Reader's Corner: Essays
Looking for a good book to read but don't know where to start? This guide covers popular, award-winning, and just plain great nonfiction and fiction genres and books.
Staff Picks
A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance by
NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST * "A masterpiece" (Minneapolis Star Tribune), a "devastating" (The New York Times) meditation on Black performance in America from the MacArthur "Genius Grant" Fellow and bestselling author of Go Ahead in the Rain WINNER OF THE GORDON BURN PRIZE * LONGLISTED FOR THE ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL * LONGLISTED FOR THE PEN/DIAMONSTEIN-SPIELVOGEL AWARD * ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Chicago Tribune, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Publishers Weekly * ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New York Times Book Review, Time, The Boston Globe, NPR, Esquire, BuzzFeed, BookRiot, BookPage, The Rumpus, Library Journal "Gorgeous essays that reveal the resilience, heartbreak, and joy within Black performance."--Brit Bennett, author of The Vanishing Half At the March on Washington in 1963, Josephine Baker was fifty-seven years old, well beyond her most prolific days. But in her speech she was in a mood to consider her life, her legacy, her departure from the country she was now triumphantly returning to. "I was a devil in other countries, and I was a little devil in America, too," she told the crowd. Inspired by these few words, Hanif Abdurraqib has written a profound and lasting reflection on how Black performance is inextricably woven into the fabric of American culture. Each moment in every performance he examines--whether it's the twenty-seven seconds in "Gimme Shelter" in which Merry Clayton wails the words "rape, murder," a schoolyard fistfight, a dance marathon, or the instant in a game of spades right after the cards are dealt--has layers of resonance in Black and white cultures, the politics of American empire, and Abdurraqib's own personal history of love, grief, and performance. Abdurraqib writes prose brimming with jubilation and pain, infused with the lyricism and rhythm of the musicians he loves. With care and generosity, he explains the poignancy of performances big and small, each one feeling intensely familiar and vital, both timeless and desperately urgent. Filled with sharp insight, humor, and heart, A Little Devil in America exalts the Black performance that unfolds in specific moments in time and space--from midcentury Paris to the moon, and back down again to a cramped living room in Columbus, Ohio.
Call Number: PN1590.B53 A23 2021Publication Date: 2021-03-30
The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet by
Goodreads Choice winner for Nonfiction 2021 and instant #1 bestseller! A deeply moving collection of personal essays from John Green, the author of The Fault in Our Stars and Turtles All the Way Down. "The perfect book for right now." -People "The Anthropocene Reviewed is essential to the human conversation." -Library Journal, starred review The Anthropocene is the current geologic age, in which humans have profoundly reshaped the planet and its biodiversity. In this remarkable symphony of essays adapted and expanded from his groundbreaking podcast, bestselling author John Green reviews different facets of the human-centered planet on a five-star scale--from the QWERTY keyboard and sunsets to Canada geese and Penguins of Madagascar. Funny, complex, and rich with detail, the reviews chart the contradictions of contemporary humanity. As a species, we are both far too powerful and not nearly powerful enough, a paradox that came into sharp focus as we faced a global pandemic that both separated us and bound us together. John Green's gift for storytelling shines throughout this masterful collection. The Anthropocene Reviewed is a open-hearted exploration of the paths we forge and an unironic celebration of falling in love with the world.
Call Number: HM621 .G735 2021Publication Date: 2021-05-18
Graceland, at Last: Notes on Hope and Heartache from the American South by
An Indie Next Selection for September 2021 A 2022 Southern Book Prize Finalist A Country Living Best Book of Fall 2021 A Garden & Gun Recommended Read for Fall 2021 A Book Marks Best Reviewed Book of September 2021 A Literary Hub Most Anticipated Book of 2021 From the author of the bestselling #ReadWithJenna/TODAY Show book club pick Late Migrations: A Natural History of Love and Loss For the past four years, Margaret Renkl's columns have offered readers of The New York Times a weekly dose of natural beauty, human decency, and persistent hope from her home in Nashville. Now more than sixty of those pieces have been brought together in this sparkling new collection. "People have often asked me how it feels to be the 'voice of the South,'" writes Renkl in her introduction. "But I'm not the voice of the South, and no one else is, either." There are many Souths--red and blue, rural and urban, mountain and coast, Black and white and brown--and no one writer could possibly represent all of them. In Graceland, At Last, Renkl writes instead from her own experience about the complexities of her homeland, demonstrating along the way how much more there is to this tangled region than many people understand. In a patchwork quilt of personal and reported essays, Renkl also highlights some other voices of the South, people who are fighting for a better future for the region. A group of teenagers who organized a youth march for Black Lives Matter. An urban shepherd whose sheep remove invasive vegetation. Church parishioners sheltering the homeless. Throughout, readers will find the generosity of spirit and deep attention to the world, human and nonhuman, that keep readers returning to her columns each Monday morning. From a writer who "makes one of all the world's beings" (NPR), Graceland, At Last is a book full of gifts for Southerners and non-Southerners alike.
Call Number: PG3618.E5766 G73 2021Publication Date: 2021-09-14
On Animals by
NATIONAL BESTSELLER "Magnificent." --The New York Times * "Beguiling, observant, and howlingly funny." --San Francisco Chronicle * "Spectacular." --Star Tribune (Minneapolis) * "Full of astonishments." --The Boston Globe Susan Orlean--the beloved New Yorker staff writer hailed as "a national treasure" by The Washington Post and the author of the New York Times bestseller The Library Book--gathers a lifetime of musings, meditations, and in-depth profiles about animals. "How we interact with animals has preoccupied philosophers, poets, and naturalists for ages," writes Susan Orlean. Since the age of six, when Orlean wrote and illustrated a book called Herbert the Near-Sighted Pigeon, she's been drawn to stories about how we live with animals, and how they abide by us. Now, in On Animals, she examines animal-human relationships through the compelling tales she has written over the course of her celebrated career. These stories consider a range of creatures--the household pets we dote on, the animals we raise to end up as meat on our plates, the creatures who could eat us for dinner, the various tamed and untamed animals we share our planet with who are central to human life. In her own backyard, Orlean discovers the delights of keeping chickens. In a different backyard, in New Jersey, she meets a woman who has twenty-three pet tigers--something none of her neighbors knew about until one of the tigers escapes. In Iceland, the world's most famous whale resists the efforts to set him free; in Morocco, the world's hardest-working donkeys find respite at a special clinic. We meet a show dog and a lost dog and a pigeon who knows exactly how to get home. Equal parts delightful and profound, enriched by Orlean's stylish prose and precise research, these stories celebrate the meaningful cross-species connections that grace our collective existence.
Call Number: QL85 .O75 2021Publication Date: 2021-10-12
Essays
Pressed for time but still determined to fit in some reading? Try an essay collection. Essays run the gamut. They can be funny, serious, informative, challenging, and more. Choose the collection to suit your mood and interests.
Essay Collections: Booklists in the BPL Online Catalog
- 15 Must-Read Classic & Contemporary Essay CollectionsNew to essays? Choose from this selection of classic and contemporary collections and decide if this is a genre for you.
- Essays to Go: 21 Online Contemporary CollectionsThese contemporary collections cover a variety of topics and are all available in the very convenient eBook format. Whether you are new to essay collections or a fan, there should be something here for you.
- 10 Humorous Essay CollectionsTen laugh-out-loud essay collections.
- African-American Voices: EssaysEssays range from the personal to the political, from the humorous to the serious in this selection of classic and contemporary essay collections by African-American authors.
- Essays to Listen To: 15 Contemporary Collections Read by the AuthorCombine your enjoyment of audiobooks and essays by checking out one or more of these eclectic, author-narrated collections.
- On Nature: EssaysExplore the natural world with these essays collections from classic and contemporary nature writers.
- Contemporary Feminist Voices: EssaysThese essay collections explore the role of women in society from ancient to contemporary times.
- Mix and Match: Essay AnthologiesLooking for variety in your reading? Choose an essay anthology and enjoy reading the work of many different writers in the same volume.
Check out more BPL staff booklists.