Life gets complicated. Sometimes there just isn’t time to delve into a lengthy novel. One solution to a temporary lack of time to read is to choose a collection of essays. When you only have a bit of time, be sure to pick up one of the following books and take a few moments to enjoy an author who is being concise, witty, or thoughtful in another form of writing:
Cool, Calm and Contentious - Merrill Markoe
Originally the head writer for David Letterman, Markoe offers here personal essays that veer from the hilarious (reading her Mother’s diaries and reflecting on her own Mother’s parenting) to the serious (her awakening years as a rebellious student at Berkeley.)
This I Believe I & II – Personal Essays of Remarkable Men and Women
Each volume contains a hand-selected collection of 80 essays from the hundreds submitted for the weekly NPR radio program. In a short piece, each of these Americans, some famous, most not, expresses their personal beliefs about what powers their lives on a daily and more general level.
Small Wonder - Barbara Kingsolver
Covering a wide range of topics, Kingsolver reflects on life in America, the challenges of families, and travel to other countries. She has a gift for explaining her thoughts and an almost endless font of optimism about human beings.
The best American essays 2011, 2010, 2009…
Don’t miss this annually published collection of the best non-fiction essays written each year by masters of the genre. There are surprises from authors you thought you knew and a diversity of subject matter (from revelations about man’s best friend to the orbit of the moon.)
Me Talk Pretty One Day – David Sedaris
If you haven’t read the quirky and entertaining Sedaris, you should start with this compilation of his commentaries and observations. He discusses the hazards of learning another language as an adult and his early life with his micro-manager Father, Lou.
