[Book Review]- Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling

Like most North Americans, I love Mindy Kaling. Ever since she first appeared on the scene as a writer and star of The Office, and now in her own show, The Mindy Project, I can't get enough of her. The fact that she's written a book about herself on top of everything else totally justifies my healthy obsession. I mean, books are my thing  — clearly, this was meant to be.

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) is Mindy's first novel. The back cover describes it as a collection of humorous essays. Mindy's description is much more apt, of-course. 

"In this book I write a lot about romance, female friendships, un-fair situations that now seem funny in retrospect, unfair situations that I still don't think are funny, Hollywood, heartache, and my childhood. I wrote this book in a way that reflects how I think. Sometimes it's an essay or story, and sometimes it's a pliest, which is a piece with a list-y quality, a term I've just made up." 

For some context, this was written in the time frame before The Mindy Project came in to fruition but after she had departed The Office. I love this book because it felt like Mindy was beside me the whole time, chatting away about her life as I turned each page. This is a must-read for fans of The Office, as she includes lots of details about what it was like working on the show, along with many anecdotes involving various cast members and writers. There's even a eulogy written for Mindy by a former writer and cast member. Yup, a eulogy. It's hilarious. You'll have to read the book to find out who wrote it.

Mindy's next novel, Why Not Me, will be published in April 2015. I can't wait!       
    

Views From the 6ix: Toronto Islands

A couple of weeks ago when it still felt like summer in Toronto, (It is currently freezing) I took a late day trip to Centre Island with some friends. I've never been to the Toronto Islands so late in the day before so I decided to snap a couple of pictures with my phone. I got a little carried away (ofcourse) trying to capture as much of the beautiful scenery as I could. Below are a few of my touristy shots from the day. #305ToMyCity

P.S- Drake, if you're reading this, (lolz, yeah right) you need to film your next music video on the Toronto Islands at night. It's time we show the world a different and perhaps under-appreciated view from the 6.     

I took this awesome shot as our ferry pulled away from the dock, on the way to Centre Island.

Another shot of the city skyline with a pretty sunset as my backdrop.

Here's a cool looking weeping willow that greeted us as we pulled in to the island dock. I felt a great kinship with this tree. I wanted to hug him and tell him and tell him that I could relate.

This is definitely my favourite shot of the night. We came upon this beautiful scene after walking through some long wooded paths along Ward Island. Upon approaching a clearing I happened to look to my left and was met with this amazing view. I felt like I had stumbled in to a scene from the movie, 'The F-Word".

 

As you can see, I just could not get over how beautiful my city looked from a boat. Call me lame, but I have at least five more awesome shots of this view. You may think I'm being a bit excessive and this blog post is lame but, too bad. I can't really put in to words how amazing it looked in real life. I suggest you check it out, in person. It was breathtaking.