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The best American essays 2015 (Best American series)
By Ariel Levy. 2015
Twenty-three previously published essays exploring moments in time, such as leaving an abusive marriage, becoming fanatic about your Fitbit, and…
saying goodbye to a beloved pair of pants. Authors include Meghan Daum, Anthony Doerr, Margo Jefferson, David Sedaris, Zadie Smith, and Rebecca Solnit. Violence, strong language, and some descriptions of sex. 2015The best American travel writing 2021 (The best American series)
By Padma Lakshmi, Jason Wilson. 2021
Collection of twenty-five previously published essays on traveling and experiencing cultures around the world, selected by television personality and host…
of Top Chef. Includes work by Kiese Makeba Laymon, author of Heavy (DB 93279), and Meghan Daum, author of The Problem with Everything (DB 97694). Strong language and some violence. 2021The best American essays 2014 (The best American series)
By John Jeremiah Sullivan. 2014
Collection of twenty-one previously published essays featuring works by Dave Eggers, author of Faraway Things (DB 103869); Yiyun Li, author…
of Where Reasons End (DB 93857); and Zadie Smith, author of Intimations (DB 100398). Styles include memoir, journalism, and reflection. Strong language, some violence, and some explicit descriptions of sex. 2014Strong female character
By Fern Brady. 2023
INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER • "Witty, dry, and gimlet-eyed, this is a necessary corrective in a world where Autistic women are all…
either written off as quiet and docile, or erased entirely." —Devon Price, Ph.D., author of Unmasking Autism Scottish comedian Fern Brady was told she couldn't be autistic because she'd had loads of boyfriends and is good at eye contact. In this frank and surreal memoir, she delivers a sharp and often hilarious portrait of neurodivergence and living unmasked. After reading about autism in her teens, Fern Brady knew instinctively that she had it—autism explained her sensory issues, her meltdowns, her inability to pick up on social cues—and she told her doctor as much. But it took until she was thirty-four for her to get diagnosed. Strong Female Character is about the years in between, and the unique combination of sexism and ableism that so often prevents autistic women from getting diagnosed until adulthood. Coming from a working-class Scottish Catholic family, Fern wasn’t exactly poised to receive an open-minded acceptance of her neurodivergence. With the piercing clarity and wit that has put her at the top of the British comedy scene, she now reflects on the ways her undiagnosed autism influenced her youth, from the tree that functioned as her childhood best friend to the psychiatric facility where she ended up when neither her parents nor school knew what to do with her. In a memoir as hilarious as it is heartbreaking, Fern leaves no stone unturned while detailing her futile attempts at employment, her increasingly destructive coping mechanisms, and the meltdowns that left her mind (and apartment) in ruins. Her chaotic, nonlinear journey—from stripping to getting arrested to finding a lifeline in comedy to her breakout appearance on the Taskmaster TV show as her full, unmasked self—is both a remarkable coming-of-age tale and a dark but poignant tribute to life at the intersection of womanhood and neurodiversity. Strong Female Character is a story of how being female can get in the way of being autistic and how being autistic gets in the way of being the 'right kind' of womanHow y'all doing?: misadventures and mischief from a life well lived
By Leslie Jordan. 2021
Viral sensation and Emmy Award-winner Leslie Jordan regales fans with entertaining stories about the odd, funny, and unforgettable events in…
his life in this unmissable essay collection that echoes his droll, irreverent voice. Jordan is one of the most consistently recognizable faces in popular entertainment. He appeared in the show 'Will & Grace' and will soon be on television again in Fox's 'Call Me Kat' alongside Mayim Bialik. Adult. UnratedHow to write about africa: Collected works
By Binyavanga Wainaina. 2023
From one of Africa’s most influential and eloquent essayists, a posthumous collection that highlights his biting satire and subversive wisdom…
on topics from travel to cultural identity to sexuality "A fierce literary talent . . . [Wainaina] shines a light on his continent without cliché."— The Guardian "Africa is the only continent you can love—take advantage of this. . . . Africa is to be pitied, worshipped, or dominated. Whichever angle you take, be sure to leave the strong impression that without your intervention and your important book, Africa is doomed." Binyavanga Wainaina was a pioneering voice in African literature, an award-winning memoirist and essayist, and a gatherer of literary communities. Before his tragic death in 2019 at the age of forty-seven, he won the Caine Prize for African Writing and was named one of Time ’s 100 Most Influential People. His wildly popular essay "How to Write About Africa," an incisive and unapologetic piece exposing the harmful and racist ways Western media depicts Africa with implicit bias and subjective clichés, changed the game for African writers and helped set the stage for a new generation of authors, from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie to Yaa Gyasi. When Wainaina published a "lost chapter" of his 2011 memoir as an essay called "I Am a Homosexual, Mum," which imagines coming out to his mother, he became a voice for the queer African community as well, adding a new layer to how African sexuality is perceived. How to Write About Africa collects these powerful pieces in a lively and imaginative set of essays about sexuality, art, history, and contemporary Africa. Wainaina’s writing is playful, robust, generous, and full-bodied. He describes the modern world with sensual, emotional, and psychological detail, giving us a full-color view of a country and continent. These works present a portrait of a giant in African literature who left a tremendous legacyThe best American essays 2019 (Best American series)
By Robert Atwan. 2019
Collection of twenty previously published essays featuring works by Rabih Alameddine, Alexander Chee, Elizabeth Kolbert, and Jia Tolentino. In "Obituary…
for Dead Languages," Heather Altfeld reflects on the deaths of languages when the last speaker dies and the impact of their loss. Violence and strong language. 2019Truth telling: Seven conversations about indigenous life in canada
By Michelle Good. 2023
A bold, provocative collection of essays exploring the historical and contemporary Indigenous experience in Canada. With authority and insight, Truth…
Telling examines a wide range of Indigenous issues framed by Michelle Good's personal experience and knowledge. From racism, broken treaties, and cultural pillaging, to the value of Indigenous lives and the importance of Indigenous literature, this collection reveals facts about Indigenous life in Canada that are both devastating and enlightening. Truth Telling also demonstrates the myths underlying Canadian history and the human cost of colonialism, showing how it continues to underpin modern social institutions in Canada. Passionate and uncompromising, Michelle Good affirms that meaningful and substantive reconciliation hinges on recognition of Indigenous self-determination, the return of lands, and a just redistribution of the wealth that has been taken from those lands without regard for Indigenous peoples. Truth Telling is essential reading for those looking to acknowledge the past and understand the way forwardRiding shotgun: women write about their mothers
By Kathryn Kysar. 2008
A group of America's celebrated literary women have come together to tackle a topic close to their hearts: Mom. These…
highly personal yet often universal stories offer windows into those influential mother-daughter moments that have forever shaped the lives and perspectives of the writers, powerful women-authors, spokespeople, scholars, teachers, and some mothers themselves. Adult. UnratedEvery war has two losers: William Stafford on peace and war
By William Stafford, Kim Stafford. 2003
Born the year World War I began, acclaimed poet William Stafford (1914-1993) spent World War II in a camp for…
conscientious objectors. Throughout a century of conflict he remained convinced that wars simply don't work. In his writings, Stafford showed it is possible-and crucial-to think independently when fanatics act, and to speak for reconciliation when nations take sides. He believed it was a failure of imagination to only see two options: to fight or to run away. In excerpts from his daily journal from 1951-1991, Stafford uses questions, alternative views of history, lyric invitations, and direct assessments of our political habits to suggest another way than war. UnratedThe Spokane River
By Paul Lindholdt. 2018
The Spokane River runs from Lake Coeur d'Alene to the Columbia River, shaping the land and its history. This collection…
of essays covers the river's history, geology, and the effects it has had on the people living on its banks. Adult. UnratedThe land between two rivers: writing in an age of refugees
By Tom Sleigh. 2018
These essays recount Tom Sleigh's experiences working as a journalist during several tours in Africa and in the Middle Eastern…
region once called Mesopotamia, "the land between two rivers." Sleigh asks three central questions: What did I see? How could I write about it? Why did I write about it? The first essays focus on the lives of refugees in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Kenya, Somalia, and Iraq. Under the conditions of military occupation, famine, and war, their stories can be harrowing, even desperate. But unlike their depiction in mass media, their stories are often laced with an undeluded hopefulness. The second part of this book explores how writing might be capable of honoring the texture of these individuals' experiences while remaining faithful to political emotions, rather than political convictions. The final essays meditate on youth, restlessness, illness, and Sleigh's motivations for writing his own experiences in order to move out into the world."--Back cover. Adult. UnratedThe never-ending present: the story of Gord Downie and the Tragically Hip
By Michael Barclay. 2018
In the summer of 2016, more than a third of Canadians tuned in to watch what was likely the Tragically…
Hip’s final performance, broadcast from their hometown of Kingston, Ontario. Why? Because these five men were always more than just a band. They sold millions of records and defined a generation of Canadian rock music. But they were also a tabula rasa onto which fans could project their own ideas: of performance, of poetry, of history, of Canada itself. Barclay talks to dozens of the band’s peers and friends about not just the Hip’s music but about the opening bands, the American albatross, the band’s role in Canadian culture, and Gord Downie’s role in reconciliation with Indigenous people. When Downie announced he had terminal cancer and decided to take the Hip on the road one more time, the tour became another Terry Fox moment; this time, Canadians got to witness an embattled hero reach the finish line. Bestseller. 2018.Medallion status: true stories from secret rooms
By John Hodgman. 2019
After spending most of his twenties pursuing a career as a literary agent, John Hodgman decided to try his own…
hand at writing. Following an appearance to promote one of his books on The Daily Show, he was invited to return as a contributor, serving as the show's "Resident Expert" and "Deranged Millionaire." This led to an unexpected and, frankly, implausible career in front of the camera. In these pages, Hodgman explores the strangeness of his career, speaking plainly of fame, especially at the weird, marginal level he has enjoyed--not only the surreal excitement of it, but also the drudgery of it, the emptiness of the status it conveys, and the hard moments of losing that status. Through these stories you will learn many things, such as what it's like to be invited to become an honorary member of an Ivy League secret society, only to be hazed and humiliated by the dapper young members of that club. Or how it feels when your TV gig is cancelled and you can console yourself with the fact that all of that travel that made your children feel so sad and abandoned at least left you with a prize: Platinum Medallion Status with your airline. Adult. UnratedGrass roots: the universe of home (The World As Home)
By Paul Gruchow. 1995
Winner of the Minnesota Book Award. In these eloquent essays, Paul Gruchow meditates on living with the land and reinvigorating…
the values of community. Combining personal reflection and memoir with a powerful look at the state of our rural towns and people, Gruchow postulates a society in which our lives are more than commodities and our land is more than an extension of our industriesGene Weingarten, nationally syndicated humor columnist and writer for The Washington Post, is the only two-time winner of the Pulitzer…
Prize for Feature Writing. His best-known story of Joshua Bell playing violin in D.C.'s subway brought Weingarten nationwide attention. Adult. Strong languageQuestions brûlantes: essais et textes de circonstance : 2004-2021 (Pavillons)
By Margaret Atwood. 2022
Compilation de plus de cinquante essais, récits et réflexions sur des sujets d'actualité du début du XXIe siècle : la…
crise climatique, la dette, l'essor de la technologie ou encore la libertéMise en forme
By Nicol Mikella. 2023
Après une rupture, la narratrice de Mise en forme voit ses repères lui échapper. Cloîtrée dans sa nouvelle chambre blanche,…
elle s'adonne à une pratique intensive du fitness, sculptant son corps pour reprendre le contrôle de sa vie. Mais les promesses des influenceuses ne l'aident pas à se sentir mieux. L'été suivant, en vacances à New York, elle accusera le choc de deux rencontres déterminantes : celles d'un inconnu hostile et d'un livre, The Red Parts de Maggie Nelson, qui lui feront mesurer ses forces et les dangers qui la guettent, elle et toutes les filles de la rue et du webNational dish: Around the world in search of food, history, and the meaning of home
By Anya Von Bremzen. 2023
In this engrossing and timely journey to the crossroads of food and identity award-winning writer Anya von Bremzen explores six…
of the world’s most fascinating and iconic culinary cultures—France, Italy, Japan, Spain, Mexico, and Turkey—brilliantly weaving cuisine, history, and politics into a work of scintillating connoisseurship and charm We all have an idea in our heads about what French food is—or Italian, or Japanese, or Mexican, or . . . But where did those ideas come from? Who decides what makes a national food canon? Recipient of three James Beard awards, Anya von Bremzen has written definitive cookbooks on Russian, Spanish, and Latin American cuisines, as well as her internationally acclaimed memoir Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking . Now in National Dish , she sets out to investigate the truth behind the eternal cliché—“we are what we eat”—traveling to six storied food capitals, going high and low, from world-famous chefs to scholars to strangers in bars, in search of how cuisine became connected to place and identity. Paris is where the whole idea of food as national heritage was first invented, and so it is where Anya must begin. With an inquisitive eye and unmistakable wit, she ponders the codification of French food and the current tension between locavorism and globalization. From France, she’s off to Naples, to probe the myth and reality of pizza, pasta, and Italian-ness. Next up, Tokyo, where Anya and her partner Barry explore ramen, rice, and the distance between Japan’s future and its past. From there they move to Seville, to search for the community-based essence of Spain’s tapas traditions, and then Oaxaca, where debates over postcolonial cultural integration find expression in maize and mole. In Istanbul, a traditional Ottoman potluck becomes a lens on how a former multicultural empire defines its food heritage. Finally, they land back in their beloved home in Queens, for a dinner centered on Ukrainian borsch, a meal that has never felt more loaded, or more precious and poignant. A unique and magical cook’s tour of the world, National Dish brings us to a deep appreciation of how the country makes the food, and the food the countryLa prière de l'épinette noire (Collection Papiers collés)
By Serge Bouchard. 2022
"L'épinette noire, gloire de la préhistoire, est une antenne qui nous relie à l'éternité. Elle nous insuffle une sagesse morose,…
une mélancolie du long cours. C'est l'arbre sur lequel je m'appuie, là où je repose mon esprit, mon dos brisé, mes jambes mortes. L'arbre sous lequel je bois ma tasse de thé, résolu, fatigué, heureux devant le petit feu qui sent si bon. Épinette noire de la Sainte-Corneille, épinette de l'écho du corbeau, bois de chauffage, épinette morte, perche de la maison conique, épinette de la boucane rassurante, bois dense et précieux qui consume le carburant des rangs solaires: tu es le Nord dans toute sa vérité épineuse.Ce livre posthume de Serge Bouchard fait suite à L'Allume-cigarette de la Chrysler noire (2019) et à Un café avec Marie (2021). Il se compose, comme ces deux recueils, de textes brefs, rédigés et lus par Serge Bouchard à l'émission radiophonique hebdomadaire C'est fou..., coanimée avec Jean-Philippe Pleau, qui signe la préface de ce livre. On y retrouve la même sensibilité poétique et la même sagesse moqueuse qui caractérisent la prose de Serge Bouchard, autour de thèmes qui l'ont toujours inspiré : la nature, la solidarité humaine, l'amitié avec les Autochtones, les bizarreries du monde actuel, la beauté, la mélancolie. On y entend à nouveau la voix si unique d'un écrivain majeur de notre temps qui, jusqu'à la toute fin, aura tenu à partager avec son public ses réflexions sur ce qui fait le sens même de nos existences."