Litsy

The Position of Spoons: And Other Intimacies | Deborah Levy

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Another win for me from Levy. These essays are concise and sharp, on topics ranging from writers and visual artists, to shoes and driving. Listening sent me on a few searches for other books she mentioned. I loved all of these essays, and loved getting a glimpse into this brilliant mind. The audio is also spectacular.

31 likes1 stack add

GatheringBooks

Upstream: Selected Essays | Mary Oliver

#ARichLife Day 25: #Leaves

Eggs, Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

SamAnne Love this. Recently read this collection. 2d

32 likes1 comment

LeafingThroughLife

The Book of Delights | Ross Gay

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Ross Gay took a year to chronicle the small joys in his life, and it is, well, delightful. While he doesn‘t shy away from those things in this world that are definitely not good, among those he finds countless delights that made me smile and laugh and look for the good around me. He narrates the audio, and his narration makes it even better.

Sparklemn I adore this audiobook. So glad you enjoyed it! 2d

16 likes1 comment

Bookwormjillk

The Land of Sweet Forever: Stories and Essays | Harper Lee

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I was worried about this short story/essay collection after Go Set A Watchman, but I actually quite liked it. Some of these have previously been published, but they were all new to me. My favorite was Lee‘s recollection of the time when her friends gave her a year‘s salary so she could take the year off to write.

62 likes

ohheyalibrarian

Authority: Essays | Andrea Long Chu

There is no keeping politics out of criticism. There is only regulating the flow of traffic.

Melismatic

Slouching Towards Bethlehem | Joan Didion

Was unsure of where to start for this month‘s #AuthorAMonth and this was available on Spotify so I started today. Pleasantly surprised to find this essay collection is narrated by actor Maya Hawke, as we‘re in rewatch prep mode for the new season of Stranger Things. 🤷🏻‍♀️😂

Soubhiville

Soubhiville I‘m gearing up for the new season too! 1w

Bookwormjillk I‘m ready for closure on Stranger Things! 1w

39 likes2 comments

ImperfectCJ

Why I Love Horror: Essays on Horror Literature | Becky Siegel Spratford

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This essay collection leaves me feeling seen. Like the authors here, I have loved horror from a young age, and in their essays I see many of the things that keep me returning to the genre. They also give me a sense of community as a horror lover, or at least the kind of connection that my father-in-law has with other Corvette drivers---a little secret wave that indicates our shared idiosyncrasy (or weirdness. I'm cool with being seen as weird).

AnnCrystal I like being seen as weird too 😉👍🏼. A neighborhood kid once told my mom and I, “your the strange ones,“ which perplexed us, but then made us laugh. We have officially achieved our goal of being seen as our neighborhood's “Addams Family“ household 😂🤣🤗🥳👍🏼💝. 2w

Reggie I loved this book. I loved the essay by Keene, Hendrix, and Demchuk. 1w

ImperfectCJ @Reggie There were several new-to-me authors (including Keene and Demchuk), and I added so many books to my TBR. This collection helped me to more fully embrace my horror-loving side. LaValle's essay about being tacitly dissuaded from genre fiction in undergrad writing classes resonated with me, too. And Due's family history...wow! 1w

43 likes3 comments

Ruthiella

Trick Mirror | Jia Tolentino

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A soft pick. I picked this up because the essay about Tolentino‘s reality TV stint was referenced in “You Wanna Be on Top?” by Sara Hartshorne. Generally I found the collection to be interesting and smart, but maybe it‘s my attention span, the essays were all too long for me - about 30 pages each. I thought a lot about what I‘d have asked her to cut were I her editor. That said, essays aren‘t my usual fare.

#37by37 (only two more books to go!).

MatchlessMarie

Billypar I felt the same. There weren't any essays that I disliked, and all had interesting moments, but I didn't fall in love with any either. I still need to post a review of the tagged essay collection, my favorite in some time. A few are pretty long, but all well worth it.

Thin Places: Essays from In Between

Ruthiella @Billypar Glad I‘m not alone! I rarely read nonfiction and even more rare is an essay collection, so I don‘t have a good idea of what I like the way I do when it comes to fiction and genre. 2w

MatchlessMarie I think most essay collections I read average about 3 ⭐️ for me. Or short story collections too. It‘s kind of inevitable that a whole collection can‘t win you over. 🧁 (edited) 1w

Ruthiella @MatchlessMarie That‘s fair. I also rarely read short story collections. I suspect the short form just isn‘t my style in fiction or nonfiction. 1w

55 likes4 comments