Lena Dunham to publish new novel one chapter at a time on Vogue, and you can vote on what happens

One of the things about self-isolating is that there’s really only so much time you can fill by watching Netflix or playing the new Animal Crossing. It’s a good idea to try new activities that you might not otherwise have much time or desire to do because, well, it’s better than risking the further spread of the coronavirus. So, before you read the headline up above and turn your nose up at this, maybe give it a try and expand your horizons a little bit. Any time you spend doing something is time not spent getting sick or getting someone else sick.

So, with that established: Vogue is going to be publishing a new novel from Girls’ Lena Dunham one chapter a day, Monday through Friday, starting today. It’s called Verified Strangers, and it’s about a 30-something woman who is “addicted to dating” and starts only going out with “verified strangers” (a “friend of a friend” in less-buzzy terms). As it turns out, this works too good and she starts “juggling relationships like she’s Don Draper.”

In another wacky twist, Vogue says that every other chapter will end on a cliffhanger, with readers on Vogue’s Instagram being able to vote on what should happen next. Dunham says she will stick to whatever the voters decide, and it sounds like she’ll really be writing this on the fly and not banking alternate versions of what happens, adding that it’s a “modern choose-your-own-adventure romance novel, written exclusively for quarantined singletons and the people who love them.” Now, again, before you register any particular reaction to this news, just remember that you don’t necessarily have anything better to do. You can read the first chapter at this link, and make sure to keep an eye out for any yetis or sharks that might play into your voting options.