The start of a new school year is a great time to pick up a new book! Publisher and New York Times bestselling author Anna David has introduced us to her current favorites. You can find more information about Anna here.
Margo has money problems by Monica Heisey
There are books about college students having affairs gone wrong with their professors, and then there’s Margo’s Got Money Troubles, a hilarious and brilliant jaunt through the life of a girl named Margo who has—yes, money problems. Those problems spiral into overdrive when she finds herself pregnant (by her college professor) and decides to drop out of school and raise the baby. The rest of the plot revolves around her estranged father, a wrestler, moving in with her, her turning to Only Fans to make a living, love or something similar with one of her Only Fans clients, legal troubles, TikTok, methadone, and so much more. But it’s not really what makes Margo (the book) exciting: It’s the brilliance of the writing style, which switches between third- and first-person perspectives and occasionally references the writing tips she learned in one of her former college professor/baby daddy’s moronic lectures. Unsurprisingly, the series has been adapted for the small screen and will debut on Apple TV in mid-2025 as an eight-part series starring Elle Fanning and Nicole Kidman.
Rejection by Tony Tulathimutte
A novel in the form of short stories, all revolving around the theme of—you guessed it—rejection. Rejection is a scathing, deeply depressing, and absolutely hilarious depiction of various forms of rejection (a man rejected by many women, a woman rejected by a man, a man rejecting another man because he himself cannot be loved—and those are just the first three stories). The stories are occasionally as offensive as Philip Roth, but ultimately reveal that rejection is ultimately not so much about other people’s reactions to others, but rather their own obsession with other people’s reactions and their fundamental belief that they are rejectable. Rejection is deeply rooted in modern life, with characters popping up on social media feeds and message boards. It’s one of those books you don’t want to identify with, but you do.
Good material from Dolly Alderton
You know when you’re going through a breakup and you alternate between feeling sorry for yourself, drowning your sorrows in alcohol, and wondering about all the reasons why your relationship didn’t work out? That’s what British journalist Dolly Alderton’s hilarious novel Good Material is about, but it’s told from the man’s point of view. Andy has just been dumped by his girlfriend Jen, and what’s worse than feeling like it’s come out of the blue is the fact that her best friends are married, so he has to see her occasionally and constantly refuses to ask his friends about her. Andy is a struggling comedian trying to convince his already settled friends to go out with him, moving to a houseboat, dating a much younger girl with whom he posts ironic Instagrams he doesn’t understand, and moving in with an old, lonely conspiracy theorist who has a parasocial relationship with Julian Assange and is obsessed with their house’s connection to the Beatles. At the very end, the book switches perspectives and we get Jen’s take on why the relationship ended, and in the process we learn that Andy is neither as good a friend nor as pathetic a person as we (and he) thought. “Good material” refers to the fact that he ends up getting good material for his one-man show in Edinburgh (not unlike the big surprise hit of the year on Netflix, Baby Reindeer – but nowhere near as grim).
Milestones for Moms: The TRUE Story of Grace Farris’ First Seven Years
Okay, this is a shameless recommendation from a first-time mom of a one-year-old, but every new (or soon-to-be) mom in the world needs this book (in other words, consider it your baby shower gift). Grace Farris is a doctor, mom, professor, visiting lecturer at Harvard, and illustrator whose illustrations appear in newspapers like the New York Times and the New Yorker. And let me tell you, as a new mom who once worked at Parenting magazine, she has created the hilarious book we all need. See, when you’re looking around for something FUNNY and REAL during those first scary days (and weeks and months), it’s SO hard to find since most books about motherhood are usually so serious. Although I didn’t find out about Mom Milestones until after I had already hit many of the early milestones, I wish I had had this earlier in the process to giggle and relate to. Example: Meltdown Mitigations and Mom Tantrums: A Guide. But there’s also useful stuff in there, like diaper changing tips and travel checklists, all with clever illustrations. In short, Grace Farris is a national treasure for moms!
