The Barbizon tells the story of New York’s most glamorous women-only hotel, and the women-both famous and ordinary-who passed through its doors. The Barbizon: The New York Hotel That Set Women Free by Paulina Bren Tackling our commercialized obsession with body positivity, chronicling her years coming of age as a lesbian in the era of low-rise jeans and much more, Everybody (Else) is Perfect is a memoir-in-essays that seeks to educate and inform of all the ways our modern culture has turned toxic and holds everyone, but especially women, to standards way beyond their control. But the surface beneath her skin told a very different story: struggling for years with an untreated eating disorder and mental illness, Korn finally reached her breaking point in an industry and digital world that prioritizes perfection above else. By the time she was 26, however, she had achieved everything she thought she wanted and more: after receiving an accomplished college degree, she became one the youngest editor-in-chiefs in history at Nylon magazine where she had friends, family, connections with trendy designers, and an Instagram-worthy office and life. Like many Millennials, Gabrielle Korn came of age at a time when the American job market was making promises it couldn’t keep.

Featuring everyone from Jonny Sun to Steven Rowley, behold my choices for the best books of the year.Įverybody (Else) is Perfect: How I Survived Hypocrisy, Beauty, Clicks, and Likes by Gabrielle Korn This year certainly went in several different directions and with it the reading material we use to fill the void, which means there’s a little something on this list for everyone-be it fiction, non-fiction, essay collections, memoirs, or pop culture analysis.

Another year of must-read books have come to an end, which can only mean it’s time to unveil my picks for the 10 best books of 2021.

Yours for the Taking by Gabrielle Korn