Inviting & Anecdotal…Essays
Looking for something good to read? Have you thought of reading a book of essays? You may well ask: why read essays when there are plenty of novels? Why not read the compelling nonfiction book that explores a subject that interests you and is sitting at your bedside table? If you have never read a collection of essays, let me persuade you to give it a try. Entertaining and enlightening, essays can be a fun and satisfying read; we can learn a lot from reading a well-crafted, informative essay without feeling that we are reading a boring text-book; and, much like short stories, we do not have to finish reading the entire book. Due to the very disparate subject matter in any compilation of essays, we can pick and choose the chapters we want to read without feeling that we “missed out” because we did not read the book in its entirety.
Essays are not always about weighty subject matters such as race, religion, politics and politicians or even literary criticisms. Read Christopher Hitchens collections of essays, And, Yet... where no subject is unworthy of his attention. I laughed uproariously upon reading his essay about Brazilian bikini wax. Truly, Hitchens has a dazzling way with words and his acerbic wit makes reading his views, even on something as trite as losing weight, or waxing, very entertaining.
I love reading essays - especially reading collections of essays by some of my favorite authors whose novels I am familiar with. Self-contained vignettes, these essays give me a glimpse into the author’s personal views regarding a variety of subjects. I may agree with some of their opinions or I may disagree, but I always find their observations interesting as they share their personal thoughts in frank, impassioned and, often, incisive essays. As Zadie Smith writes in her second book of essays, Feel Free: “I feel this --do you? I’m struck by this thought—are you?”
Like many readers, I discovered Zadie Smith about eighteen years ago when I came upon her debut novel, White Teeth. I found the novel an engrossing and enjoyable read. Since then I have been an ardent reader of Smith’s books. Her first collection of essays, Changing My Mind: Occasional Essays, published in 2009, was a pleasure to read. (Its availability as a portable audio device made it extremely convenient to take along on long rambling walks). This eclectic collection of essays is divided into four sections: Reading, Being, Seeing, and Feeling. Smith’s views on Katherine Hepburn and Vladimir Nabokov, both of whom she idolized, are included in the Seeing and Reading sections respectively. I preferred the essays in the Feeling section, in particular the essay where she describes watching Fawlty Towers with her dying father, a “comedy snob,” in his cramped nursing home bedroom.
In the intoduction to her new book of essays, Feel Free, Smith notes that these essays were written during the eight years of the Obama presidency and “so are a product of a bygone world.” Similar to her previous book of essays, this collection of is also organized into sections. The five sections: In the World, In the Audience, In the Gallery, On the Bookshelf, and Feel Free contain topical issues such as our fascination with Facebook, our failure to address global warming, Brexit, Billie Holliday, rappers and libraries. In the World section, Smith writes: "Well-run libraries are filled with people because what a good library offers cannot be easily found elsewhere: an indoor public space in which you do not have to buy anything in order to stay. In the modern state there are very few sites where this is possible…Nor can the experience of library life be re-created online. It’s not just a matter of free books. A library is a different kind of social reality (of the three- dimensional kind), which by its very existence teaches a system of values beyond the fiscal…A library is one of those social goods that matter to people of many different political attitudes.” An astute observation, lucidly written—music to a librarian’s ears!
Imaginary Homelands: Essays and Criticisms, 1981-1991 by Salman Rushdie is a collection of essays that I would also recommend highly. I enjoyed reading the seventy five essays in this collection even more than I enjoyed reading his novels. Eloquent and concise, Rushdie’s views on race, religion, politics, Colonialism - and various other isms - as well as insights on fellow writers, are well worth the read. I have never been able to forget one poignant essay from this collection: “Is Nothing Sacred?” which is a beautifully written paean to books, and the importance of literature, which begins, “I grew up kissing books and bread.” Do check out this book and read the complete essay. I promise you, you will enjoy it immensely.
Last but not least, I would recommend reading two new books of essays: The Rub of Time: Bellow, Nabokov, Hitchens, Travolta, Trump: Essays and Reportage, 1994-2017 by Martin Amis and The Destiny Thief: Essays on Writing, Writers and Life by Richard Russo. Entertaining, thought-provoking, insightful and witty, the essays in both these books are worth reading.
I love reading essays - especially reading collections of essays by some of my favorite authors whose novels I am familiar with. Self-contained vignettes, these essays give me a glimpse into the author’s personal views regarding a variety of subjects. I may agree with some of their opinions or I may disagree, but I always find their observations interesting as they share their personal thoughts in frank, impassioned and, often, incisive essays. As Zadie Smith writes in her second book of essays, Feel Free: “I feel this --do you? I’m struck by this thought—are you?”
Like many readers, I discovered Zadie Smith about eighteen years ago when I came upon her debut novel, White Teeth. I found the novel an engrossing and enjoyable read. Since then I have been an ardent reader of Smith’s books. Her first collection of essays, Changing My Mind: Occasional Essays, published in 2009, was a pleasure to read. (Its availability as a portable audio device made it extremely convenient to take along on long rambling walks). This eclectic collection of essays is divided into four sections: Reading, Being, Seeing, and Feeling. Smith’s views on Katherine Hepburn and Vladimir Nabokov, both of whom she idolized, are included in the Seeing and Reading sections respectively. I preferred the essays in the Feeling section, in particular the essay where she describes watching Fawlty Towers with her dying father, a “comedy snob,” in his cramped nursing home bedroom.
Imaginary Homelands: Essays and Criticisms, 1981-1991 by Salman Rushdie is a collection of essays that I would also recommend highly. I enjoyed reading the seventy five essays in this collection even more than I enjoyed reading his novels. Eloquent and concise, Rushdie’s views on race, religion, politics, Colonialism - and various other isms - as well as insights on fellow writers, are well worth the read. I have never been able to forget one poignant essay from this collection: “Is Nothing Sacred?” which is a beautifully written paean to books, and the importance of literature, which begins, “I grew up kissing books and bread.” Do check out this book and read the complete essay. I promise you, you will enjoy it immensely.Last but not least, I would recommend reading two new books of essays: The Rub of Time: Bellow, Nabokov, Hitchens, Travolta, Trump: Essays and Reportage, 1994-2017 by Martin Amis and The Destiny Thief: Essays on Writing, Writers and Life by Richard Russo. Entertaining, thought-provoking, insightful and witty, the essays in both these books are worth reading.
- Rina B.
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