left on read

Love in the age of screenshots, nudes and getting ghosted

Whether you're doomscrolling at midnight, checking out who viewed your story (for 56th time in an hour) or wondering why someone opened your message but never replied, the stories inside left on read will make you feel seen in ways that are comforting, deeply unsettling and sometimes, outright traumatising.

Because deep down, you know this isn't really fiction.

"McKay's senses are finely tuned to modern social dynamics... everyone appears caught in the digital maelstrom from which there is no escape." - James Flynn, author

left on read is a collection that captures exactly how it feels to be human in 2025:

desperate for connection, addicted to validation, and slowly losing yourself one notification at a time.

g.c. mckay has written the stories you're currently living.

We've got...

an OnlyFans girl with Belle Delphine pipe dreams

a personal confession a la the 'I've never had a girlfriend' YouTube craze

facetiming revenge plots

the etymology of 'sauce'

instagram poetry

a #NoFap hub addict with a parasocial obsession

and a story plucked out of a self-deleting, online cult

all sealed with a salacious kiss from Lana Del Rey

and a little je ne sais quoi

We've all been left on read, and these painful, hilarious and horrifying stories will show you exactly why it cuts so deep.

"Something else I find worth mentioning, is how this book manages to serve as a social critique in the most beautiful way possible. As I said earlier, the author can navigate grotesque and difficult topics with a kind of beauty that's hard to achieve." - Goodreads reviewer

Perfect for readers who loved:

Rejection by Tony Tulathimutte (for the brutal digital-age humour)

any book considered a dating red flag

and any Black Mirror episode that made you delete an app

Warning: Contains explicit content of all varieties (mostly in the bedroom), psychological manipulation and uncomfortable truths about modern loneliness. For mature readers only.

"There's a lot that's challenging and heartbreaking, but all of it is beautiful... left on read highlights what is currently true in our society." - Lauren Sapala, author