Benjamin Nugent's 6 favorite books

The author of American Nerd recommends works that represent the mannerisms of his generation

Benjamin Nugent is best known his novel, American Nerd: The Story of My People and Good Kids.

The Gin Closet by Leslie Jamison (Free Press, $14). All of the books on this list capture the mannerisms and social rituals of my generation. This novel, about a young woman meeting her estranged aunt, does that brilliantly, offering 90 distinct shades of self-hatred.

The Vermont Plays by Annie Baker (Theatre Communications Group, $19). Annie's my sister, so I can't be objective. But I've never read dialogue so life-like. I have a special fondness for Nocturama, in which a depressed 26-year-old insists he's naturally cool while white, middle-aged liberals argue over whether a woman they saw in a store was black or not.

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