"As a child, my favorite book was probably HARRIET THE SPY. You’ve seen pictures of me [as a child in the book]. I wasn’t child actor material at all — I wasn’t a conventionally cute child. I think if there’s one thing that I regret never having gotten a chance to do as a kid — and there’s literally only one — it would have been to audition for HARRIET THE SPY. That was such a great book because it was not about how cute she was. In fact, she wasn’t especially adorable or anything. She was such just an adventurous city kid and she had weird confidence even though she wasn’t that popular. She was a nosy little chubby kid who was special."
--Mindy Kaling in Entertainment Weekly

Another good reason to be on Twitter: Finding out that Salman Rushdie is an "Office" fan. (Via.) Kaling's book IS EVERYONE HANGING OUT WITHOUT ME? comes out November 1st.

Important Preorder: Mindy Kaling's essays

November?!! But love the title (somewhat altered from the original). Till then, you can tide yourself over with Michael Showalter's memoir MR. FUNNY PANTS (out Feb. 22) or Tina Fey's essay collection BOSSYPANTS (April 5).

Find me one more comedian's book with the word "pants" in the title and we can be a trend story!

Important Book Deal: Mindy Kaling of "The Office"

THE CONTENTS OF MY PURSE, a series of comic essays, drawing in part on her blog "Things I Bought That I Love," sharing personal moments -- such as her ode to the most romantic moment in any relationship (when you can scrub your makeup off before you go to sleep and not feel self-conscious), a piece about the dress she can't wear anymore because it reminds her of one of her most embarrassing public moments, and the story of the day she was horrified to learn her boyfriend could fit into her jeans, to Suzanne O'Neill at Crown, for publication in fall 2011, by Richard Abate and Howard Klein at 3 Arts Entertainment (world).

This book isn't for most of you, so consider this a note to myself-in-2011.