Essays

David Sedaris once again captures what is most unexpected, hilarious, and poignant about these recent upheavals, personal and public, and expresses in precise language both the misanthropy and desire for connection that drive us all....

With Calypso, Sedaris sets his formidable powers of observation - and humor - toward middle age and mortality....

An extraordinary work from the author of The Year of Magical Thinking and Blue Nights

Number-one best-selling author John Green presents a deeply moving and insightful collection of personal essays adapted and expanded from his groundbreaking podcast....

James Baldwin galvanized the nation in the early days of the civil-rights movement with his eloquent manifesto....

A collection of confessions from women around the world, Want is a revelatory, sensational and game-changing exploration of women’s sexuality that asks, and answers: How do women feel about sex when they have the freedom to be totally anonymous?

One of the most influential works of this century, The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays is a crucial exposition of existentialist thought....

Walking in My Joy is a collection of electric stories by the one and only, super hilarious Jenifer Lewis. Her commentary on what’s happening in the world today, told through her outrageous real-life adventures, will have you laughing out loud, while her insightful messages touch your soul....

David Sedaris’s best stories and essays, spanning his remarkable career - as selected and read by the author himself. Featuring fresh and classic recordings, including a new essay and an interview exclusive to the audiobook....

In 1831, Alexis de Tocqueville, a young French aristocrat and civil servant, made a nine-month journey through the eastern United States....

Celebrated, iconic, and indispensable, Joan Didion’s first work of nonfiction, Slouching Towards Bethlehem, is considered a watershed moment in American writing. First published in 1968, the collection was critically praised as one of the “best prose written in this country.”

In Dad is Fat, stand-up comedian Jim Gaffigan, who’s best known for his legendary riffs on Hot Pockets, bacon, manatees, and McDonald's, expresses all the joys and horrors of life with five young children....

The best-selling author of The Bomber Mafia focuses on "minor geniuses" and idiosyncratic behavior to illuminate the ways all of us organize experience in this "delightful" (Bloomberg News) collection of writings from The New Yorker....

Ross Gay’s The Book of Delights is a genre-defying collection of essays that record the small joys that occurred in one year, from birthday to birthday, and that we often overlook in our busy lives....

The Memory Palace is a collection of tiny, crystalline historical tales that come across like luminous short fiction, and, like Nate DiMeo’s acclaimed podcast of the same name, conjure lost moments and forgotten figures who are calling out across time to be remembered.

The great insights of the Stoics are spread over a wide range of ancient sources. This book brings them all together for the first time. It systematically presents what the various Stoic philosophers said on every important topic, accompanied by an eloquent commentary that is clear and concise....

The collection of 10 absorbing tales by master psychotherapist Irvin D. Yalom uncovers the mysteries, frustrations, pathos, and humor at the heart of the therapeutic encounter....

“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....

In ten brilliantly written chapters, Stephen King delivers one colorful observation after another about the great stories, books, and films that comprise the horror genre—from Frankenstein and Dracula to The Exorcist, The Twilight Zone, and Earth vs. The Flying Saucers.

First published in 1979, Joan Didion's The White Album records indelibly the upheavals and aftermaths of the 1960s. Examining key events, figures, and trends of the era—through the lens of her own spiritual confusion, Joan Didion helped to define mass culture as we now understand it.

Spanning more than 35 years of work, the first comprehensive collection of essays, criticism, and articles by the legendary author of the Harlem Renaissance, Zora Neale Hurston, showcasing the evolution of her distinctive style as an archivist and author....

From New York Times bestselling author Ross Gay comes an intimate and electrifying collection of essays about the joy that comes from connection.

In Thomas Ligotti's first nonfiction outing, an examination of the meaning (or meaninglessness) of life through an insightful, unsparing argument that proves the greatest horrors are not the products of our imagination but instead are found in reality.

In I’m Laughing Because I’m Crying, Youngmi jokes through the retelling of her childhood as an offbeat biracial kid in Saipan, a place next to a place that Americans might know. She jokes through her difficult adolescence where she must parent her own parents.

In this surprising essay, international bestselling humor writer David Sedaris shares the rewards of a book tour and his devoted readers’ worst-kept secrets....

In November 1999, Joan Didion began seeing a psychiatrist because, as she wrote to a friend, her family had had “a rough few years.” She described the sessions in a journal she created for her husband, John Gregory Dunne. For several months, Didion recorded conversations with the psychiatrist in meticulous detail. The initial sessions focused on alcoholism, adoption, depression, anxiety, guilt, and the heartbreaking complexities of her relationship with her daughter, Quintana. The subjects evolved to include her work, which she was finding difficult to maintain for sustained periods.

Annie Jones always assumed adulthood would mean adventure: a high-powered career; life in a big, bustling city; and travels to far-flung places she’d longed to see. But her reality turned out differently. As the years passed, Annie was still in the same small town running an independent bookstore—the kind of life Nora Ephron dreamed.

Pathemata, Or, The Story of My Mouth is an experiment in interiority written in the pandemic studio. Something of a companion piece to 2009’s Bluets, Pathemata merges a pain diary chronicling a decade of jaw pain with dreams and dailies, eventually blurring the lines between embodied, unconscious, and everyday life.

Since her canonical 2017 essay “On Liking Women,” the Pulitzer Prize-winning critic Andrea Long Chu has established herself as a public intellectual straight out of the 1960s. With devastating wit and polemical clarity, she defies the imperative to leave politics out of art, instead modeling how the left might brave the culture wars without throwing in with the cynics and doomsayers. Authority brings together Chu’s critical work across a wide range of media—novels, television, theater, video games—as well as an acclaimed tetralogy of literary essays first published in n+1.

Based on two lectures Woolf delivered at the University of Cambridge, A Room of One’s Own compellingly argues for women’s intellectual freedom and the importance of financial independence. It is still considered one of the most powerful pieces of feminist writing to this day. Published in 1929, A Room of One’s Own asserts a simple message: in order for women to reach their full creative potential, they must have their own money and space with which to do it with.

From the fleeting beauty of a moth's final moments to reflections on the nature of art, identity, and the human experience, Woolf’s writing invites listeners into her world of introspection, subtle observations, and profound insights. In this collection, Woolf navigates themes of life, death, creativity, and the inner workings of the mind with an unparalleled sensitivity that remains timeless.

In this hauntingly poetic essay, Virginia Woolf captures the fragile beauty of life and death through the simple image of a moth struggling in the light. As she reflects on the inevitability of mortality and the quiet force of nature, Woolf’s sharp, introspective prose invites readers to confront their own fleeting existence. The Death of the Moth is a meditation on life’s transience, a masterclass in Woolf’s ability to turn ordinary moments into profound reflections on human vulnerability.

Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own is a timeless and thought-provoking exploration of the relationship between women and creativity. Based on a series of lectures delivered at Cambridge University in 1928, this seminal work blends sharp wit, eloquence, and intellectual rigor to examine the systemic barriers that have historically denied women the opportunity to achieve their artistic potential.

What if we weren't intimidated by the task of living with full-throated joy? In this collection of short essays, Shemaiah Gonzalez recommends a fresh view on life, through her own experiences and discovery of finding joy in both the mundane and magnificent. In energetic prose, Gonzalez finds delight in naps, capybaras, and wandering the English countryside—and encourages listeners to see the joy present in these moments as well. When we turn our attention to the joy around us, we become attuned to God's constant presence with us and in all these things.

Introduced with characteristic wit and sympathy by Sloane Crosley, Constant Reader gathers the complete weekly New Yorker reviews that Parker published from October 1927 through November 1928, with gimlet-eyed appreciations of the high and low, from Isadora Duncan to Al Smith, Charles Lindbergh to Little Orphan Annie, Mussolini to Emily Post.

A world in perfect balance—so claims Emerson in Compensation, an essay that pulses with quiet defiance and deep assurance. No gain without loss, no misstep without lesson, no fortune without its hidden tax. It is neither fate nor blind justice but a living rhythm, an invisible hand that rights every scale, even when human eyes fail to see. Emerson does not preach; he unfolds. The idea seeps in, settles, challenges. His words are not doctrine but a lens—through which prosperity and misfortune reveal themselves as two faces of the same coin.

En esta colección de textos concebidos en distintas partes del mundo, Michèle Petit analiza el lugar del arte y la literatura en el contexto de las crisis que se han venido multiplicando en los últimos años: guerras, cambio climático, pandemias, etcétera. Se trata aquí de la belleza que permite transfigurar lo peor después de una tragedia; de la transmisión cultural en el exilio, que es la suerte de tantos niños, mujeres y hombres en la actualidad; de la forma en que el lenguaje, cuando se acerca al canto, nos permite sintonizarnos con el espacio y con eso que llamamos naturaleza.

A moving and insightful anthology of personal essays by Irish autistic adults. Wired Our Own Way: An Anthology of Irish Autistic Voices is the first collection of personal essays written by autistic Irish adults.

伝説の「活字四部作」がついにオーディオブック化！「重度の活字中毒者」だという作家・椎名誠が、「本」についての思いや体験を縦横無尽に書き尽くし、世の本好きたちを魅了した伝説のエッセイ「活字四部作」が、長い年月を経て、ついに文庫化！

Everyone knows the parlor game question asked of every chef and food personality in countless interviews: What is the last meal you'd want to eat before you die? But what does it look like when you pose the question to bartenders? In Last Call, James Beard Award-winning author Brad Thomas Parsons gathers the intriguing responses from a diverse range of bartenders around the country.

すべてのビジネスは「真心」さえあればうまくいく。仕事はいかに「他者への想像力」を発揮し、意中の人に「モテる」かが、成功への別れ道。

Step back to 1929 with Is Sex Necessary?, a satirical spoof on the era’s obsession with psychoanalysis and forbidden topics. E.B. White and James Thurber, masters of wit, deliver a faux-scientific treatise on the “mysteries” of sex, skewering outdated gender roles and societal norms with sharp humor. This audiobook, narrated by a modern voice, offers a glimpse into a time capsule, complete with its absurd theories and delightfully dry satire. Prepare for a tongue-in-cheek romp through the absurdities of human behavior and a humorous reflection of a bygone era.

雨のそぼ降る森、嵐の去ったあとの海辺、晴れた夜の岬。そこは鳥や虫や植物が歓喜の声をあげ、生命なきものさえ生を祝福し、子どもたちへの大切な贈り物を用意して待っている場所……。未知なる神秘に目をみはる感性を取り戻し、発見の喜びに浸ろう。

仕事、成功、世の中、自分、死の圧倒的現実を、静かに説き明かす対談！「やりたいことっていうのは仕事じゃねえよ」「死んでんのかな、ほんとに」―養老孟司

なんだか「だいじょうぶ」な気持ちになる本。近くにいる人を見つめて抱きしめる日々こそが、世界を慈しむことだって確信した。

"Auch der Mutigste von uns hat nur selten den Mut zu dem, was er eigentlich weiß ..."(Friedrich Nietzsche: Götzendämmerung)Eine heitere Psychologie bedarf des unverstellten Blickes, der "fröhlichen Wissenschaft", der offenen phänomenologischen Schau. Auch wenn man bei einigem in diesem Buch, wie z.B. den Ausführungen über das Bild des Sokrates, zurückschrecken mag, die Einforderung Nietzsches des unbedingt freien Blicks steht - bis heute - spannungsvoll im Raum."Ich mißtraue allen Systematikern und gehe ihnen aus dem Weg. Der Wille zum System ist ein Mangel an Rechtschaffenheit.

DESPRE AUDIOBOOK O confesiune magistrală aflată la granița dintre intimitatea unui jurnal și densitatea unei autobiografii, Crezul lui Fuentes ne poartă pe urmele artei și istoriei până la cele mai importante evenimente care i-au conturat lumea și pasiunile. O carte multifațetată, în care autorul mexican construiește o hartă trasată din gânduri și amintiri, alternând teme precum iubirea și prietenia cu pasaje despre Buñuel, Faulkner și Wittgenstein.

Offering answers to those questions and more through a mix of travelogue and social history, A Month of Sundays entertainingly charts the story of what author Daniel Gray argues is the People's Day. Told through Sundays whiled away in places from the Hebrides to Hyde Park – via Sunderland, Scarborough, Liverpool and beyond – Gray's latest book is a charming journey in time and place. A Month of Sundays offers nostalgia, people's history and affectionate, absorbing writing – a book drenched in the scent of gravy and summoning the faint sound of church bells.

La traducción al latín de la obra de Maimónides "Moreh Nevukhim" (Guía para Perplejos) es considerada la obra judía más influyente de los últimos milenios. Marcó el inicio de la escolástica, un movimiento nutrido por pensadores judíos. Impresa por la primera imprenta mecánica de Gutenberg, su influencia se extendió hasta el Quinto Concilio de Letrán (1512-1517), donde se instó a los eruditos a reconciliar la teología y la filosofía. La Guía revolucionó el currículo escolar al reintegrar las leyes del pensamiento en el ámbito de la fe, influyendo en el principio de razón suficiente de Leibniz.

Silvia Pareschi è per i lettori italiani la ‘voce’ di autori come Jonathan Franzen ed Ernest Hemingway. Da molti anni racconta in incontri pubblici e in corsi professionali le regole e le pratiche della traduzione e, da ultimo, si è fatta portavoce delle istanze dei traduttori letterari nel dibattito sull’uso dell’intelligenza artificiale nei mestieri creativi.