Order of Jenny Offill Books
Jenny Offill is an American author who is best known for her books, Dept. of Speculation and Weather. Dept. of Speculation was named one of “The 10 Best Books of 2014” by The New York Times Book Review.
Offill grew up in numerous stats as the only child of two private-school English teachers. The family eventually settled in North Carolina where she attended high school and then went on to study at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. From there, she headed to Stanford University where she was a Stegner Fellow in Fiction. In addition to her work as an author, Jenny has worked as a teacher in the MFA programs at Brooklyn College, Syracuse University, Columbia University and Queens University of Charlotte.
Publication Order of Standalone Novels
| Last Things | (1999) |    |
| Dept. of Speculation | (2014) | |
| Weather | (2020) | |
Publication Order of Picture Books
| 17 Things I'm Not Allowed to Do Anymore | (2004) | |
| 11 Experiments That Failed | (2011) | |
| Sparky! | (2012) | |
| While You Were Napping | (2014) | |
Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books
| The Friend Who Got Away | (2005) | |
| Money Changes Everything | (2007) | |
If You Like Jenny Offill Books, You’ll Love…
Dept. of Speculation is the portrait of a marriage and a rumination on the mysteries of intimacy, trust, faith, and knowledge. When the couple was young they found it easy to imagine the future. They had a code name for it which they called “Dept. of Speculation”. Then the couple got married, had a child, and began navigating the familiar and dealing with stalled ambitions. When their marriage reaches a breaking point, the wife decides to retrace the steps that have led them here.
Offill is also the author of Weather. The book follows Lizzie who works in the library at a university where she was once a promising student. In addition, she has a side hustle where she answers letters for a podcast hosted by her former mentor, working as the unofficial shrink. However, as of late she has had trouble keeping a note of hope in her responses and has veered towards negativity. This crosses over into her life as a wife and mother as well, as she becomes obsessed with disaster psychology and people preparing for the end of the world.