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Best American Essays 2018
by Hilton Als • 2018
The essay as weapon and refuge: twenty-seven writers on race, memory, and a nation on edge.
3.53
350
Best American Essays 2018 Summary
Best American Essays 2018 90%
The essay as weapon and refuge: twenty-seven writers on race, memory, and a nation on edge.
by Hilton Als 2018
3.53
350 ratings
Nonconformity
by Nelson Algren • 1996
Real writing means siding with the damned, risking obsession, and refusing to comfort.
4.07
268
Nonconformity Summary
Nonconformity 90%
Real writing means siding with the damned, risking obsession, and refusing to comfort.
by Nelson Algren 1996
4.07
268 ratings
Good Prose
by Tracy Kidder • 2013
Everything a Pulitzer winner and his editor know about writing nonfiction that people finish.
3.92
1k+
Good Prose Summary
Good Prose 90%
Everything a Pulitzer winner and his editor know about writing nonfiction that people finish.
by Tracy Kidder 2013
3.92
1k+ ratings
Several Short Sentences About Writing
by Verlyn Klinkenborg • 2012
Writing isn't about flow or formulas; it's about one clear sentence, then another.
4.13
4k+
Several Short Sentences About Writing Summary
Several Short Sentences About Writing 90%
Writing isn't about flow or formulas; it's about one clear sentence, then another.
by Verlyn Klinkenborg 2012
4.13
4k+ ratings
A Field Guide to Getting Lost
by Rebecca Solnit • 2005
Getting lost is where transformation begins. The unknown is the destination, not the detour.
3.90
21k+
A Field Guide to Getting Lost Summary
A Field Guide to Getting Lost 89%
Getting lost is where transformation begins. The unknown is the destination, not the detour.
by Rebecca Solnit 2005
3.90
21k+ ratings
Aspects of the Novel
by E.M. Forster • 1927
A novelist dismantles fiction into its working parts: story, plot, and the characters who breathe.
3.80
5k+
Aspects of the Novel Summary
Aspects of the Novel 89%
A novelist dismantles fiction into its working parts: story, plot, and the characters who breathe.
by E.M. Forster 1927
3.80
5k+ ratings
The Book of (More) Delights
by Ross Gay • 2023
A year of looking closely: when joy and sorrow share the same sentence.
4.25
3k+
The Book of (More) Delights Summary
The Book of (More) Delights 89%
A year of looking closely: when joy and sorrow share the same sentence.
by Ross Gay 2023
4.25
3k+ ratings
The Deadline
by Jill Lepore • 2023
The dead still run the country. A historian shows how, from the Constitution to the smartphone.
4.31
621
The Deadline Summary
The Deadline 89%
The dead still run the country. A historian shows how, from the Constitution to the smartphone.
by Jill Lepore 2023
4.31
621 ratings
The Wisdom of the Heart
by Henry Miller • 1941
Modern men are half-alive and call it progress. The cure starts when the thinking stops.
4.03
663
The Wisdom of the Heart Summary
The Wisdom of the Heart 89%
Modern men are half-alive and call it progress. The cure starts when the thinking stops.
by Henry Miller 1941
4.03
663 ratings
About Writing
by Samuel R. Delany • 2006
The sentence, not the world, is science fiction's true unit of meaning. A master explains why.
4.26
459
About Writing Summary
About Writing 89%
The sentence, not the world, is science fiction's true unit of meaning. A master explains why.
by Samuel R. Delany 2006
4.26
459 ratings
Interventions 2020
by Michel Houellebecq • 2020
A provocateur on religion's sudden return, America's exit from power, and hell's disappearance.
3.57
579
Interventions 2020 Summary
Interventions 2020 89%
A provocateur on religion's sudden return, America's exit from power, and hell's disappearance.
by Michel Houellebecq 2020
3.57
579 ratings
Make Believe
by Mac Barnett • 2026
How the most daring literature ends up for eight-year-olds, and what adults can learn from them.
4.38
3k+
Make Believe Summary
Make Believe 89%
How the most daring literature ends up for eight-year-olds, and what adults can learn from them.
by Mac Barnett 2026
4.38
3k+ ratings
Monsters
by Claire Dederer • 2023
Our favorite art was made by awful people. A critic's personal, unresolved struggle with that fact.
3.68
23k+
Monsters Summary
Monsters 89%
Our favorite art was made by awful people. A critic's personal, unresolved struggle with that fact.
by Claire Dederer 2023
3.68
23k+ ratings
Books vs. Cigarettes
by George Orwell • 1946
A dusty bookshop, a public ward, a totalitarian state: Orwell's unsparing truth in each.
3.83
9k+
Books vs. Cigarettes Summary
Books vs. Cigarettes 89%
A dusty bookshop, a public ward, a totalitarian state: Orwell's unsparing truth in each.
by George Orwell 1946
3.83
9k+ ratings
The Language of the Night
by Ursula K. Le Guin • 1979
Beauty is morality, prose is the novel, and fantasy speaks to the unconscious.
4.28
2k+
The Language of the Night Summary
The Language of the Night 89%
Beauty is morality, prose is the novel, and fantasy speaks to the unconscious.
by Ursula K. Le Guin 1979
4.28
2k+ ratings
The Complete Essays of Ralph Waldo Emerson
by Ralph Waldo Emerson • 1844
Trust your private thought over all scripture: the source that made the world put it there.
4.23
3k+
The Complete Essays of Ralph Waldo Emerson Summary
The Complete Essays of Ralph Waldo Emerson 89%
Trust your private thought over all scripture: the source that made the world put it there.
by Ralph Waldo Emerson 1844
4.23
3k+ ratings
50 Successful Harvard Application Essays, Fourth Edition
by Harvard Crimson • 2005
Get inside the admissions reader's head. Fifty real Harvard essays, dissected line by line.
3.89
243
50 Successful Harvard Application Essays, Fourth Edition Summary
50 Successful Harvard Application Essays, Fourth Edition 89%
Get inside the admissions reader's head. Fifty real Harvard essays, dissected line by line.
by Harvard Crimson 2005
3.89
243 ratings
The Art of Intimacy
by Stacey D'Erasmo • 2013
Fiction's real intimacy lives in the subjunctive, the white space, and the shared glance.
3.93
248
The Art of Intimacy Summary
The Art of Intimacy 89%
Fiction's real intimacy lives in the subjunctive, the white space, and the shared glance.
by Stacey D'Erasmo 2013
3.93
248 ratings
Draft No. 4
by John McPhee • 2013
How a New Yorker writer earns every sentence: drafts, checking, silence, and a dictionary.
4.09
4k+
Draft No. 4 Summary
Draft No. 4 89%
How a New Yorker writer earns every sentence: drafts, checking, silence, and a dictionary.
by John McPhee 2013
4.09
4k+ ratings
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
by Annie Dillard • 1974
A year beside one creek reveals a world where grace and violence are the same water.
4.08
30k+
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek Summary
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek 88%
A year beside one creek reveals a world where grace and violence are the same water.
by Annie Dillard 1974
4.08
30k+ ratings
No Straight Road Takes You There
by Rebecca Solnit • 2025
Direct routes fail. Change follows indirect paths, new stories, and the long arc of memory.
4.16
1k+
No Straight Road Takes You There Summary
No Straight Road Takes You There 88%
Direct routes fail. Change follows indirect paths, new stories, and the long arc of memory.
by Rebecca Solnit 2025
4.16
1k+ ratings
The Naive and the Sentimental Novelist
by Orhan Pamuk • 2010
Why great novels put you in a trance even as you know every word is invented.
3.95
3k+
The Naive and the Sentimental Novelist Summary
The Naive and the Sentimental Novelist 88%
Why great novels put you in a trance even as you know every word is invented.
by Orhan Pamuk 2010
3.95
3k+ ratings
The Lonely Voice
by Frank O'Connor • 1961
The short story speaks for the outsider the novel was never built to see.
3.89
246
The Lonely Voice Summary
The Lonely Voice 88%
The short story speaks for the outsider the novel was never built to see.
by Frank O'Connor 1961
3.89
246 ratings
Borges on Writing
by Jorge Luis Borges • 1973
Plausibility trumps truth, short stories hinge on a situation, and great poems arrive unbidden.
4.07
1k+
Borges on Writing Summary
Borges on Writing 88%
Plausibility trumps truth, short stories hinge on a situation, and great poems arrive unbidden.
by Jorge Luis Borges 1973
4.07
1k+ ratings
Paranoia
by Shirley Jackson • 2015
A stranger's hat, a fork's grudge: how Shirley Jackson turned daily unease into lasting horror.
4.05
4k+
Paranoia Summary
Paranoia 88%
A stranger's hat, a fork's grudge: how Shirley Jackson turned daily unease into lasting horror.
by Shirley Jackson 2015
4.05
4k+ ratings
Conquering the College Admissions Essay in 10 Steps
by Alan Gelb • 2013
A narrative arc, not a list of honors: the story structure that gets you in.
3.66
154
Conquering the College Admissions Essay in 10 Steps Summary
Conquering the College Admissions Essay in 10 Steps 88%
A narrative arc, not a list of honors: the story structure that gets you in.
by Alan Gelb 2013
3.66
154 ratings
Arguably
by Christopher Hitchens • 2011
Tyranny, religion, empire, sentimentality: what remains after clarity and history have their say.
4.20
10k+
Arguably Summary
Arguably 88%
Tyranny, religion, empire, sentimentality: what remains after clarity and history have their say.
by Christopher Hitchens 2011
4.20
10k+ ratings
A Man Without a Country
by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. • 2005
America as failed empire, Earth as casualty, laughter as survival: Vonnegut's final dispatch.
4.10
50k+
A Man Without a Country Summary
A Man Without a Country 88%
America as failed empire, Earth as casualty, laughter as survival: Vonnegut's final dispatch.
by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. 2005
4.10
50k+ ratings
The Strength to Dream
by Colin Wilson • 1962
The crisis of modern literature is a failure of imagination, and the cost is human freedom.
3.93
123
The Strength to Dream Summary
The Strength to Dream 88%
The crisis of modern literature is a failure of imagination, and the cost is human freedom.
by Colin Wilson 1962
3.93
123 ratings
The Anthropocene Reviewed
by John Green • 2021
From sycamores to antibiotics: a novelist rates the human age, one five-star review at a time.
4.35
182k+
The Anthropocene Reviewed Summary
The Anthropocene Reviewed 88%
From sycamores to antibiotics: a novelist rates the human age, one five-star review at a time.
by John Green 2021
4.35
182k+ ratings
Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs
by Chuck Klosterman • 2003
Your Saved by the Bell reruns taught you more about love than Jane Austen.
3.74
73k+
Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs Summary
Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs 88%
Your Saved by the Bell reruns taught you more about love than Jane Austen.
by Chuck Klosterman 2003
3.74
73k+ ratings
Lyrical and Critical Essays
by Albert Camus • 1970
Poverty and sunlight taught Camus a philosophy without resentment. These essays are its laboratory.
4.31
1k+
Lyrical and Critical Essays Summary
Lyrical and Critical Essays 88%
Poverty and sunlight taught Camus a philosophy without resentment. These essays are its laboratory.
by Albert Camus 1970
4.31
1k+ ratings
Telling True Stories
by Mark Kramer • 2007
Finding true stories, reporting from the inside, and building scenes that read like novels.
4.08
1k+
Telling True Stories Summary
Telling True Stories 88%
Finding true stories, reporting from the inside, and building scenes that read like novels.
by Mark Kramer 2007
4.08
1k+ ratings
How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read
by Pierre Bayard • 2020
Not reading is a creative strategy, not a failure. A French critic makes the case.
3.44
5k+
How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read Summary
How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read 88%
Not reading is a creative strategy, not a failure. A French critic makes the case.
by Pierre Bayard 2020
3.44
5k+ ratings
How Fiction Works
by James Wood • 2008
How do novels create the illusion of a thinking mind? A master critic explains the techniques.
3.99
8k+
How Fiction Works Summary
How Fiction Works 88%
How do novels create the illusion of a thinking mind? A master critic explains the techniques.
by James Wood 2008
3.99
8k+ ratings
Step Across This Line
by Salman Rushdie • 2002
A death sentence for a book. A decade of essays on freedom, Oz, and writing anyway.
3.93
1k+
Step Across This Line Summary
Step Across This Line 88%
A death sentence for a book. A decade of essays on freedom, Oz, and writing anyway.
by Salman Rushdie 2002
3.93
1k+ ratings
Read Dangerously
by Azar Nafisi • 2022
Why reading a novel can be more dangerous to a regime than marching in the street.
4.04
2k+
Read Dangerously Summary
Read Dangerously 88%
Why reading a novel can be more dangerous to a regime than marching in the street.
by Azar Nafisi 2022
4.04
2k+ ratings
On Writing
by Ernest Hemingway • 1984
Write true, cut hard, and the reader will feel what you never said.
4.02
5k+
On Writing Summary
On Writing 88%
Write true, cut hard, and the reader will feel what you never said.
by Ernest Hemingway 1984
4.02
5k+ ratings
In Praise of Risk
by Anne Dufourmantelle • 2011
To avoid risk is to refuse life. A philosopher's argument for love, beauty, and freedom.
4.12
613
In Praise of Risk Summary
In Praise of Risk 88%
To avoid risk is to refuse life. A philosopher's argument for love, beauty, and freedom.
by Anne Dufourmantelle 2011
4.12
613 ratings
The Faraway Nearby
by Rebecca Solnit • 2013
The frontier between a life and the story told about it is where everything important happens.
4.20
8k+
The Faraway Nearby Summary
The Faraway Nearby 88%
The frontier between a life and the story told about it is where everything important happens.
by Rebecca Solnit 2013
4.20
8k+ ratings
Steering The Craft
by Ursula K. Le Guin • 1998
Hear your prose, fix your grammar, and cut what drags: a master novelist's craft manual.
4.24
6k+
Steering The Craft Summary
Steering The Craft 88%
Hear your prose, fix your grammar, and cut what drags: a master novelist's craft manual.
by Ursula K. Le Guin 1998
4.24
6k+ ratings
Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five
by Curtis Smith • 2016
A writer unpacks the alien logic and buried grief inside Vonnegut's time-jumping anti-war classic.
4.27
41
Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five Summary
Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five 88%
A writer unpacks the alien logic and buried grief inside Vonnegut's time-jumping anti-war classic.
by Curtis Smith 2016
4.27
41 ratings
What If This Were Enough?
by Heather Havrilesky • 2018
Enforced cheer imprisons you. The bars are Instagram and Whole Foods; the key is giving up.
3.64
3k+
What If This Were Enough? Summary
What If This Were Enough? 88%
Enforced cheer imprisons you. The bars are Instagram and Whole Foods; the key is giving up.
by Heather Havrilesky 2018
3.64
3k+ ratings
Dr. Seuss and Philosophy
by Jacob M. Held • 2011
Philosophy hid on your childhood shelf. Horton on knowledge, the Lorax on ethics, Yertle on power.
4.14
441
Dr. Seuss and Philosophy Summary
Dr. Seuss and Philosophy 88%
Philosophy hid on your childhood shelf. Horton on knowledge, the Lorax on ethics, Yertle on power.
by Jacob M. Held 2011
4.14
441 ratings
The Sense of Style
by Steven Pinker • 2014
Why can't smart people write clearly? A cognitive scientist blames one mental blind spot.
4.04
9k+
The Sense of Style Summary
The Sense of Style 88%
Why can't smart people write clearly? A cognitive scientist blames one mental blind spot.
by Steven Pinker 2014
4.04
9k+ ratings
The Situation and the Story
by Vivian Gornick • 2001
Memoir is not the events. It is the honest self-interrogation that makes them finally matter.
3.93
3k+
The Situation and the Story Summary
The Situation and the Story 88%
Memoir is not the events. It is the honest self-interrogation that makes them finally matter.
by Vivian Gornick 2001
3.93
3k+ ratings
Semicolon
by Cecelia Watson • 2019
How a semicolon started a grammar war: the rules we invented, the people they hurt.
3.68
2k+
Semicolon Summary
Semicolon 88%
How a semicolon started a grammar war: the rules we invented, the people they hurt.
by Cecelia Watson 2019
3.68
2k+ ratings
Alice in Wonderland and Philosophy
by Richard Brian Davis • 2009
When logic dissolves, a Cheshire Cat grins, and philosophy begins.
4.12
2k+
Alice in Wonderland and Philosophy Summary
Alice in Wonderland and Philosophy 88%
When logic dissolves, a Cheshire Cat grins, and philosophy begins.
by Richard Brian Davis 2009
4.12
2k+ ratings
Consider the Lobster and Other Essays
by David Foster Wallace • 2005
Mainstream acceptance forced adult film into a paradox: to keep its edge, it grew more extreme.
4.18
55k+
Consider the Lobster and Other Essays Summary
Consider the Lobster and Other Essays 88%
Mainstream acceptance forced adult film into a paradox: to keep its edge, it grew more extreme.
by David Foster Wallace 2005
4.18
55k+ ratings
Zen in the Art of Writing
by Ray Bradbury • 1973
Write from obsession, trust the subconscious, and kill the inner critic before it speaks.
4.08
22k+
Zen in the Art of Writing Summary
Zen in the Art of Writing 88%
Write from obsession, trust the subconscious, and kill the inner critic before it speaks.
by Ray Bradbury 1973
4.08
22k+ ratings
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