10 Best Books of Memorable Essays
Allow me to take you on a delightful journey through the keystrokes and pen nibs of the world's greatest thinkers, humorists, and visionaries. Buckle up as we dive into the cream of the crop collection of essay compilations - the top ten that have touched souls, sparked debates, inspired change and warmed hearts. From works that delve into the intricacies of human experiences to those that navigate the complex world of science; from intriguing historical narratives to thoughtful philosophical discourses, this line-up will leave your intellectual taste buds satisfied, yet craving for more.
These works represent voices rich in diversity - some contemporary, others timeless, but each noteworthy, each unforgettable. The master strokes of these maestros of the literary world will provide you windows into different parts of the globe, various cultures, contrasting eras and many perspectives. The words will make you smile, reflect, question, sympathize and, at times, even shed a tear or two.
It’s not just about a solid plot or fascinating characters. These essays, brimming with insights and wit, bring you solace, enlightenment and challenge your long-held beliefs. The world may be your oyster, but these collections are surely your pearls. Embark on this literary journey, and you won't regret a second spent!
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Price | unknown |
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Source | Google Books |
『White Girls』
"This book will change you." --Chicago Tribune White Girls is about, among other things, blackness, queerness, movies, Brooklyn, love (and the loss of love), AIDS, fashion, Basquiat, Capote, philosophy, porn, Eminem, Louise Brooks, and Michael Jackson. Freewheeling and dazzling, tender and true, it is one of the most daring and provocative books of recent years, an invaluable guide to the culture of our time.
Author | Hilton Als |
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Price | unknown |
Publisher | Penguin |
Release Date | Jul 09, 2019 |
Source | Google Books |
『The Book of My Lives』
A Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award For fans of Aleksandar Hemon's fiction, The Book of My Lives is simply indispensable; for the uninitiated, it is the perfect introduction to one of the great writers of our time. Aleksandar Hemon's lives begin in Sarajevo, a small, blissful city where a young boy's life is consumed with street soccer with the neighborhood kids, resentment of his younger sister, and trips abroad with his engineer-cum-beekeeper father. Here, a young man's life is about poking at the pretensions of the city's elders with American music, bad poetry, and slightly better journalism. And then, his life in Chicago: watching from afar as war breaks out in Sarajevo and the city comes under siege, no way to return home; his parents and sister fleeing Sarajevo with the family dog, leaving behind all else they had ever known; and Hemon himself starting a new life, his own family, in this new city. And yet this is not really a memoir. The Bookof My Lives, Hemon's first book of nonfiction, defies convention and expectation. It is a love song to two different cities; it is a heartbreaking paean to the bonds of family; it is a stirring exhortation to go out and play soccer—and not for the exercise. It is a book driven by passions but built on fierce intelligence, devastating experience, and sharp insight. And like the best narratives, it is a book that will leave you a different reader—a different person, with a new way of looking at the world—when you've finished. A Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Book of 2013
Author | Aleksandar Hemon |
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Price | $9.99 |
Publisher | Macmillan + ORM |
Release Date | Mar 19, 2013 |
Source | Google Books |
『Bad Feminist』
From the author of Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body, the New York Times Bestseller and Best Book of the Year at NPR, the Boston Globe, Newsweek, and many more A collection of essays spanning politics, criticism, and feminism from one of the most-watched young cultural observers of her generation, Roxane Gay. “Pink is my favorite color. I used to say my favorite color was black to be cool, but it is pink—all shades of pink. If I have an accessory, it is probably pink. I read Vogue, and I’m not doing it ironically, though it might seem that way. I once live-tweeted the September issue.” In these funny and insightful essays, Roxane Gay takes us through the journey of her evolution as a woman (Sweet Valley High) of color (The Help) while also taking readers on a ride through culture of the last few years (Girls, Django in Chains) and commenting on the state of feminism today (abortion, Chris Brown). The portrait that emerges is not only one of an incredibly insightful woman continually growing to understand herself and our society, but also one of our culture. Bad Feminist is a sharp, funny, and spot-on look at the ways in which the culture we consume becomes who we are, and an inspiring call-to-arms of all the ways we still need to do better, coming from one of our most interesting and important cultural critics.
Author | Roxane Gay |
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Price | unknown |
Publisher | Harper Perennial |
Release Date | Aug 05, 2014 |
Source | Google Books |
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Price | unknown |
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Release Date | |
Source | Google Books |
『The Empathy Exams』
A collection of essays explores empathy, using topics ranging from street violence and incarceration to reality television and literary sentimentality to ask questions about people's understanding of and relationships with others.
Author | Leslie Jamison |
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Price | unknown |
Publisher | |
Release Date | Apr 01, 2014 |
Source | Google Books |
『Tell Me How It Ends』
"Part treatise, part memoir, part call to action, Tell Me How It Ends inspires not through a stiff stance of authority, but with the curiosity and humility Luiselli has long since established." —Annalia Luna, Brazos Bookstore "Valeria Luiselli's extended essay on her volunteer work translating for child immigrants confronts with compassion and honesty the problem of the North American refugee crisis. It's a rare thing: a book everyone should read." —Stephen Sparks, Point Reyes Books "Tell Me How It Ends evokes empathy as it educates. It is a vital contribution to the body of post-Trump work being published in early 2017." —Katharine Solheim, Unabridged Books "While this essay is brilliant for exactly what it depicts, it helps open larger questions, which we're ever more on the precipice of now, of where all of this will go, how all of this might end. Is this a story, or is this beyond a story? Valeria Luiselli is one of those brave and eloquent enough to help us see." —Rick Simonson, Elliott Bay Book Company "Appealing to the language of the United States' fraught immigration policy, Luiselli exposes the cracks in this foundation. Herself an immigrant, she highlights the human cost of its brokenness, as well as the hope that it (rather than walls) might be rebuilt." —Brad Johnson, Diesel Bookstore "The bureaucratic labyrinth of immigration, the dangers of searching for a better life, all of this and more is contained in this brief and profound work. Tell Me How It Ends is not just relevant, it's essential." —Mark Haber, Brazos Bookstore "Humane yet often horrifying, Tell Me How It Ends offers a compelling, intimate look at a continuing crisis—and its ongoing cost in an age of increasing urgency." —Jeremy Garber, Powell's Books
Author | Valeria Luiselli |
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Price | unknown |
Publisher | Coffee House Press |
Release Date | Mar 13, 2017 |
Source | Google Books |
『Notes of a Native Son』
#26 on The Guardian's list of 100 best nonfiction books of all time, the essays explore what it means to be Black in America In an age of Black Lives Matter, James Baldwin's essays on life in Harlem, the protest novel, movies, and African Americans abroad are as powerful today as when they were first written. With films like I Am Not Your Negro and the forthcoming If Beale Street Could Talk bringing renewed interest to Baldwin's life and work, Notes of a Native Son serves as a valuable introduction. Written during the 1940s and early 1950s, when Baldwin was only in his twenties, the essays collected in Notes of a Native Son capture a view of black life and black thought at the dawn of the civil rights movement and as the movement slowly gained strength through the words of one of the most captivating essayists and foremost intellectuals of that era. Writing as an artist, activist, and social critic, Baldwin probes the complex condition of being black in America. With a keen eye, he examines everything from the significance of the protest novel to the motives and circumstances of the many black expatriates of the time, from his home in “The Harlem Ghetto” to a sobering “Journey to Atlanta.” Notes of a Native Son inaugurated Baldwin as one of the leading interpreters of the dramatic social changes erupting in the United States in the twentieth century, and many of his observations have proven almost prophetic. His criticism on topics such as the paternalism of white progressives or on his own friend Richard Wright’s work is pointed and unabashed. He was also one of the few writing on race at the time who addressed the issue with a powerful mixture of outrage at the gross physical and political violence against black citizens and measured understanding of their oppressors, which helped awaken a white audience to the injustices under their noses. Naturally, this combination of brazen criticism and unconventional empathy for white readers won Baldwin as much condemnation as praise. Notes is the book that established Baldwin’s voice as a social critic, and it remains one of his most admired works. The essays collected here create a cohesive sketch of black America and reveal an intimate portrait of Baldwin’s own search for identity as an artist, as a black man, and as an American.
Author | James Baldwin |
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Price | unknown |
Publisher | Beacon Press |
Release Date | Nov 20, 2012 |
Source | Google Books |
『We Are Never Meeting in Real Life.』
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • This essay collection from the “bitches gotta eat” blogger, writer on Hulu’s Shrill and HBO's And Just Like That, and “one of our country’s most fierce and foulmouthed authors” (Amber Tamblyn, Vulture) is sure to make you alternately cackle with glee and cry real tears. "A sidesplitting polemicist for the most awful situations.”—The New York Times Whether Samantha Irby is talking about how her difficult childhood has led to a problem in making “adult” budgets; explaining why she should be the new Bachelorette (she's "35-ish, but could easily pass for 60-something"); detailing a disastrous pilgrimage-slash-romantic-vacation to Nashville to scatter her estranged father's ashes; sharing awkward sexual encounters; or dispensing advice on how to navigate friendships with former drinking buddies who are now suburban moms (hang in there for the Costco loot!); she’s as deft at poking fun at the ghosts of her past self as she is at capturing powerful emotional truths. Don't miss Samantha Irby's bestselling new book, Quietly Hostile!
Author | Samantha Irby |
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Price | unknown |
Publisher | Vintage |
Release Date | May 30, 2017 |
Source | Google Books |
『They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us』
* 2018 "12 best books to give this holiday season" —TODAY (Elizabeth Acevedo) * A "Best Book of 2017" —Rolling Stone (2018), NPR, Buzzfeed, Paste Magazine, Esquire, Chicago Tribune, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, CBC, Stereogum, National Post, Entropy, Heavy, Book Riot, Chicago Review of Books, The Los Angeles Review, Michigan Daily * American Booksellers Association (ABA) 'December 2017 Indie Next List Great Reads' * Midwest Indie Bestseller In an age of confusion, fear, and loss, Hanif Abdurraqib's is a voice that matters. Whether he's attending a Bruce Springsteen concert the day after visiting Michael Brown's grave, or discussing public displays of affection at a Carly Rae Jepsen show, he writes with a poignancy and magnetism that resonates profoundly. In the wake of the nightclub attacks in Paris, he recalls how he sought refuge as a teenager in music, at shows, and wonders whether the next generation of young Muslims will not be afforded that opportunity now. While discussing the everyday threat to the lives of Black Americans, Abdurraqib recounts the first time he was ordered to the ground by police officers: for attempting to enter his own car. In essays that have been published by the New York Times, MTV, and Pitchfork, among others—along with original, previously unreleased essays—Abdurraqib uses music and culture as a lens through which to view our world, so that we might better understand ourselves, and in so doing proves himself a bellwether for our times.
Author | Hanif Abdurraqib |
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Price | $10.99 |
Publisher | Two Dollar Radio |
Release Date | Nov 14, 2017 |
Source | Google Books |
Bringing this cavalcade of literary jewels to a close, I can't help but feel a pang of envy for those of you yet to encounter these essay collections for the first time. Each of them carries its own unique weight and charm, enlightening, enriching, or provoking thought in unexpected yet soul-pleasing fashion. No two are the same, evoking mirth in one breath and melancholy in the next. Have your favorite cup of tea at hand, or perhaps a tall glass of something stronger; these are not necessarily fast reads. They demand contemplation and often a quiet place to think. Whether you're a seasoned essay connoisseur or an absolute newbie to the genre, these ten collections will not just satiate your appetite but will undoubtedly stoke the inferno of your love for literature and art. So, dive right in! There are worlds within these pages, waiting to unfold, to surprise, to enlighten, and to entertain. Liberation through literature - it’s not just a whimsical notion, but a powerful reality!
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