Miranda July's 'It Chooses You' is this weirdly beautiful blend of documentary and fiction that feels like stumbling into someone else’s dreams. The book follows July as she interviews strangers she finds through classified ads in the LA Weekly while she’s supposedly procrastinating on writing her screenplay. The conversations are intimate, sometimes awkward, and often unexpectedly profound—like this one guy who sells his used underwear, or an elderly woman who just wants to chat about her late husband. It’s less about the plot and more about these fleeting human connections, all while July’s own creative block looms in the background.
The spoiler-ish part? The book culminates in July casting one of the interviewees, Joe, in her film 'The Future.' There’s this surreal moment where life and art collide, and you see how these random encounters shaped her work. It’s not a traditional narrative with twists, but the emotional payoff is huge—like watching someone’s loneliness dissolve into something communal. The whole thing left me thinking about how stories hide in the most mundane places, and how creativity often thrives on serendipity.
Reading 'It Chooses You' feels like peeking into Miranda July’s diary—if her diary were full of bizarre, tender encounters with strangers. The book documents her project of meeting people who placed ads in a local paper, from a man selling a ‘pussycat doll’ to another offering ‘friendship.’ The interviews are raw and unfiltered, revealing these tiny, heartbreaking universes. July’s own voice is self-deprecating and funny, especially when she admits how terrified she is of finishing her screenplay. The line between observer and participant blurs constantly.
For spoilers: the most haunting section involves Joe, a depressed middle-aged man who becomes part of her film. Their dynamic shifts from interviewer-subject to something messier—almost collaborative. The book’s climax isn’t explosive; it’s quiet, like realizing you’ve witnessed something sacred. July doesn’t romanticize poverty or loneliness, but she treats her subjects with such dignity that their stories linger. I finished it feeling like I’d been handed a bunch of fragile, secondhand treasures.
'It Chooses You' is like a love letter to the people society overlooks. Miranda July turns small ads—selling knickknacks, offering services—into portals for these deeply personal stories. There’s no grand plot twist, but the book’s power lies in its accumulation of details: the way a teenage girl describes her pet bird, or how an elderly man insists on showing July his collection of vintage cameras. The spoiler-free vibe is ‘slice of life,’ but if you want specifics, the book’s emotional core is Joe, whose interview becomes a turning point. July’s decision to include him in her film feels like a quiet rebellion against disposable interactions. It’s a reminder that everyone has a story worth hearing, even if it’s just scribbled in a classifieds section.
2026-03-26 01:32:50
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Choosing You
Jaycee Leigh
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I've crushed on Ethan McKay since the moment I laid eyes on him. After a year and a half of going to the same college, he still has no clue I exist. Aside from my best friend, I'm practically invisible since I've spent the last seven years of my life purposefully living in the shadows, just waiting for my life to begin. Not that it matters. He's got his own life to live anyway. Parties to attend. Girls to see. And a father to impress so he can regain his trust, and earn back his rightful place in the family business. So, how is it that one night, one party, changes everything for the both of us?
Step 1: Go to college. Check.
Step 2: Find a job. No luck.
Step 3: Start a family. Whoa, one thing at a time.
Alicia Chambers was stuck on Step 2. No matter how many resumes she sent out, she couldn’t find a job in her dream field: phone app development. It seemed like most successful apps were started by a single inspired person in their basement, including the most recent craze, Monster Go.
If only Alicia could find her own inspiration for an app…
Drawn into the game (research, she told herself), she meets a mysterious stranger who also plays. He’s perfect for her: rich, handsome, and nerdy. However, despite formerly being in app development himself, Jacob seems to have left it all behind.
Between romantic dates and catching monsters, Alicia finds herself growing closer to the mysterious man. But when she learns something that he deliberately kept hidden, will she flee his secretive life?
Will she let him know her own secret- that she’s carrying a little gift from all their time “playing” together?
I Choose You is a standalone romance novel. If you like new adult stories, you’ll enjoy this story of two people finding love over a phone app.
When Serena learns that the new investor at her design firm is Ethan Cole, her husband, she already knows she is about to lose.
Not because her work is weak, but because her rival Yvonne is Ethan's unforgettable first love.
For years, Serena has fought Yvonne over everything: family, status, love, and now career. But after one more public humiliation, Serena finally stops competing.
This time, she gives up Ethan and chooses herself.
She was sent into his house as a weapon.
He let her in knowing exactly what she was.
The curse in her blood has killed every man who ever got close, but he doesn't care. He just watches her with those calm, knowing eyes like he has already seen every move she is going to make.
She wants to destroy him.
He refuses to let her go.
And somewhere between the poison, the lies, and the dead bodies they keep stepping over, something far more dangerous than the curse starts to grow between them.
They were never supposed to survive each other.
That was always the plan.
Neither of them knew.
When Avery moves to a new town after a family tragedy, the only person she trusts is Dante, the stepbrother who became her safe place. Their bond is built on late-night secrets and the unspoken promise that they will always choose each other.
Then Grayson Hayes, the town’s golden boy, enters her world.
What begins as a harmless dare—make Grayson fall in love and prove she can walk away—quickly becomes something real. As Avery starts to see a future beyond the life Dante built around her, the fragile balance between them begins to crack.
When the truth behind the game explodes in front of the entire school, friendships shatter, loyalties are tested, and Avery is forced to decide who she truly wants to be.
Because sometimes the hardest choice isn’t who loves you.
It’s the person you choose back.
Ezra’s never been wanted.
An omega with no pack, no rank, and a mouth that gets him in trouble, he’s spent most of his life just trying to stay invisible. In a world where alphas rule and omegas are expected to kneel, Ezra has learned one thing: keep your head down, and maybe you’ll survive.
Then Kael chose him.
Kael—powerful, cursed, and heir to a crumbling legacy—was supposed to pick the perfect mate. Someone noble. Obedient. Safe.
But under the moonlight, in front of the entire shifter council, he broke every law and claimed Ezra—the outcast nobody.
Now Ezra’s caught in a bond he never asked for, tethered to an alpha who’s barely holding back the monster inside him. Their connection is dangerous. Their enemies are gathering. And as Ezra starts to feel something real for Kael…
He can’t help but wonder:
What if the wolf who chose him is the one who will destroy him?
I stumbled upon 'It Chooses You' almost by accident, tucked away in a corner of a used bookstore. The ending left me sitting there for a good half-hour, just processing. Without spoiling too much, it wraps up with this quiet, almost bittersweet moment where the protagonist finally confronts the idea of choice—not just the choices they’ve made, but the ones that seem to 'choose' them, like fate or circumstance. There’s a scene where they’re standing in the rain, and it’s like the weight of everything clicks into place. The author doesn’t tie things up with a neat bow, though. It’s messy, human, and leaves you wondering about your own 'choices.' The last line is a gut punch in the best way, one of those lines you underline and revisit when you’re feeling lost.
What I love about it is how it mirrors real life. So often, we think we’re making decisions, but looking back, it feels like something else was guiding us—whether it’s chance, subconscious desires, or something we can’t name. The book doesn’t answer that question, but it makes you sit with it. I finished it and immediately wanted to talk to someone about it, to compare interpretations. That’s the mark of a great story, isn’t it?