16 Books to Curl Up With This Fall

Lauren Holmes's debut, Barbara the Slut and Other People, is a book of deceptively simple short stories that pivot around themes of bullying, sadness and shame. With polished prose and a wry dash of Miranda July—esque humor, Holmes has creative a normcore cast of characters who stumble to communicate, withhold their true identities and soldier through the slow letdowns of life; a daughter who attempts to rekindle a relationship with her mother, who is trying to earn a buck by selling lingerie in a Mexican resort town: an undergrad who won't let her beater of a car or a foiled family vacation keep her from breaking up with her boyfriend; a persnickety pit bull that falls for its owner's lover, a Swiss PhD with a fear of dogs. Like a shot of espresso, these tales awaken the senses and invigorate the daily grind.