed a lot while reading it. I think that says something.

I liked the book, but would probably give it 4 stars. I agree with noa, and got a little bored in the middle. I would also agree that I liked some chapters more than others. I did really like how she discussed her struggles as a kid (such as weight and eating). I thought that reached out to readers really well, because many people (if not all) struggle with things throughout childhood.

I didn’t love this one. I really enjoyed the humor of it, and the relatability for many people, but for some reason, it didn’t resonate as much as I had hoped it would. I can’t really explain why.

I totally agree. I think my favorite chapter was the one where she talks about the size 0 dresses, and the photo shoot. (can't find the page number) Overall I liked her voice, but something was missing for me. (I can't really pinpoint what is was though)

i read the book in about a day, which obviously says something good about the book. i think when the humor hit right, it was hilarious (just off the top of my head, the thing on the back cover with the picture of her and the caption “androgynous children and puppets, a precursor to toddlers and tiaras” absolutely destroyed me, like cackling on the couch). but unfortunately, there weren’t enough of those moments for me. it could just be my sense of humor - i fully acknowledge that mine is not normal - but i agree with what a couple of you have said: there was just something missing.

hey everyone! i’m sorry i’m a little late to the discussion. my school
ended up assigning this book to read a few days before we finished for this club so i couldn’t read ahead but i’ll talk for what i’ve read so far. i think the book is good, i, similarly to you all, enjoyed the humor but started to get a little bored. either way, this book left me almost wondering what the collective point is after each chapter. she may reveal this later than i read, but it all felt like it was leading to nothing bigger. now, the intention may have never been to have an overarching story or message aside from the couple touched on a handful of times, but that made the book feel like it was lacking importance most of the time. anyways, it was a fun read and i really enjoyed reading all your thoughts!

yes! that makes a lot of sense. besides this one, the most recent memoir i read was Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris, which had the overarching theme of his difficulties of speech and communication, and i didn’t see a theme like that in this one. i never really found a connection to the title, which was strange, and may have contributed to that idea of no overarching theme. i also did find it to be a very fun book, so all of this should be taken with a grain of salt.

Agreed. Perhaps that’s what I thought was missing but couldn’t pinpoint - an overarching theme. Still, it was really funny and I thoroughly enjoyed it! It just didn’t resonate on an emotional or deep level. But, hey, maybe that wasn’t the intention! Perhaps the intention was just to make people laugh, which it certainly accomplished!

Oh my gosh lilah your right!!! THATS what was missing!!!!