Is being a young single woman in New York anything like the lifestyle of Carrie Bradshaw and co, or is it more of a Monica and Rachel-style struggle to survive (little money but a fabulous apartment)? According to Sloane Crosley's new book, it's neither. In this collection of idiosyncratic stories about her life, she talks about everything from why naps are great to her secret obsession with plastic ponies. Crosley flatly refuses to fall into any of the stereotypical traps of writing about twenty-something life in Manhattan, and her book is all the better for it. 

I Was Told There'd Be Cake by Sloane Crosley, £5.59 from Amazon.co.uk