Book Review: Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling

why-not-meSynopsis: In Why Not Me?, Kaling shares her ongoing journey to find contentment and excitement in her adult life, whether it’s falling in love at work, seeking new friendships in lonely places, attempting to be the first person in history to lose weight without any behavior modification whatsoever, or most important, believing that you have a place in Hollywood when you’re constantly reminded that no one looks like you.

Mindy turns the anxieties, the glamour, and the celebrations of her second coming-of-age into a laugh-out-loud funny collection of essays that anyone who’s ever been at a turning point in their life or career can relate to. And those who’ve never been at a turning point can skip to the parts where she talks about meeting Bradley Cooper.


TRB Review – 5/5

This was a fantastic combination of witty humor, sarcastic references, and helpful life stories by a totally relatable female role model. A new favorite!

The Mindy Project is one of my favorite shows, I discovered it on Hulu about 6 months ago and I have no shame in admitting that I finished it in less than 2 weeks. I have to admit, I was a Mindy Kaling fan before I picked up this phenomenal read, and now I am even more in love with her (in a non-weird lady friend respect kind of way of course)! Her humor throughout was on point and it just makes you more and more intrigued with an internal curiosity wondering how she can be such a big star and a fantastic actress, but also be so down to earth and relatable!

This book gives you a very personal insight into Mindy’s (the REAL one) life and how she balances work, personal life, and having fun. She makes it clear that it’s exhausting, but to read about how much she loves her life makes me so happy to see, the honesty is refreshing! It’s not the normal celebrity biography that talks about triumphs and the ridiculous things they own and do with their millions of dollars – Mindy took the time to laugh about her mistakes, share her wisdom, and inspire young women the entire way through!

“I will leave you with one last piece of advice, which is: If you’ve got it, flaunt it. And if you don’t got it? Flaunt it. ’Cause what are we even doing here if we’re not flaunting it?”

For a gal who has a lot of personal confidence issues, these words were SO meaningful. All I can say is that Mindy is 100% the person I’d choose if I was given one wish from a genie to have lunch with any person in the world <3 I recommend this to anyone who wants to laugh, feel good about what they are doing in their own life, and get a realistic insight to the reality of working in television! I’m ordering her other book ASAP!


I received a complimentary copy of this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review.


About the author:

mindy-kalingMindy Kaling is an American actress, comedian, writer and producer. She is the creator and star of the Fox and Hulu sitcom The Mindy Project, and also serves as executive producer and writer for the show. She is also known for her work on the NBC sitcom The Office, where she portrayed the character Kelly Kapoor and served as executive producer, writer and director on some of the episodes.
-Profile info was pulled from Wiki 

You can follow Mindy on Twitter and Instagram.

This book can be ordered via one of your favorite retailers below!
Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Target, and Penguin Random House

Subscription Review: BookCase.Club

BookCase.Club is a monthly book subscription box that caters to fans of multiple genres including Young Adult, Mystery/Thriller, Sci-Fi, Children’s Paranormal Romance, Romance, Cookbooks, and Military. Each box includes 2 hand-picked books from the genre of your choosing along with an information page and a note from the team. My first month’s subscription was to the “Teenage Dream Case.”


This box was paid for by me, for me, specifically for use in this review. It was in no way sponsored by or provided by a third party.


img_1970

Subscription Details:

The Box: BookCase.Club
The Cost: Starting at $9.99 plus s&h ($5.00 to the US only)
Discounts: Varying, 10% off up to 25% off for a 3-month subscription
What’s Inside: 2 hand-picked novels from the genre of your choice

TRB Review:

This box was a bit of a different approach to the monthly subscription boxes that I’ve seen. Most of the ones that I’ve signed up for so far have been a bit pricey ($30+/month), but they’ve also been themed and have included more than just books (bookish themed goodies). I immediately liked this box because you know exactly what to expect from it – 2 mystery choice books and THAT’S IT! You are even able to switch your genre monthly, it just needs to be done by the time the new billing period begins (the 10th of each month).

The sign up options are simple and very similar to that of other boxes. You can get a 1, 3, 6, or 12-month subscription saving you anywhere from $2 per quarter up to $20/year.

pricing

There are two genre options that only send out quarterly (Cookbooks & Military) and the rest are a monthly subscription. Shipping is only available to US residents at the moment, but it is a flat rate of $5.00 per box and that seems completely reasonable to me.

Unboxing & Contents:

img_1985There is no real “presentation” with this box, but if you think about it it’s really not even necessary. Since this box only contains books, there’s no need for special innards or a certain style of packing. They packaged it well, there was some tissue paper taking up the excess space and the books were in perfect shape when they arrived.

Each box contains a page with a description/explanation of the books as well as a note or two from the team. The back has all of their contact info, which I love especially since the hashtags are there for you to reference on social media!

I also love that it was hand signed by Melissa, it’s a great personal touch!

In this month’s “Teenage Dreams Case” there were two YA books, one of which was a paperback and the other a hardcover. I like this combo because I can never choose what books I want to own in which format, it takes the guesswork out of it all and I was very pleased with having received a hardcover in the mix having paid less than $15 for the box.

img_1987The first of the two novels, Life After Theft by Aprilynne Pike, is a paperback YA novel published in 2014. Amazon says about the book, “Aprilynne Pike, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Wings series, shines in this stand-alone novel that offers a humorous twist on ghosts and is perfect for fans of Ally Carter, Rachel Hawkins, and Kiersten White. Paying for your mistakes takes on a whole new meaning in this clever and exhilarating modern retelling of The Scarlet Pimpernel. Kirkus Reviews called Life After Theft “a brisk, down-to-earth thriller,” and School Library Journal proclaimed it a “whirlwind adventure full of secrets, lies, unlikely friendships, and romance.”

Approx. Value: $9.99 via Amazon w/ free Prime shipping

img_1976The box’s second novel, Denton’s Little Death Date by Lance Rubin, is a hardcover reprint edition published in 2015. Amazon says, “Get ready to die laughing: this is an outrageously funny ride through the last hours of a teenager’s life as he searches for love, meaning, answers, and (just maybe) a way to live on.” Some reviews via Amazon – “Rubin is really funny but like John Green, he manages to be poignant at the same time. You’ll laugh out loud while you read this, but you’re probably going to tear up a bit too.” —Bustle

“An utterly enjoyable, engrossing page-turner.” — Bulletin

Approx. Value: $11.38 via Amazon w/ free Prime shipping

The overall worth of the books in this box came to just under $22.00 factoring in the free Prime shipping if you subscribe to that service. I paid $13.49 for my first box (using a 15% off code), that puts the savings at roughly $8.50 – that’s saving enough to buy another paperback book if you ask me! But here I am being a penny pincher ;)

Packaging Quality – 5/5
Content Quality – 4/5
Overall Rating – 4.5/5 

I was very happy with this subscription box, and plan to continue with my service! Although you truly aren’t saving a ton, the trouble of having to go to the store, read through and choose new books, etc. is all taken care of for you and coming from a chronically non-social person who doesn’t care to go to the bookstore anyway, it’s PERFECT!

The only thing that I am not a huge fan of, is that the books are not new releases. I don’t mind reading older books (these were within the last 2 years), and I imagine they get a discount purchasing books this way, but I think it would be more enticing if the content was a bit newer. Again though looking at the cost and convenience aspect, totally worth it.

If you haven’t already, make sure you check these guys out and get signed up. They offer great customer service, tracking info when your package ships, and a fantastic array of books delivered to your front door for a very minimal price. If you’re not a fan of all the “stuff” that comes with other boxes and don’t see paying for it if you won’t use it (like I came to the conclusion with my Owlcrate box earlier this month), and you don’t mind reading something that could be a few years old – then this is the box for you.

What subscription boxes are you subscribed to monthly? We are curious to find out and discover new boxes so please, comment below or contact us if you’d like for us to review a subscription box that you manage!

XOXO
Savana C.