3.70 avg rating — 14,375 ratings

"I’m including Brown’s Adulting because of its obvious on-point-ness, even though I was kind of disappointed by its narrowness of audience. The section on how to be poor is like, how to be white, middle-class poor. Go to fancy restaurants for lunch instead of dinner! Buy one really good, expensive winter coat instead of five cheap, shoddy winter coats! I DO love that her attitude is very Take Care Of Your Shit, Be It A Car Or A Purse Or A Relationship, You Are Not A Toddler. Learn how to sew on a button! Learn how to make a proper apology! Adult things."

3.94 avg rating — 7,784 ratings

"Grace’s Guide: The Art of Pretending to Be a Grown-Up is another one I feel like I should include here because duh read the title, but it’s pretty, like, Oh hey there, Millenials, I’m a Youtube star and here is my book with a bunch of pictures of me doing quirky! things! and ‘Salt, pepper, tobacco sauce, and ranch dressing are the only condiments you need,’ which I feel is the hungover-frat-boy opposite of what we’re trying to achieve here, BUT there are some motivating and fun little bits."

4.15 avg rating — 140,853 ratings

"Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed is a compendium of hard truths and compassion and ughhhhhh I want her to move in next door and dispense wisdom at me."

3.92 avg rating — 36,497 ratings

"The Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer is a weirdly affecting memoirish thing on finding your tribe and trusting them to hold you up. LIFE IS LIKE CROWD-SURFING, basically."

4.16 avg rating — 817,972 ratings

"The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People I KNOWWWWW IT’S A HORRIBLE CLICHÉ BECAUSE IT’S SUPER PRACTICAL AND SENSIBLE AND EFFECTIVE. I’m sorry, that’s so boring. But nothing helps me work shit out or sort shit down like a re-read of the old Covey."

4.30 avg rating — 1,706 ratings

4.13 avg rating — 197,882 ratings

4.21 avg rating — 2,278 ratings

"Julia Child’s Kitchen Wisdom is SHORT and HILARIOUS and will teach you how to make aioli and why it’s important to dry your chicken before you toss it in the pan."

4.50 avg rating — 10 ratings

"If all you know how to do is make ramen in a coffee pot and open a beer with a boot, then congratulations, you are truly living the college experience, and Help! My Apartment Has a Kitchen will teach you to make garlic bread and a basic stir-fry."

3.50 avg rating — 136 ratings

"If you already know how to make garlic bread but cannot afford to take the next step into making garlic scape and butternut frittatas with free-range eggs because MONEYS, The Working Class Foodies Cookbook (IS THERE SUPPOSED TO BE AN APOSTROPHE IN THE TITLE BECAUSE I WOULD LIKE ONE) actually has great tips on eating delicious hipster meals for cheap(ish)."

3.88 avg rating — 1,479 ratings

"I wish My Boyfriend Barfed In My Handbag was less female-and-gay-male-specificly titled because it’s actually a concise, hilarious guide to cleaning basically everything in your house. What you should clean and why! How often! It’s the Unfuck Your Habitat of books."

3.88 avg rating — 391,592 ratings

"The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo is all the rage these days, and I don’t LOVE it (because I love my clutter, so help me) but people are singing its praises all over, and there’s something to be said for mass appeal."

4.05 avg rating — 19 ratings

"The Reader’s Digest Complete Do-It-Yourself Manual. How do you run cable? How do you strip wallpaper? When should you just call a guy? You can play Google Roulette and hope you get some solid advice, but Reader’s Digest always got your back."

4.20 avg rating — 62,360 ratings

"Investing is one of those things, like good dental hygiene, where nothing beats an early start, but PEOPLE IN THEIR 20s DO NOT KNOW THIS and also stocks and bonds are scary. I Will Teach You To Be Rich is readable and comprehensive and smart and not scary."

3.18 avg rating — 214 ratings

"As the title perhaps suggests, author of You’re So Money Farnoosh Torabi does kind of write very
BUTTTT she also says some good stuff about how to prioritize your finances to live the life you want."

4.12 avg rating — 7,746 ratings

"How To Be A Grown-Up In Relationships is about getting your head on straight and treating your friends, your family, and your One In Particular like you are all a bunch of sane and respectful people deserving of sanity and respect."