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Author
Language
English
Description
Though Mark Twain is best remembered as perhaps the quintessential American humor writer, he was also a keen observer and critic of cultural and social trends. In this vein, he undertook a book-length discussion and analysis of Christian Science and New Thought, both of which enjoyed immense popularity in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in the United States. The controversial text was originally rejected by Twain's publisher, a gesture
...Author
Pub. Date
2018.
Language
English
Description
A collection of both previously unpublished works and classic essays includes discussions of recent cultural and political events, social networking, libraries, and the failure to address global warming.
"Since she burst spectacularly into view with her debut novel, White Teeth, almost two decades ago, Zadie Smith has established herself not just as one of the world's preeminent fiction writers, but also as a brilliant and singular essayist. She...
4) Calypso
Author
Language
English
Description
When he buys a beach house on the Carolina coast, David Sedaris envisions long, relaxing vacations spent playing board games and lounging in the sun with those he loves most. And life at the Sea Section, as he names the vacation home, is exactly as idyllic as he imagined, except for one tiny, vexing realization: it's impossible to take a vacation from yourself. Sedaris sets his powers of observation toward middle age and mortality, that vertiginous...
Author
Language
English
Description
"The beloved New York Times bestselling author reflects on home, family, friendships and writing in this deeply personal collection of essays"--Provided by publisher.
""Any story that starts will also end." As a writer, Ann Patchett knows what the outcome of her fiction will be. Life, however, often takes turns we do not see coming. Patchett ponders this truth in these wise essays that afford a fresh and intimate look into her mind and heart. At...
Author
Pub. Date
2022.
Language
English
Description
The best-selling author offers a new collection of satirical and humorous essays that chronicle his own life and ordinary moments that turn beautifully absurd, including how he coped with the pandemic, his thoughts on becoming an orphan in his seventh decade, and the battle-scared America he discovered when he resumed touring.
Author
Language
English
Description
In Emmy Award-winning writer and producer Jessi Klein's second collection, she hilariously explodes the cultural myths and impossible expectations around motherhood and explores the humiliations, poignancies, and possibilities of midlife. Klein explores this stage of life in all its cruel ironies, joyous moments, and bittersweetness.
The best-selling author and Emmy Award-winning writer and producer hilariously destroys the cultural myths and impossible...
10) The hidden life of trees: what they feel, how they communicate : discoveries from a secret world
Author
Series
Mysteries of nature trilogy volume 1
Language
English
Description
Are trees social beings? Forester and author Peter Wohlleben makes the case that, yes, the forest is a social network. He draws on groundbreaking scientific discoveries to describe how trees are like human families: tree parents live together with their children, communicate with them, support them as they grow, share nutrients with those who are sick or struggling, and even warn each other of impending dangers. Wohlleben also shares his deep love...
Author
Language
English
Description
"Here, in these four crisp essays on writing and reading by the internationally bestselling author of My Brilliant Friend and The Lying Life of Adults, Ferrante offers a rare look at the origins of her literary powers. She writes about her influences, her struggles, and her formation as both a reader and a writer; she describes the perils of "bad language" and suggests ways in which it has long excluded women's truth; she proposes a choral fusion...
Author
Pub. Date
2017.
Language
English
Description
With heartfelt candor and her usual side-splitting bite, humorist, essayist, and blogger at bitchesgottaeat.com Samantha Irby captures powerful emotional truths while chronicling the disaster that has been her life. An ill-fated pilgrimage and romantic vacation to Nashville to scatter her estranged father's ashes, awkward sexual encounters, a Bachelorette application gone awry, and more-- sometimes you just have to laugh, even when your life is a...
Author
Language
English
Description
"We live in a culture of casual certitude. This has always been the case, no matter how often that certainty has failed. Though no generation believes there's nothing left to learn, every generation unconsciously assumes that what has already been defined and accepted is (probably) pretty close to how reality will be viewed in perpetuity. And then, of course, time passes. Ideas shift. Opinions invert. What once seemed reasonable eventually becomes...
Author
Language
English
Description
"Welcome to the Coral Lounge, a room in Helen Ellis's New York City apartment painted such an exuberant shade of Sherman Williams that a peeping Tom once left a sticky note with the doorman asking for the color. It is in the Coral Lounge that the magic of Helen's marriage unfolds: Shindigs where strangers swap clothing in the powder room, a party game called "What's in the box?" makes its uproarious debut, the Puzzle Posse pounces on a 500-piece jigsaw...
Author
Language
English
Description
He is an American treasure; a clear-eyed fantasist without peer; a literary icon who has created wonder for the better part of seven decades. He has a moon crater named after him and a star on Hollywood Boulevard's Walk of Fame. He has been honored with prizes galore. He has inspired generations of readers to dream, think, invent, believe, and fly. Collected between these covers are memories, ruminations, opinions, prophecies, and philosophies from...
Author
Language
English
Appears on these lists
Description
"The compelling, inspiring, and comically sublime story of one man's coming-of-age, set during the twilight of apartheid and the tumultuous days of freedom that followed,"--Amazon.com.
Noah's path from apartheid South Africa to the desk of The Daily Show began with a criminal act: his birth. Born to a white Swiss father and a black Xhosa mother, at the time such a union was punishable by five years in prison. As he struggles to find himself in a...
Author
Language
English
Description
"In this new collection of essays that are mostly about the life part, the author writes about e-mail, parenthood, the mental scars that dodgeball can leave, and what she really should have done about a skunk before it thought it owned more of her house than she did. The shrewd insights about everyday escapades--both touching and humorous--are honest, entertaining, and about stuff that we all understand: life, kids, falling down, and the amazing thing...
18) Live Wire
Author
Language
English
Description
'Live Wire' is a sharp, funny, and honest collection of real-life stories from Kelly Ripa, showing the many dimensions and crackling wit of the beloved daytime talk show host.
Author
Series
Language
English
Appears on list
Description
"A collection of essays that focuses on the journey from frantic and tired to connected and free and encourages readers to experience the unconditional love of God in a way that sets them free from the pressure to perform and to maintain an image of perfection"--
Author
Language
English
Description
A highly influential figure in the Church of England, John Henry Newman stunned the Anglican community in 1843, when he left his position as vicar of St. Mary's, Oxford, to join the Roman Catholic church. Perhaps no one took greater offense than Protestant clergyman Charles Kingsley, whose scathing attacks against Newman's faith and honor inspired this brilliant response. Apologia Pro Vita Sua, Newman's spiritual autobiography, explores the depths...