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I'd Really Prefer Not to Be Here with You, and Other Stories
“Reading this story collection is like stepping in front of a fun house mirror…Julianna Baggott’s words ground us with the familiar truths that allow us to see the ordinary as something truly extraordinary.” --Jessica Biel, actress and producerBestselling author Julianna Baggott delivers her mind-bending debut short-story collection, featuring an array of genres populated by deeply human characters, and with film rights to the stories already having been sold to Netflix, Paramount, Amblin, and others!
In the title story, set five minutes in the future where you not only have a credit score but also a dating score, a woman who’s been banished from all dating apps attends a weekly help group with others who have been “banned for life,” and finds herself falling in love. In “Backwards,” a twist on Benjamin Button, a woman reconnects with her estranged father as he de-ages ten years each day they spend together. In “Welcome to Oxhead,” all the parents in a gated community “shut off” when the power goes out. In “Portals,” a small town deals with hope and loss when dozens of portals suddenly open. In “The Now of Now,” two teenagers who can literally stop time find themselves falling in love. In “How They Got In,” a grieving family starts to see a murdered girl in all of their old home videos. In “The Versions,” two stand-in androids fall in love at a wedding, even though they’re not programmed to have emotion. And many other stories of the weird and wonderful.
In the title story, set five minutes in the future where you not only have a credit score but also a dating score, a woman who’s been banished from all dating apps attends a weekly help group with others who have been “banned for life,” and finds herself falling in love. In “Backwards,” a twist on Benjamin Button, a woman reconnects with her estranged father as he de-ages ten years each day they spend together. In “Welcome to Oxhead,” all the parents in a gated community “shut off” when the power goes out. In “Portals,” a small town deals with hope and loss when dozens of portals suddenly open. In “The Now of Now,” two teenagers who can literally stop time find themselves falling in love. In “How They Got In,” a grieving family starts to see a murdered girl in all of their old home videos. In “The Versions,” two stand-in androids fall in love at a wedding, even though they’re not programmed to have emotion. And many other stories of the weird and wonderful.
Hardcover
First published March 28, 2023
83 people are currently reading
5961 people want to read
About the author
Julianna Baggott
39 books1,477 followersCritically acclaimed, bestselling author Julianna Baggott has published more than twenty books under her own name as well as pen names Bridget Asher and N.E. Bode. Her recent novel, Harriet Wolf’s Seventh Book of Wonders, was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year (2015). Her novel Pure, the first of a trilogy, was also a New York Times Notable Book of the Year (2012) and won an ALA Alex Award. Her work has been optioned by Fox2000, Nickelodeon/Paramount, and Anonymous Content and she currently has work in development at Netflix with Shawn Levy attached to direct, Paramount with Jessica Biel attached, Disney+, Lionsgate, and Warner Brothers, to name a few. For more on her film and TV work, click here. There are over one hundred foreign editions of Julianna’s novels published or forthcoming overseas. Baggott’s work has appeared in The New York Times Book Review, The New York Times Modern Love column, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, The International Herald Tribune, Glamour, Real Simple, Best Creative Nonfiction, Best American Poetry, and has been read on NPR’s Here and Now, Talk of the Nation, and All Things Considered. Her essays, stories, and poems are highly anthologized.
Baggott began publishing short stories when she was twenty-two and sold her first novel while still in her twenties. After receiving her M.F.A. from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, she published her first novel, the national bestseller Girl Talk. It was quickly followed by The Boston Globe bestseller, The Miss America Family, and then The Boston Herald Book Club selection, The Madam, an historical novel based on the life of her grandmother. She co-wrote Which Brings Me to You with Steve Almond, A Best Book of 2006 (Kirkus Reviews); it has been optioned by Anonymous Content, and currently by BCDF, with a screenplay penned by playwright Keith Bunin.
Her Bridget Asher novels, published by Bantam Dell at Random House, include All of Us and Everything, listed in “Best New Books” in People magazine (2015), The Provence Cure for the Brokenhearted, The Pretend Wife, and My Husband’s Sweethearts.
Although the bulk of her work is for adults, she has published award-winning novels for younger readers under the pen name N.E. Bode as well as her own name. Her seven novels for younger readers include, most notably, The Anybodies trilogy, which was a People Magazine summer reading pick alongside David Sedaris and Bill Clinton, a Washington Post Book of the Week, a Girl’s Life Top Ten, a Booksense selection, and was in development at Nickelodeon/Paramount. Other titles include The Slippery Map, The Ever Breath, and the prequel to Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium, a movie starring Dustin Hoffman, Natalie Portman, and Jason Bateman. For two years, Bode was a recurring personality on XM Sirius Radio. Julianna’s Boston Red Sox novel The Prince of Fenway Park (HarperCollins) was on the Sunshine State Young Readers Awards List and The Massachusetts Children’s Book Award for 2011-2012.
Baggott also has an acclaimed career as a poet, having published four collections of poetry – Instructions: Abject & Fuming, This Country of Mothers, Compulsions of Silkworms and Bees, and Lizzie Borden in Love. Her poems have appeared in some of the most venerable literary publications in the country, including Poetry, The American Poetry Review, and Best American Poetry (2001, 2011, and 2012).
She is an associate professor at Florida State University’s College of Motion Picture Arts where she teaches screenwriting. From 2013-2017, she held the William H.P. Jenks Chair in Contemporary American Letters at the College of the Holy Cross. In 2006, Baggott and her husband, David Scott, co-founded the nonprofit organization Kids in Need – Books in Deed which focuses on literacy and getting free books into the hands of underprivileged children in the state of Florida. David Scott is also her creative and business partner. They have four children. Her oldest daughte
Baggott began publishing short stories when she was twenty-two and sold her first novel while still in her twenties. After receiving her M.F.A. from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, she published her first novel, the national bestseller Girl Talk. It was quickly followed by The Boston Globe bestseller, The Miss America Family, and then The Boston Herald Book Club selection, The Madam, an historical novel based on the life of her grandmother. She co-wrote Which Brings Me to You with Steve Almond, A Best Book of 2006 (Kirkus Reviews); it has been optioned by Anonymous Content, and currently by BCDF, with a screenplay penned by playwright Keith Bunin.
Her Bridget Asher novels, published by Bantam Dell at Random House, include All of Us and Everything, listed in “Best New Books” in People magazine (2015), The Provence Cure for the Brokenhearted, The Pretend Wife, and My Husband’s Sweethearts.
Although the bulk of her work is for adults, she has published award-winning novels for younger readers under the pen name N.E. Bode as well as her own name. Her seven novels for younger readers include, most notably, The Anybodies trilogy, which was a People Magazine summer reading pick alongside David Sedaris and Bill Clinton, a Washington Post Book of the Week, a Girl’s Life Top Ten, a Booksense selection, and was in development at Nickelodeon/Paramount. Other titles include The Slippery Map, The Ever Breath, and the prequel to Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium, a movie starring Dustin Hoffman, Natalie Portman, and Jason Bateman. For two years, Bode was a recurring personality on XM Sirius Radio. Julianna’s Boston Red Sox novel The Prince of Fenway Park (HarperCollins) was on the Sunshine State Young Readers Awards List and The Massachusetts Children’s Book Award for 2011-2012.
Baggott also has an acclaimed career as a poet, having published four collections of poetry – Instructions: Abject & Fuming, This Country of Mothers, Compulsions of Silkworms and Bees, and Lizzie Borden in Love. Her poems have appeared in some of the most venerable literary publications in the country, including Poetry, The American Poetry Review, and Best American Poetry (2001, 2011, and 2012).
She is an associate professor at Florida State University’s College of Motion Picture Arts where she teaches screenwriting. From 2013-2017, she held the William H.P. Jenks Chair in Contemporary American Letters at the College of the Holy Cross. In 2006, Baggott and her husband, David Scott, co-founded the nonprofit organization Kids in Need – Books in Deed which focuses on literacy and getting free books into the hands of underprivileged children in the state of Florida. David Scott is also her creative and business partner. They have four children. Her oldest daughte
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 147 reviews
November 12, 2023
I didn't know this prolific author at all, but it is mostly speculative fiction, reminding me of Lorrie Moore in its fresh language and edgy/funny/horrific approach to the world. “Welcome to Oxhead” features children (told by a collective we) describing the apocalypse, where they watch terrible things happen and yet are still so hormonally charged that they still want to have sex all the time, anyway. Reminds me of Lydia Millet's dystopian novel, The Children's Bible, and a short story from Julie Orringer's How to Breathe Underwater,"Pilgrims," where adults ruin the world for children. Rules are meant for breaking for Baggott. Her book features dark comedy, horror, violence, misogyny, sci fi, fantasy, all of it. George Saunders, too, it reminds me of, all of it.
In the title story, set five minutes in the future, you can get a dating score as well as a credit score, and our mc has been banned for life from the dating site. She’s a mess. But she gets together with a group of also banned-for-life screw-ups and maybe falls in love. In "The Now of Now," two teens can literally stop time. "How They Got In" is about a grieving family that sees a murdered girl in all their old family videos. So this collection seems really varied in its effects, in different stories. I love it for that. Invention!
in "Backwards," in a twist on F. Scott Fitzgerald's story of Benjamin Button, a woman reconnects with her estranged father as he de-ages ten years each day they spend together. De-aging meds--you want this? A lot of people seem to. I mean, if you love life and are not in great pain or severe decline, I get it. But in this one, the daughter sees her father from dying to baby, backwards, and it made me cry. Now, this emotional outburst may have something to do with my own age--no one ever told me I’d miss my parents as I got much older!!--but I thought it was incredibly powerful--that image of the daughter, holding her father as a child.
I really enjoyed my late introduction to this writer who is a blend of humor and horror anf grief--so many of these stories deal with grief, so don’y mistake me; they are not just frivolous play. They are grounded in the real insanity of the contemporary world.
In the title story, set five minutes in the future, you can get a dating score as well as a credit score, and our mc has been banned for life from the dating site. She’s a mess. But she gets together with a group of also banned-for-life screw-ups and maybe falls in love. In "The Now of Now," two teens can literally stop time. "How They Got In" is about a grieving family that sees a murdered girl in all their old family videos. So this collection seems really varied in its effects, in different stories. I love it for that. Invention!
in "Backwards," in a twist on F. Scott Fitzgerald's story of Benjamin Button, a woman reconnects with her estranged father as he de-ages ten years each day they spend together. De-aging meds--you want this? A lot of people seem to. I mean, if you love life and are not in great pain or severe decline, I get it. But in this one, the daughter sees her father from dying to baby, backwards, and it made me cry. Now, this emotional outburst may have something to do with my own age--no one ever told me I’d miss my parents as I got much older!!--but I thought it was incredibly powerful--that image of the daughter, holding her father as a child.
I really enjoyed my late introduction to this writer who is a blend of humor and horror anf grief--so many of these stories deal with grief, so don’y mistake me; they are not just frivolous play. They are grounded in the real insanity of the contemporary world.
December 27, 2023
3.5 stars rounded up to 4.
I really enjoyed this collection. The only thing I can think to compare it to is Out There: Stories by Kate Folk. It’s a little literary, a little speculative, a lotta weird.
Favorites were:
I’d Really Prefer Not To Be Here With You
The Knockoffs
Inkmorphia
Honorable mention to Portals.
I enjoyed others in the collection too, and laughed consistently through out.
Not a bad collection, some of the stories may be available free on tor.com if you want to sample the work.
I really enjoyed this collection. The only thing I can think to compare it to is Out There: Stories by Kate Folk. It’s a little literary, a little speculative, a lotta weird.
Favorites were:
I’d Really Prefer Not To Be Here With You
The Knockoffs
Inkmorphia
Honorable mention to Portals.
I enjoyed others in the collection too, and laughed consistently through out.
Not a bad collection, some of the stories may be available free on tor.com if you want to sample the work.
August 12, 2023
The stories were hit or miss for me, but a few left me thinking. Two that come to mind are Backwards and The Holographer. Often I expected to turn the page and find one more paragraph of resolution only to see the start of the next story. The author likes to drop you off a mile from your destination and let you wander the rest of the way.
July 18, 2023
Read 2:
I reread this book from earlier this year and it's still as good as the first time. Still heartbreaking, and spooky, and thought-provoking.
Read 1:
Thank you Blackstone for the advanced copy of this book. This was an insanely good book. I couldn't put it down. The third story had me flipping the page in disbelief that the story just ended. After finishing #8 Backwards, I had to set the book down to take a moment. As much as each story seemed futuristic, it also seemed realistic and possible.
This book will hit you in the heart, the mind, the soul. Clear your schedule because this will be your day.
I reread this book from earlier this year and it's still as good as the first time. Still heartbreaking, and spooky, and thought-provoking.
Read 1:
Thank you Blackstone for the advanced copy of this book. This was an insanely good book. I couldn't put it down. The third story had me flipping the page in disbelief that the story just ended. After finishing #8 Backwards, I had to set the book down to take a moment. As much as each story seemed futuristic, it also seemed realistic and possible.
This book will hit you in the heart, the mind, the soul. Clear your schedule because this will be your day.
June 4, 2023
this is an incredibly creative and unique set of short stories. they range in genre from science fiction to horror but the collection feels really connected. the stories work as all independent worlds and yet they could easily all fit together in one. it would be a 5 star read but a few of the stories dragged for me in comparison to some of the really great ones. i would highly recommend, especially if you like writing short stories in this style.
October 9, 2023
I'd really prefer not to have read this.
March 15, 2024
This was so good! Creepy! A lil scary! Profound! Deep!!!!! 4.25 stars!
Highlights:
The Holographer
Mental Diplopia
The Now of Now
P.s. Xe Sands, ily
Highlights:
The Holographer
Mental Diplopia
The Now of Now
P.s. Xe Sands, ily
May 10, 2023
I really wanted to like some of these stories more than I did. There were really only two for me that made sense. So many of them really confused the hell out of me.
March 3, 2024
Sci-fi, twilight zone, existentially mundane, sometimes horrifying, sometimes dystopian - all the things I didn't know these stories would be but that I quickly grew to crave! There's nothing like a creepy but deeply human set of short stories to provide a satisfying mind-fuck.
Specifically, I haven't been able to stop thinking about the story "Nest." It's maybe the scariest story I've ever read, and I think Stephen King could take some notes. It is nestled in with the rest of the stories with themes of love, loss, how our past is carried with us and what it means to let go, but deals with these motifs solidly in the genre of horror. I loved it and it will also haunt my dreams forever. Fun!
Specifically, I haven't been able to stop thinking about the story "Nest." It's maybe the scariest story I've ever read, and I think Stephen King could take some notes. It is nestled in with the rest of the stories with themes of love, loss, how our past is carried with us and what it means to let go, but deals with these motifs solidly in the genre of horror. I loved it and it will also haunt my dreams forever. Fun!
March 24, 2023
This collection of stories felt like a glimpse into a possibly not-so-distant future; it read lyrical and romantic at times while dystopian in other moments. The writing was propulsive and compelling. Many of the stories explored the themes of love, family, death, and technology. Some of the stories really moved me: "Backwards," which details a woman's experience with her father who chose to age backwards and die of young age, will definitely stay with me for a long time. Many of the characters in these stories are trying to escape, avoid, and/or come to terms with death, and are doing so with futuristic technology and fantastical elements. Some of the stories felt more like a warning and a reminder for how fragile human relationships can be, and how limited we are. Other stories left me confused- by the time I felt like I understood what was happening, it was too late to appreciate them. Overall, I really enjoyed this collection, it made me think about what it means to be human and the value of shared experiences, and I would like to read more from this author.
Two of my favorite quotes:
"How many places exist? How far could she get from this moment?"
"The brain only lets you see what you can handle, but once it knows, it knows forever."
Thank you to the publisher for gifting me an advanced copy of this book.
Note: The formatting on the e-book was quite strange, there were many fragmented sentences that I didn't feel were intentional (e.g. line breaks every few words for multiple pages straight), random blank pages that broke up sentences, etc.
Two of my favorite quotes:
"How many places exist? How far could she get from this moment?"
"The brain only lets you see what you can handle, but once it knows, it knows forever."
Thank you to the publisher for gifting me an advanced copy of this book.
Note: The formatting on the e-book was quite strange, there were many fragmented sentences that I didn't feel were intentional (e.g. line breaks every few words for multiple pages straight), random blank pages that broke up sentences, etc.
October 23, 2023
Some fantastical, some spooky, some downright disturbing. How does one person come up with so many original ideas. One of the few times I have specifically thought that I should read more from this author.
July 5, 2023
I don't give 5 stars easily. I usually save it for the type of book I think everyone should read. You should read this.
May 29, 2024
Some stories resonated more than others. Some seemed to end hanging. But the ones that resonated and stuck the landing were superb.
January 17, 2024
Short story collections are a wonderful way to get a feel for an author. Sometimes a novel doesn't work for you and you dismiss the author's backlist out of hand. The first story had me on the edge of putting the book down, but I decided to keep going and, surprisingly, I started to like them more and more the further I got into it. The typical experience is the reverse: the strongest stories and the title one in particular are at the beginning, and the quality tapers down towards the end of the book. This may have just been me getting into the groove of it or maybe the latter stories really are better, but if you are reading this review because you started it and are unsure if it's worth finishing it, give it a go. "Backwards" was my favourite.
Most of the stories combine dystopian elements in a familiar "technology gone wrong" way that focuses on interpersonal relationships, with parent/child relationships at the heart of it. Themes of understanding and forgiveness, of letting go, of coming to terms with your pain and working through it rather than keeping yourself stuck are present in all the stories. While there is a lot of violence referenced as having taken place, none of it is on the page.
Most of the stories combine dystopian elements in a familiar "technology gone wrong" way that focuses on interpersonal relationships, with parent/child relationships at the heart of it. Themes of understanding and forgiveness, of letting go, of coming to terms with your pain and working through it rather than keeping yourself stuck are present in all the stories. While there is a lot of violence referenced as having taken place, none of it is on the page.
October 16, 2023
While I get the significance of the frog on the cover (one of the stories in this collection involves a robotic frog), it doesn't really advertise this short story collection well. This is a speculative fiction anthology, which you may not be able to guess from the cover. Which is a shame, because this is the one of the best story collections I've read in any genre, and I really want spec fans to discover this.
November 19, 2024
3.5 stars--This is a collection of unique short stories, many with a supernatural or sci-fi twist. I assume several of the stories were written during the Covid pandemic, as they deal with mysterious viruses and lockdowns. As with other short story collections, there were stories I liked and those I did not care as much for.
September 27, 2023
3.9⭐️
A collection of short stories, some that I’d expect to see in a Black Mirror episode. Even though this took me foreverrrr to finish (blame it on the audiobook) I found it really thought provoking and would definitely check out more from this author
A collection of short stories, some that I’d expect to see in a Black Mirror episode. Even though this took me foreverrrr to finish (blame it on the audiobook) I found it really thought provoking and would definitely check out more from this author
July 10, 2023
Very good. Mind bending and unique. Its a bunch of short stories, and is a new / modern type of book that ventures a bit into the future. Recommend!
October 16, 2023
An amazing collection of stories. It inhabits that in-between place amidst Black Mirror and Twilight Zone, but with a less bleak outlook to most of the tales. Also, different from most short story collections, every story is a winner and none of them feel like filler between the good stuff.
I have a feeling I’ll be reading this one repeatedly in the years to come.
I have a feeling I’ll be reading this one repeatedly in the years to come.
January 7, 2024
Black mirror, twilight zone, modern feminism??? Perfect
June 15, 2024
Very twilight zone/black mirror-esque but unfortunately a lot of the stories fell flat for me. There were two maybe three stories I enjoyed.
May 31, 2023
Short stories for my weird Aquarian brain
March 23, 2024
Read abt 50% could not get into the rest of the stories. At first a very interesting collection of sci fi short stories. The tone and content just stopped intriguing me after a while.
October 30, 2023
Rating mainly based on two or three stories that were exceptionally good.
December 16, 2023
Pumped for the Lanthimos film of “Backwards”
December 16, 2023
Creative writing. Bizarre stories.
February 16, 2024
the ones that stuck w me STUCK W ME
May 14, 2025
"Who knew how tender the apocalypse would be?"
Some great COVID era not so sub conscious art, some teases that feel like they exist to be optioned, and a strange way of making it through a stranger world.
Some great COVID era not so sub conscious art, some teases that feel like they exist to be optioned, and a strange way of making it through a stranger world.
December 16, 2023
Audio - listened in one sitting on a road trip
April 14, 2025
This collection reads like an attempt to turn "Black Mirror" episodes into short stories, which is clearly a compliment, but the writing could be more inventive and daring to match the worthwhile ideas the author explores.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 147 reviews