If you're "unattached," Valentine's Day can be rough. No flowers, no chocolate, no romantic dinner. Every year, on February 14, I just want to crawl into a cave and hibernate. If you feel the same, here are some books that may make you feel better about being single:

NON-FICTION

Spinster: Making a Life of One's Own by Kate Bolick

In this memoir, Kate Bolick tells her own story, along with those of her “awakeners” such as Edith Wharton and Charlotte Perkins Gilman. She takes new ownership of the word “spinster" and encourages women to challenge the long-held belief that women are born to marry, and further, that they need not apologize for their choices.

Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling 

The writer, producer and star of The Mindy Project offers a second collection of frank, humorous, conversational essays about succeeding as a female, single, person of color in white, male-dominated Hollywood.

The Lonely City: Adventures in the Art of Being Alone by Olivia Laing

At first glance, this might seem an odd choice for people struggling with Valentine’s Day, but as New York Times critic Dwight Garner wrote, "Liang picks up the topic of painful urban isolation and sets it down in many smart and oddly consoling places. She makes the topic her own." Perhaps the best praise I can give this book is to concur with Ms. Laing’s dedication: 'If you’re lonely, this one’s for you."

People I want to Punch In The Throat: Competitive Crafters, Drop-Off Despots, And Other Suburban Scourges by Jenn Mann

Mann is the author of the popular blog of the same name, and even though the first essay is about how she met her husband in an AOL chat room, and many others are about suburban life, I was on board as soon as I read that her answer to the question “What are you wearing?” was “sweatpants.” Mann is hilarious and sometimes a little crass, but I love her honest, wry, humor.

All The Single Ladies: Unmarried Women and the Rise of an Independent Nation by Rebecca Traister

A New York Times Best Book of 2016, this mix of historical and personal reflection contains many portraits of women who lead productive, influential, fulfilling lives despite not being married. Traister covers how single women have always been, and will continue to be, at the forefront of social change in our country.

FICTION 

Bloody Chamber and Other Stories by Angela Carter

Decidedly dark tales based on the fairy tales we know. For example, in one of Carter’s takes on Beauty and the Beast, a young girl married to a French Marquis explores the castle and  discovers the bodies of her husband’s previous wives. In Carter’s Little Red Riding Hood, wolf and grandmother are one and the same. This is definitely NOT happily ever after.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

You may have already read Flynn’s blockbuster novel about a marriage where nothing is as it seems. If you haven’t, you should. It’s definitely full of surprises. If you have, you might pick up one of Flynn’s novels Sharp Objects or Dark Places. I felt better about my own world view after reading Flynn. I thought my outlook was fairly bleak, but compared to Flynn, I feel like Mary Sunshine!

Bad Behavior by Mary Gaitskill

This short story collection is full of dysfunctional families, bad choices, and sometimes, terror. Perfect for a Valentine Humbug.

The Strange Case of The Alchemist’s Daughter by Theodora Goss

This novel is the first in the author’s “Athena Club” series.  Mary Jekyll, daughter of the infamous doctor, teams up with other daughters of famous literary characters to solve a series of killings in London. In her debut, Goss puts a feminist twist on many classic tales such as Sherlock Holmes and Dracula. It’s a fun and original tale of female friendship and empowerment.

You by Carolyn Kepnes

This novel, the basis for the Lifetime/Netflix series, is about a bookstore clerk who becomes obsessed with a girl who comes into the store. He will do anything (literally) to have her.  You, is unsettling and suspenseful, but might make you happy to go unnoticed this Valentine’s Day.

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Staff picks are chosen by NYPL staff members and are not intended to be comprehensive lists. We'd love to hear your ideas too, so leave a comment and tell us what you’d recommend. And check out our Staff Picks browse tool for more recommendations!