"Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?" by Mindy Kaling

222 pages

You might recognize Mindy Kaling as Kelly Kapoor on NBC's "The Office." You may or may not know that she is also a writer for the show. After reading this collection of personal essays, you'll feel like you're practically her best friend. She writes in honest detail about her own life, from her childhood to landing her job at "The Office," as well as some general observations about the world.

I love "The Office," so I figured that I'd enjoy anything written by one of the show's writers. This book exceeded my expectations, high as they were. I was laughing out loud on almost every page! Mindy seems to be both self-depreciating and confident at the same time; she feels good about herself in general, but she's not afraid to make fun of her quirks and flaws. I liked learning about how she built her career and getting the inside scoop on how things work at "The Office," too. Sure, it's just a light, fun read, but you've got to have those once in a while and this is the best thing I've read in a while for getting out of a bad mood. I know the year is young, but I'd say this one will be on my "Favorites of 2012" list.