30 books like Spoiled Brats

By Simon Rich,

Here are 30 books that Spoiled Brats fans have personally recommended if you like Spoiled Brats. Shepherd is a community of 9,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Love Voltaire Us Apart

By Julia Edelman,

Book cover of Love Voltaire Us Apart: A Philosopher's Guide to Relationships

Ginny Hogan Author Of I'm More Dateable Than a Plate of Refried Beans: And Other Romantic Observations

From the list on humor to make you laugh out loud.

Who am I?

I’m a humor writer and stand-up comedian. I spend much of my time trying to get my comedy into the shortest form possible so it can “go viral,” but I’d rather work on projects that have space to breathe, like books. I don’t think enough people appreciate how funny books can be. Often, humor seems like the purview of more visual mediums. However, while books are quieter than TV shows and live performances, they have just as much capacity for humor. When a book truly makes me laugh out loud, I want to tell everyone. And the following five books do.

Ginny's book list on humor to make you laugh out loud

Why did Ginny love this book?

I’m a big philosophy fan, but I also appreciate anything that can poke fun at the great philosophers. I’m also generally a bit of a romantic disaster, and this book manages to weave together philosophical insight, wit, and dating advice (good or not) to create a thoroughly entertaining read. Most importantly, you’ll feel very smart reading it.

By Julia Edelman,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Love Voltaire Us Apart as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

What would Kant's sexts look like? How would Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir break up? What would Confucius think of Tinder?

Love Voltaire Us Apart is a hilarious spoof relationship guide with a philosophical edge, made up of philosophers' love letters, advice columns and breakup letters.

From Confucius learning the Golden Rules of dating to Simone de Beauvoir considering bangs after breaking up with Jean-Paul Sartre, comedy writer Julia Edelman views the love lives of prominent philosophers through a clever and contemporary lens. She points out that Margaret Fuller is the "Carrie" of transcendentalism, and Nietzsche will always find…


Everything Is an Emergency

By Jason Adam Katzenstein,

Book cover of Everything Is an Emergency: An Ocd Story in Words & Pictures

Ginny Hogan Author Of I'm More Dateable Than a Plate of Refried Beans: And Other Romantic Observations

From the list on humor to make you laugh out loud.

Who am I?

I’m a humor writer and stand-up comedian. I spend much of my time trying to get my comedy into the shortest form possible so it can “go viral,” but I’d rather work on projects that have space to breathe, like books. I don’t think enough people appreciate how funny books can be. Often, humor seems like the purview of more visual mediums. However, while books are quieter than TV shows and live performances, they have just as much capacity for humor. When a book truly makes me laugh out loud, I want to tell everyone. And the following five books do.

Ginny's book list on humor to make you laugh out loud

Why did Ginny love this book?

Katzenstein cleverly uses cartoons to take us into the brain of someone with OCD. This book is laugh-out-loud funny, but also highly educational. I love this book because it uses cartoons to present another way of understanding each other – in its drawings, it’s deeply empathetic. While I don’t have OCD, I do struggle with the feeling that words alone are not enough to convey to others what’s going on inside my brain, and this book made me feel less alone.

By Jason Adam Katzenstein,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Everything Is an Emergency as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice

“A brilliant, honest, necessary book that exposes the intricacies of the human brain while showing us the way creativity and friendship can anchor us. This is a must-read for anyone who has ever wondered if they see the world a little differently.” –Ada Limón

A New Yorker cartoonist illustrates his lifelong struggle with OCD in cartoon vignettes frank and funny

Jason Adam Katzenstein is just trying to live his life, but he keeps getting sidetracked by his over-active, anxious brain. Mundane events like shaking hands or sharing a drink snowball into absolute catastrophes.…


You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey

By Amber Ruffin, Lacey Lamar,

Book cover of You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories about Racism

Ginny Hogan Author Of I'm More Dateable Than a Plate of Refried Beans: And Other Romantic Observations

From the list on humor to make you laugh out loud.

Who am I?

I’m a humor writer and stand-up comedian. I spend much of my time trying to get my comedy into the shortest form possible so it can “go viral,” but I’d rather work on projects that have space to breathe, like books. I don’t think enough people appreciate how funny books can be. Often, humor seems like the purview of more visual mediums. However, while books are quieter than TV shows and live performances, they have just as much capacity for humor. When a book truly makes me laugh out loud, I want to tell everyone. And the following five books do.

Ginny's book list on humor to make you laugh out loud

Why did Ginny love this book?

This book covers a serious subject matter with levity and warmth. Ruffin and Lamar take the reader on a tour of racist incidents in their lives. While the severity is clear, it’s also clear they want the reader to learn. I found the book eye-opening and insightful, and I’d recommend it to anyone.

By Amber Ruffin, Lacey Lamar,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

*A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER AND INDIE NEXT PICK*

Writer and performer on Late Night with Seth Meyers Amber Ruffin writes with her sister Lacey Lamar with humor and heart to share absurd anecdotes about everyday experiences of racism.

Now a writer and performer on Late Night with Seth Meyers and host of The Amber Ruffin Show, Amber Ruffin lives in New York, where she is no one's First Black Friend and everyone is, as she puts it, "stark raving normal." But Amber's sister Lacey? She's still living in their home state of Nebraska, and trust us, you'll never believe…


Be Pregnant

By Eugenia Viti,

Book cover of Be Pregnant: An Illustrated Companion for Moms-To-Be

Ginny Hogan Author Of I'm More Dateable Than a Plate of Refried Beans: And Other Romantic Observations

From the list on humor to make you laugh out loud.

Who am I?

I’m a humor writer and stand-up comedian. I spend much of my time trying to get my comedy into the shortest form possible so it can “go viral,” but I’d rather work on projects that have space to breathe, like books. I don’t think enough people appreciate how funny books can be. Often, humor seems like the purview of more visual mediums. However, while books are quieter than TV shows and live performances, they have just as much capacity for humor. When a book truly makes me laugh out loud, I want to tell everyone. And the following five books do.

Ginny's book list on humor to make you laugh out loud

Why did Ginny love this book?

I’ve never been pregnant before, but Viti’s book is one of the few things I’ve ever read that makes the idea seem appealing. Not because she sugarcoats the rougher parts, but because I now know that if I do get pregnant, I’ll have this hilarious book to keep me company. I’ve shared this book with all my friends who have ever been pregnant, and they agreed that it was a wholly original take on the endeavor. 

By Eugenia Viti,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Be Pregnant as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Full of vibrant illustrations, annotated diagrams, and first-hand accounts, Be Pregnant is a fun and comforting companion for this exciting (and highly anticipatory!) time in a pregnant person's life. Eugenia Viti's charming mix of insider info and humor provide a much-needed laugh about:

- Strangers trying to touch your belly.
- Feelings of inadequacy about stroller prices.
- The all-powerful birth plan.

With quirky yet universal anecdotes, personal "Something That May Happen . . ." sections, and an inclusive illustration program welcoming all moms, Be Pregnant is the perfect gift for an expecting friend or baby shower.


Book cover of Don't You Know I Love You

Ilana Masad Author Of All My Mother's Lovers

From the list on fiction about queer millennials.

Who am I?

As a queer millennial myself, I’m fascinated by the many different approaches writers of my generation have taken to queerness. American millennials have, I think, a unique perspective—when we were kids, gay jokes were prevalent everywhere on TV. Now same sex marriage is legal. On the other hand, there has also been a hard swing of the pendulum, and LGBTQ rights are being curtailed once again. Celebrating the plurality of queer contemporary stories is important to me, a reminder that we’re always going to be here, and that just as queer artists always have, we’ll continue having an impact on the cultural landscape.  

Ilana's book list on fiction about queer millennials

Why did Ilana love this book?

I really love books about artists, women who are able to get angry, queer flourishing, and difficult family dynamics, and this book is about all of this. Angelina has recently graduated college when a car accident causes her to lose work and need to move back in with her parents. She and her father have always had a difficult relationship and being under his roof now is harder than ever, especially as she knows he doesn’t appreciate her desire to have a career as an artist. When Angelina meets Janet, a young queer artist, the two begin a friendship that blossoms soon into something more, inspiring Angelina’s own work. The writing is so mesmerizing, and Bogart’s description of the artwork Angelina makes is beautiful. Also – there’s a dog in this book, a very good dog, and she lives. 

By Laura Bogart,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Don't You Know I Love You as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The last place Angelina Moltisanti ever wants to go is home. She barely escaped life under the roof, and the thumb, of her violent but charismatic father, Jack. Yet home is exactly where she ends up after an SUV plows into her car just weeks after she graduates from college, fracturing her wrist and her hopes to start a career as an artist.

Angelina finds herself smothered in a plaster cast, in Jack's obsessive urge to get her a giant accident settlement, in her mother Marie's desperation to have a second chance, and in her own stifled creativity - until…


Money Honey

By Rachel Richards,

Book cover of Money Honey: A Simple 7-Step Guide For Getting Your Financial $hit Together

Sarah Catherine Gutierrez Author Of But First, Save 10: The One Simple Money Move That Will Change Your Life

From the list on personal finance books for millennial women.

Who am I?

I own Aptus Financial and am a writer, financial columnist, and a Certified Financial Planner™. I also run 401(k)s (in high heels.) Financial literature and advice tends to nerd out with natural savers or shame debtors, but my passion is the folks in between—the break eveners. I believe that this group benefits from financial advice that nudges, not bludgeons. Also, many women don’t feel they belong in the world of personal finance, which is why I dedicate time to public speaking to women’s groups around the country. I am tapped into a network of financial ladysplaining authors and speakers who have collectively pulled ourselves up by our Mary Jane straps and are pulling chairs for other women at the financial table—right where they belong.

Sarah's book list on personal finance books for millennial women

Why did Sarah love this book?

Money Honey is a quick and easy read that asks the reader “why are you here on the planet and why are you wasting your time living someone else’s life?” Richards’ story of saving and investing then essentially retiring from day job hours while in her 20s will get your attention. You will start asking yourself why you’re sitting on the couch scrolling social media when you could be making a business plan or increasing your savings rate. At its core, the concept is not just about money. It’s about using money for the purpose of living the life we want to live, the one “you” were designed for. She asks, why waste any time getting there? Her money bucketing system is spot-on for saving for long, intermediate, and short-term financial goals. I wanted to save so hard after reading this book.

By Rachel Richards,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Money Honey as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

**UPDATED SEPTEMBER 2020, now including a foreword by Paula Pant of Afford Anything!**

Adulting is hard, especially when it comes to money management… but it doesn’t have to be.

What if one book could dramatically change the way you think about money? What if you could finally do the things you know you should be doing but haven’t yet, like creating a budget, paying down debt, and investing in the stock market? What if you could finally learn about finance without your eyes glazing over?

In Money Honey: A Simple 7-Step Guide for Getting Your Financial $hit Together, bestselling author…


Do It for Yourself (Guided Journal)

By Kara Cutruzzula, Tessa Forrest (illustrator),

Book cover of Do It for Yourself (Guided Journal): A Motivational Journal

Sarah Catherine Gutierrez Author Of But First, Save 10: The One Simple Money Move That Will Change Your Life

From the list on personal finance books for millennial women.

Who am I?

I own Aptus Financial and am a writer, financial columnist, and a Certified Financial Planner™. I also run 401(k)s (in high heels.) Financial literature and advice tends to nerd out with natural savers or shame debtors, but my passion is the folks in between—the break eveners. I believe that this group benefits from financial advice that nudges, not bludgeons. Also, many women don’t feel they belong in the world of personal finance, which is why I dedicate time to public speaking to women’s groups around the country. I am tapped into a network of financial ladysplaining authors and speakers who have collectively pulled ourselves up by our Mary Jane straps and are pulling chairs for other women at the financial table—right where they belong.

Sarah's book list on personal finance books for millennial women

Why did Sarah love this book?

Do It For Yourself: A Motivational Journal is a great pairing with any of the books above. The beautiful and powerful designs ask questions and challenge thinking. They move you to action, like one particular page entitled, “Day One or One Day.” In a world of social media where we don’t keep up with the Joneses driving down the street but rather having the Joneses drive into our own living rooms, Ms. Kutruzzula reminds us that “Comparison Will Kill You.” Money requires action today, not promises tomorrow. It requires us to stick to our own goals and our own plan, not the plans of others. And it requires perseverance. This journal guides just that process.

By Kara Cutruzzula, Tessa Forrest (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Do It for Yourself (Guided Journal) as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A bold motivational journal for anyone seeking to boost their productivity

Whether you're embarking on a new project or planning your future, understanding what makes you tick is the crucial first step in making things happen. Do It For Yourself combines the pop-art-inspired graphics of Subliming with 75 thought-provoking prompts by creativity and productivity expert Kara Cutruzzula. Choose any goal and work through the five stages of the journal-getting going, building momentum, overcoming setbacks, following through, and seeking closure-or just open it to the phase you're in now. Each exercise is designed to help reorient your outlook, overcome roadblocks, and…


Severance

By Ling Ma,

Book cover of Severance

Joe Milan Jr. Author Of The All-American

From the list on coming-of-age while Asian.

Who am I?

The heights of American literature are crowded with coming-of-age tales like Huckleberry Finn and Catcher and the Rye. It’s probably because for us, as Americans, figuring out what it means to be American is something that isn’t as clear as what it means to be from another country with thousands of years of existence behind it. Yet, the stories I was given rarely had people who looked like me (Asian) or lived lives that weren’t solely defined as being “foreign.” These books tell coming-of-age stories in different ways that I wish I had read when I was coming up to broaden my own mind with what was possible.

Joe's book list on coming-of-age while Asian

Why did Joe love this book?

A child of immigrants 20-something professional selling bibles, Severance is about Cadence Chen’s story of completing her early career job during a pandemic before setting off into the dystopian horror of society’s collapse.

Severance is a satire everyone needs to read after our own worldwide pandemic.

It’s funny: the prologue starts the band of survivors that Candence joins learning to start campfires in the wilderness from youtube and how to shoot. It parodies our materialistic culture that treats occupations like destinies and shares the feeling of estrangement many of us children of immigrants feel too.

It’s a maturation story with a different flavor: coming of age out of the material sensibilities that sometimes overwhelm our own good sense.

By Ling Ma,

Why should I read it?

7 authors picked Severance as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Maybe it’s the end of the world, but not for Candace Chen, a millennial, first-generation American and office drone meandering her way into adulthood in Ling Ma’s offbeat, wryly funny, apocalyptic satire, Severance.

"A stunning, audacious book with a fresh take on both office politics and what the apocalypse might bring." ―Michael Schaub, NPR.org

“A satirical spin on the end times-- kind of like The Office meets The Leftovers.” --Estelle Tang, Elle

NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY: NPR * The New Yorker ("Books We Loved") * Elle * Marie Claire * Amazon Editors * The Paris Review…


Smart Money

By Naseema McElroy,

Book cover of Smart Money: The Step-By-Step Personal Finance Plan to Crush Debt

Sarah Catherine Gutierrez Author Of But First, Save 10: The One Simple Money Move That Will Change Your Life

From the list on personal finance books for millennial women.

Who am I?

I own Aptus Financial and am a writer, financial columnist, and a Certified Financial Planner™. I also run 401(k)s (in high heels.) Financial literature and advice tends to nerd out with natural savers or shame debtors, but my passion is the folks in between—the break eveners. I believe that this group benefits from financial advice that nudges, not bludgeons. Also, many women don’t feel they belong in the world of personal finance, which is why I dedicate time to public speaking to women’s groups around the country. I am tapped into a network of financial ladysplaining authors and speakers who have collectively pulled ourselves up by our Mary Jane straps and are pulling chairs for other women at the financial table—right where they belong.

Sarah's book list on personal finance books for millennial women

Why did Sarah love this book?

Smart Money: The Step by Step Personal Finance Guide to Crush Debt is for the Millennial ready to act and looking for the facts. Imagine a no-nonsense personal finance book with 9 steps to get out of debt. When people start their professional lives with credit card debt and student loan debt, they have the choice to get comfortable with it and figure out ways to “manage it.” Ms. McElroy wants the reader to be deeply uncomfortable with it and to “slay it.” Along the way, she covers the financial basics, unlike many financial books that assume a level of reader knowledge that may not yet exist.

By Naseema McElroy,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Smart Money as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Straightforward steps to financial freedom and wealth

Getting a handle on personal finance can be confusing and stressful. Get unstuck and start saving now with this streamlined, holistic plan for financial wellness. Smart Money makes it simple to ditch debt and jump-start your wealth in nine practical steps. Learn how to avoid money pitfalls, correct any wrong turns, and save and spend the right way to build wealth.

Start by assessing your current personal finance, figuring out how much you owe, and comparing your income with your spending. With a wealth of budgeting wisdom, saving strategies, banking tips, and advice…


Book cover of Last Summer at the Golden Hotel

Marilyn Simon Rothstein Author Of Crazy to Leave You

From the list on by authors who make me laugh.

Who am I?

Children were seen and not heard when I was growing up in Flushing, Queens, where I had one tree in front of my house. I moved to Connecticut as an adult and now I look out on woods and bears sneaking into my garage. The result of my silent childhood is I’m an excellent listener and an even better eavesdropper—superb traits for a writer. I owned a Connecticut advertising agency for most of my adult life then realized I could make less money if I became an author. My first book was published when I turned 63—which is amazing because I'm only 40. 

Marilyn's book list on by authors who make me laugh

Why did Marilyn love this book?

I want to go to the Catskills with Elyssa Friedland. I need to do some dirty dancing and eat until I can’t eat anymore. Not this weekend. But maybe back in 1970. I just know Elyssa and I would have a fabulous time. The best I can do now is to recommend Elyssa’s charming book, Last Summer at the Golden Hotel. I laughed and so will you when you read about one family’s effort to save their ramshackle Catskills hotel.

By Elyssa Friedland,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Last Summer at the Golden Hotel as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A Good Morning America Buzz Pick
A Can’t-Miss Beach Read For Summer 2021 from The Skimm
A Best Beach Read of 2021 from Bustle
A Best Summer Read of 2021 from PopSugar

A family reunion for the ages when two clans convene for the summer at their beloved getaway in the Catskills—perfect for fans of Dirty Dancing and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel—from the acclaimed author of The Floating Feldmans.

In its heyday, The Golden Hotel was the crown jewel of the hotter-than-hot Catskills vacation scene. For more than sixty years, the Goldman and Weingold families – best friends and business…


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