Book cover of The New Me

Book description

'Terrific. So funny' Zadie Smith

'Monstrously depressing but so comic and well observed that I didn't really mind .... It is great' Dolly Alderton

'A dark comedy of female rage' Catherine Lacey

'Brilliant. For fans of Ottessa Moshfegh's My Year of Rest and Relaxation' Pandora Sykes

'Funny, shocking, clever, and…

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Why read it?

2 authors picked The New Me as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

A brilliant send-up of toxic work culture and self-optimization. This book has the dry, acid wit of *The Office* rewritten by Dorothy Parker.

Butler’s narrator is your worst millennial mood and best unreliable friend. She has contempt for her temp job but commits to the impermanence because she likes “slight atmospheric changes.” Butler is a wonderfully funny writer whose character, Millie, is all of us—who don’t have a trust fund; are forced to collect money doing mind-numbing work; when all we want to do is sit in bed, eat ice cream, and binge watch Netflix shows.

From Christina's list on satires that skewer and roast.

“I wonder how I would have to behave, how many changes I would have to make, to tip myself over the edge into this endless abyss of perm.”

Millie is a temp and she wants to find a permanent job. Or so she says. Her real goal? “It should be easier to feel good.” Millie is snarky, sometimes bordering on cruel, recounts minutiae, revels in loneliness, and savors her own dark side. She knows she wants to be a better version of herself but only needs to find her way.

The New Me masterfully paints the frustration brought on by…

From Vanessa's list on a divisive/polarizing main character.

If you love The New Me...

Book cover of December on 5C4

December on 5C4 by Adam Strassberg,

Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!

On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…

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