Funny, bold and incisive, this collection adds a surreal spin to well-worn millennial tropes and obsessions. For all its wry irony it is at times surprisingly tender with a sharp - if at times slightly repetitive – eye for observational detail. There's a novel coming too, apparently - look forward to seeing where Alic takes that.

Bad Thoughts is a collection of 14 deeply strange, humorous, and alluring stories (with bizarre and engaging one-liner observations/intermezzos between each story). I loved the overall style and substance and cannot wait to read what Nada Alic writes next.

The stories made me feel like I was privy to the thoughts of the coolest, most aloof, lustful slightly unhinged, and cerebral women. Each story has a distinct voice and characters. There are some common threads across the stories including desire, ennui, envy, aspirations of self-actualization, and saying/performing your bad thoughts aloud.

It is difficult to pick a favorite story but the concepts and execution of a few stood out to me in particular. In “Ghost Baby”, a pre-child/proto-child spirit observes her would-be parents in dismay as their desires for one another decrease over time. In “Edging” a woman tries to arouse her distant love interest who is otherwise occupied channeling his sexual energy into more “meaningful pursuits”. In “The Contestants”, competitors on a Bachelor-style reality show bond in real life but play fight for the cameras. In “My New Life”, a woman discovers a new thrill. In “Earth to Lydia”, a woman trades in her shopping addiction for a new obsession. In “Watch Me”, a girlfriend housesitting for her boyfriend in his glamorous house suddenly remembers there is a security camera monitoring her actions.

I recommend this to anyone looking to spend a few hours reading a sharp, funny, and enthralling book featuring complex women who are not always wholly likable (though who is, really!?) and think that readers who enjoyed Elif Batuman’s The Idiot and/or the works of Sally Rooney and Ottessa Moshfegh will like this in particular.

Many thanks to the publisher, Knopf Doubleday, for the opportunity to read this via NetGalley.

I thought I was in a mooood for this book because I feel like i’m going through a mid-life crisis and thought this book would be relatable. Basically it’s a collection of fictional short stories about women who bare their bad thoughts for the reader to witness. There were a few short stories that were interesting and fun to read but mostly they were a jumble of thoughts. It was too much of a stream of consciousness for me to follow along so I did not finish.

One of those books that I should theoretically enjoy, but found it hard to finish. The characters in BAD THOUGHTS are messy, problematic, weird, desperate... which I love. But ultimately the prose felt disconnected from the human heart of these characters. Read more as satire. Unfortunately it wasn't for me but I respect the approach and can see this collection doing well at upmarket/literary edge.

A great collection of stories which will make you laugh and think. A bit dark at times, but always entertaining.

Some stories were better than others, but each was written with a distinct and clear voice, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time between these pages!

This is genuinely the funniest book I’ve ever read. Not one story in this collection bored me and that is truly a rarity. I loved the characters, the tone, the setting. A true testament to living in LA when you’re not wrapped up in the glitz and glam of Hollywood. I absolutely loved the random one-liners at the end of each story, it made me feel like I was going through the author’s twitter. I’m so excited to get my hands on a print copy of this and I cannot wait to read Alic’s future works.

Nada reads like a modern-day Susan Daitch - except one people will remember. She grimly presides over her subjects with the steady hand of a mortician. What more could you want as you're crawling out of the pandemic?