Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Waiting on Wednesday: Yes, My Accent is Real: and Some Other Things I Haven't Told You by Kunal Nayyar

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine where we spotlight upcoming releases that we're eagerly awaiting.  I've chosen a nonfiction book for a change this week.  It comes out next week, and is by an actor on one of my all-time favorite TV shows, The Big Bang Theory.  I guess he was at BEA this past summer, when I wasn't able to go.  :-(  Meeting him would have totally made any cost worth it, if I'd had any way to get the money together.  The author, Kunal Nayyar, plays Raj on the show, and I can't wait to read what he has to tell us about.  Here is the blurb from Goodreads:


Of all the charming misfits on television, there’s no doubt Raj from The Big Bang Theory — the sincere yet incurably geeky Indian-American astrophysicist — ranks among the misfittingest. Now, we meet the actor who is every bit as loveable as the character he plays on TV. In this revealing collection of essays written in his irreverent, hilarious, and self-deprecating voice, Kunal Nayyar traces his journey from a little boy in New Delhi who mistakes an awkward first kiss for a sacred commitment, gets nosebleeds chugging Coca-Cola to impress other students, and excels in the sport of badminton, to the confident, successful actor on the set of TV’s most-watched sitcom since Friends.

Going behind the scenes of The Big Bang Theory and into his personal experiences, Kunal introduces readers to the people who helped him grow, such as his James Bond-loving, mustachioed father who taught him the most important lessons in life: Treat a beggar as you would a king. There are two sides to every story. A smile goes a long way. And, when in doubt, use a spreadsheet. Kunal also walks us through his college years in Portland, where he takes his first sips of alcohol and learns to let loose with his French, 6’8” gentle-giant roommate, works his first-ever job for the university’s housekeeping department cleaning toilets for minimum wage, and begins a series of romantic exploits that go just about as well as they would for Raj. (That is, until he meets and marries a former Miss India in an elaborate seven-day event that we get to experience in a chapter titled “My Big Fat Indian Wedding.”)

Full of heart, but never taking itself too seriously, this witty and often inspiring collection of underdog tales follows a young man as he traverses two continents in search of a dream, along the way transcending culture and language (and many, many embarrassing incidents) to somehow miraculously land the role of a lifetime.


So much that sounds so good!  I am hoping to find it as hilarious as other books I've read by actors like this.  

So, what book are you eagerly awaiting this week? 

And while you're here, don't forget to go enter my September is for Sequels Giveaway.