Dolly Alderton’s debut book is a bestselling memoir that hit the Sunday Times top five in its first week of publication.
Dealing with topics such as friendships, jobs, loss and love, it tells a story of growing up and getting older that most people can relate to. Alderton tells us about getting dumped, getting drunk, falling in and out of love and coming to the realisation that the best relationship in her life is with her girlfriends.
An unforgettable read that shows how important love and friendship can be in our lives.
If you are a fan of memoir and self-help books, or even fiction books that preach the same message but you have already devoured Everything I Know About Love, then check out this list for ten other books that you can read next!
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10 Books Similar to Everything I Know About Love
Conversations on Love, by Natasha Lunn
In Conversations on Love, journalist Natasha Lunn set out to grasp an understanding on how love and relationships work in the modern day, and how they evolve over our lifetimes.
Like everything, people and relationships change over time so how do we find love and more importantly, how do we sustain these relationships?
Working with a variety of literary talent, Lunn compiles many essays on love, friendship, sex, loneliness, parenthood and more. Dolly Alderton herself features in this book so fans of Everything I Know About Love will speed through the pages!
I’m Glad My Mom Died, by Jenette McCurdy
I’m Glad My Mom Died by former child actor Jenette McCurdy – who most people will recognise from iCarly and Sam & Cat – is a funny yet heart-breaking recollection of her life through eating disorders, addiction and a controlling, overbearing mother.
First auditioning for a child acting role at age six, it was McCurdy’s mother’s dream for her to become a star.
Forcing her daughter through ‘calorie restriction’, makeovers and more in order to prepare her for stardom, McCurdy recounts her mother’s antics in unflinching detail pre-fame to when she shot to stardom upon booking roles on Nickelodeon’s newest shows.
When her mother died of cancer, McCurdy quit acting, discovered therapy and finally asked herself what it was that she wanted for herself. An inspiring story of retaking control of your life, this book should be added to your to-be-read pile!
My Body, by Emily Ratajkowski
Emily Ratajkowski is a world-famous model, social media phenomenon, actress, entrepreneur and with the publication of My Body, a writer.
She shot to fame after unapologetically posting provocative and revealing pictures of herself as a statement of feminist empowerment.
This book is a collection of essays that explores Ratajkowski’s views on feminism, women’s bodies, the treatment women receive from men and why women accept or rationalize that treatment in our modern society.
Drawing from her own experiences in the industries, this book is a poignant read on the obsession and fetishization of female beauty.
Dear Dolly, by Dolly Alderton
What better book is there to pick up than Dear Dolly, the author’s second self-help book and memoir?
Dolly has been sharing her wisdom and advice in The Sunday Time Style’s agony aunt column since early 2020. Covering all sorts of topics from friendships and relationships to body issues and sex, Dolly has helped countless people with her words.
This novel is a compilation of various questions asked by her readers and Dolly’s answers, aided by her own life experiences. A perfect continuation of her ruminations on life, love and more, Alderton does it again in this book.
Beautiful World, Where Are You?, by Sally Rooney
If you are looking for something like Everything I Know About Love with a more fictional twist, then Sally Rooney is where to look for that gut-wrenching real-life story feeling.
In Beautiful World, Where Are You?, we meet Alice and Eileen who, nearing thirty, have been best friends since college but are struggling to find their place in the world. They both find themselves involved in different relationships with men across the globe.
In Dublin, Eileen starts a situationship with Simon – a childhood friend. Elsewhere, Alice is asked to venture to Rome with Felix, a warehouse worker she has only just met.
In this new, modern world full of adventure and heartbreak, the girls ask themselves where they belong?
Love Sally Rooney? Check out more books to read after Conversations with Friends and Normal People!
Notes on Heartbreak, by Annie Lord
Annie Lord is a dating columnist for British Vogue who has dealt with her fair share of heartbreak, both her own and helping others through their own.
Using her expertise, she wrote Notes on Heartbreak to compile everything she has learned whilst writing for the magazine. This self-help memoir is a poignant and memorable exploration of heartbreak and everything that comes with breaking up with a special someone.
By revisiting the past, Lord explores the beginning of her relationship to the collapse of it. Brutally honest about the epic highs and lows of love and relationships, this will resonate with all readers.
This book is a must-read for those reeling from heartbreak to those still healing years down the line.
We Should All Be Feminists, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
This book should be on every person’s shelf! Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s TEDx talk, We Should All Be Feminists was adapted into this short book of the same name following its success.
Drawing from her own life experiences and intertwining her lessons with humour and wit, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie defines feminism in the twenty-first century and comments on the discrimination and institutional behaviour that marginalise women from all walks of life.
Using examples of experiences in the US, abroad and her native Nigeria, she provides a nuanced and extensive explanation of why the gender divide is harmful to people of all genders and identities.
Feminists Don’t Wear Pink, by Scarlett Curtis
This collection of essays from all sorts of people such as celebrities, activists, artists and more provides readers with multiple perspectives on the feminist movement, closing the gap between the social media feminism we see on different platforms and the scholarly texts that explain the more nuanced topics women face.
Every woman has a different understanding of the F word and it will mean something different to each individual and this book is designed to help the reader figure out what it means to them and encourage women to find their voice.
Feminists Don’t Wear Pink has essays as important and readable as Alderton’s novel.
Women Don’t Owe You Pretty, by Florence Given
Artist and writer, Florence Given’s debut novel Women Don’t Owe You Pretty is a book for women at all stages of their journey with feminism.
Coming to fame after starting a petition to cancel Netflix’s fat-shaming show ‘Insatiable’ and appearing on interviews following the petition’s success, Given is a prominent presence on social media.
Designed to be as accessible as possible, it is great for those looking to start or continue their relationship with the toxic patriarchal society we live in and how to fight back and reshape it. This book helps women tackle the narrative that women have been fed their whole lives that they are not good enough.
Combined with beautiful artwork designed by Florence Given herself, this novel is a stunning visual and intellectually stimulating read. This book a great read for fans of Alderton looking for a short read.
The Vagina Monologues, by V
If you are a reader who is looking for something other than a memoir, then The Vagina Monologues by V, formerly Eve Ensler, might be right up your street.
With a foreword by Gloria Steinem, The Vagina Monologues is a play that has been performed in cities all over the world. It is a celebration of female sexuality and everything that comes along with that.
This play gives a voice to women’s deepest fears and fantasies that will ensure those who read it will next think of sex or woman’s body in quite the same way again. V interviewed many women about their vaginas, sex lives and their bodies, hence the title.
At first, the women were shy and reluctant to talk about such intimate topics but once they started, they couldn’t stop!
A refreshing and exciting read for all readers, this play should be entertaining and informative for all.
All of these books preach about the truly important people and things in our lives and are poignant and humorous commentaries on life. I hope you found a book you will enjoy in this list of wonderfully entertaining and educational stories.
Are you looking for more books like Everything I Know About Love? Have any recommendations that didn’t make the list? Let us know in the comments!