Ada Calhoun books

Ada Calhoun is an American journalist and non-fiction author known for her cultural criticism, memoir, and reportage, with eight books published between 2010 and 2025.

Non-Fiction

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Instinctive Parenting 2010 Buy
Gunn’s Golden Rules 2010 Buy
Tim Gunn’s Fashion Bible 2012 Buy
St. Marks Is Dead 2015 Buy
Wedding Toasts I’ll Never Give 2017 Buy
Why We Can’t Sleep 2020 Buy
Also a Poet 2022 Buy

Standalone Novels

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Crush 2025 Buy

Ada Calhoun writes non-fiction that blends personal experience with cultural reporting. Why We Can’t Sleep: Women’s New Midlife Crisis (2020) examined the financial, emotional, and social pressures facing Generation X women and became a widely discussed book about an underexplored demographic. Also a Poet (2022) is a memoir about Calhoun’s attempt to complete an unfinished book about the poet Frank O’Hara, which becomes a story about her complicated relationship with her father.

Her earlier work includes St. Marks Is Dead (2015), a history of the famous East Village street, Wedding Toasts I’ll Never Give (2017), an honest look at marriage, and collaborations with Tim Gunn on fashion non-fiction. Her debut novel, Crush, is set for 2025, marking her first move into fiction after years of journalism and cultural criticism.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many books has Ada Calhoun written?

Ada Calhoun has written eight books across two series.

What was Ada Calhoun's first book?

Ada Calhoun’s first book is Gunn’s Golden Rules, published in 2010.

What is Ada Calhoun best known for?

She is best known for Why We Can’t Sleep: Women’s New Midlife Crisis (2020), a work of cultural criticism about Generation X women, and Also a Poet (2022), a memoir about her relationship with her father, the poet and art critic Peter Schjeldahl.

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