On Nobody Famous: Guesting, Gossiping, Gallivanting

by Kaitlyn Tiffany, Lizzie Plaugic

Dispatches from the everyday adventures of two regular women in New York.  An Atlantic Edition, featuring long-form journalism by  Atlantic  writers, drawn from contemporary articles or classic storytelling from the magazine’s 165-year archive. Welcome to Lizzie and Kaitlyn’s New York: Join two regular women as they recap small parties, weird dinners, and aimless evenings. Highlights include taking the Q train to Coney Island, an Uber to eat Garbage Plates, and a walk to a Crown Heights birthday party. Eclectic and endlessly funny, these dispatches invite you to get together and go nowhere with nobody all that famous.

Genres: Nonfiction, Essays, Memoir

128 pages, Paperback

Published April 4, 2023

About the author

Kaitlyn Tiffany is a staff writer at The Atlantic, where she covers technology and culture. She was previously on the same beat at Vox’s consumer vertical The Goods, after starting her career writing about pop culture, fandom, and online community at The Verge. Formerly the host of the popular podcast Why’d You Push That Button, which considered the tiny technology decisions that have an outsized effect on our modern social lives, she lives in Brooklyn.

Reviews

[leah · Rating 3 out of 5]

one for the joan didion / eve babitz / dolly alderton fans (aka me)

[Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like Joan Didion for people who are rewatching ‘Girls’ in 2023.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is like a Nora Ephron collection, except it's a conversation between best friends. Reading this right after Kate Beaton's Ducks was a wild experience—basically jumping out of a melancholic, disheartening portrait of pollution, sexism, and loneliness in the Canadian oil industry, into a lighthearted chat between two best friends recounting fun anecdotes about life in NYC. I have whiplash, but I definitely needed this pick-me-up.

[Dakota Bossard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny and fun and a very good time for 111 pages

[Marisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

a fun, short read — I’d wanna be friends with them lol

[Peter Knox · Rating 3 out of 5]

I stumbled upon this slim gem during the penultimate evening of the original McNally Jackson Prince St SoHo location closing. It was face up on a table and caught my eye, unaware of either author or Atlantic Mag’s publishing program.

That said, I connected with the promise of the content quickly…. The slightly younger NYC generation doing what we used to do and bringing us along for the ride!

I couldn’t resist and bought into this delightful Halloween colorways packaging.

It delivered. Even with my hesitations around “newsletters” repurposed as long form content, the writing and experiences were strong enough to bring me back to the mindset, if not the timing exactly, where anything can happen in New York and it’s worth finding out exactly what that might be.

It’s funny, sad, and relatable, for a certain type of reader like me. If that’s you, join us for a strange night out.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this in the hospital and it was proof my meds were working and my brain would be ok again. Also found it funny material for a psych ward, it reminded me of times I had running around in nyc. And made me miss my 30s!

[Lindsey Staub · Rating 4 out of 5]

Copped this from work and it’s so fun! Like a 100-page text exchange with friends who like each other more than they like you!

[Phoebe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part society page of a newspaper, part Normal Gossip the podcast, and part catching up with two of your most interesting friends over drinks. Very fun!

Edit: I'm realizing this also taps into the same reason I like my favorite podcasts -- because I enjoy listening to 2-3 people with an entertaining, bouncy, established rapport talk about things I only find interesting because of how they're talking about them. It felt, in a good way, like a podcast transcript (though transcripts never read this well, ymmv). For versions of this in fiction, The Colorado Kid by Stephen King did it too but not as well; it also reminds me of Cult Classic by Sloane Crosley, one of my favorite books about people talking.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Walking through the World Trade Center from the PATH is its own kind of workout, where you need to avoid running into the people staring at the ceiling and ascend the weirdly slippery stairs without falling.

The girls who get it get it.

This was such a delightful read and so relatable to the girl in her early 20s NYC experience. Can't wait for more guesting, gossiping, and gallivanting adventures of my own (@Sam).

Kaitlyn Tiffany and Lizzie Plaugic are hilarious and I was highly entertained by every chapter in this collection. It's essentially a podcast in book form, told through alternating accounts of each zany situation between Tiffany and Plaugic. There's a fun bounce maintained between their dialogue and the duo is able to transform mundane scenarios into fun escapades. (Huge fan of the Thursday Pivot™ over here.)

[Lauren Wooldridge]

Grab a copy for you and the people you like to laugh with and enjoy these witty, timely observations. I cackled out loud and wondered why there aren’t more books like this, the back and forth of two astute, affable friends — or why my friends haven’t done this! I’ll pass this on but hope to read it again for the giggles and feeling like I’ve had a night out with K&L.

[Richelle Olsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

in real life, i am usually bored and annoyed listening to 2 friends litigate nights i wasn’t apart of—like, hello!! i’m standing RIGHT HERE!! but in book form, with people i don’t know, it’s a blast. these two are so so charming and funny and i am once again feeling New York’s thrall.

[sharber · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was probably intended to be an audiobook…?

also, if this book has proven anything, it’s that despite all its glam and glitter, living in nyc can actually be quite…. boring ?? (or at least in 21st century..)

[Colm Slevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

It had really good potential. I think I struggled with it mostly because there wasn’t much dialogue and it relied heavily on the two authors wit. The story doesn’t go anywhere, it’s really just a collection.

[Caroline H · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was delightful. Made me miss the bizarre fun of American party culture.

[Zoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

what a romp!!!

[Jillian Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

joan didion for girl’s who’s main hobby is gossiping. literally AMAZING i feel like i’m their best friend. read in one sitting because it’s just 🤌🤌🤌🤌🤌

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun little short book. Not really any substance and while the stories aren’t crazy, they are entertaining.

[Cathleen Browning · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute snippets from girls living in NYC.

[Malea Lamb-Hall]

cute little read recommended by emily north

[Harper Dodd · Rating 4 out of 5]

So fun

[Angelina Hazzouri · Rating 5 out of 5]

i loved this because it felt like reading my own writing

[mckenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The fourth dog I did not recognize, and we weren’t introduced.”

[maggie · Rating 3 out of 5]

not as fun as i was hoping booo

[Andi Porretta · Rating 5 out of 5]

While reading I felt famous enough yet consistently average, and I guess that’s what living in NYC is all about

[Aleena Yunus · Rating 2 out of 5]

Found it and read it on a trip to NYC, which made it more fun to read. I enjoyed the conversational storytelling but there really was no content to the stories and some even felt too try-hard.