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Vanities / Books

In Kiley Reid'sCome and Get It (Putnam), a professor obsesses over the class dynamics of an undergrad dorm suite and eavesdropping ensues. Here, Reid, also author ofSuchaFun Age,shares her inspirations.

RUNAWAY

by Larry Keigwin, 2008

After seeing this dance piece, which Reid calls a "bizarre combination of animal-like behavior and rigid mannequins" in 2010, "it stuck with me so much" that she wrote a modern dancer character into Come and Get It.

KNOCKING THE HUSTLE

by Lester Spence, 2015

This "transformative," "beautifully written" book—"specifically in its position against the political narrative of inevitability"— informed Reid's shaping of one character "for whom hustle is a cornerstone of her personality."

FUNNY GAMES

by Michael Haneke, 1997

Reid describes the film's "egg scene" as "a perfect example of characters breaking the rules of decorum, resulting in a fantastic low-level dread."