After reading the first few chapters of By the Book, I'm invested in Anne Corey's life. She's slightly quirky and somewhat scattered, as well as an English professor at a university with plenty of student loan debt. At the start of a new school year, Anne learns that her ex-fiance is now the new college president and her new boss. It's been years since she's seen Adam, due to circumstances (unknown to readers) of their break-up. So far, the story is told from Anne's point-of-view.