Essays

Great minds share their sharpest observations and most compelling arguments through the intimate art of the essay, exploring everything from creativity and culture to philosophy and the peculiarities of modern life. Whether wrestling with life's biggest questions or finding profound meaning in everyday moments, these carefully crafted pieces invite readers to see the world through fresh eyes.

Essays Book Summaries

A Simpler Life

by The School of Life • 2022

Modern life's curse is too much of everything. The real upgrade is learning how to subtract.

3.98

2k+

🏡 Voluntary Simplicity 🧭 Intentional Living 🪞 Self-Reflection 🫂 Meaningful Connection ⚖️ Work-Life Alignment

A Simpler Life

Modern life's curse is too much of everything. The real upgrade is learning how to subtract.

by The School of Life 2022 216 pages

3.98

2k+ ratings

🏡 Voluntary Simplicity 🧭 Intentional Living 🪞 Self-Reflection 🫂 Meaningful Connection ⚖️ Work-Life Alignment

Death by Black Hole

by Neil deGrasse Tyson • 2006

Stars made every atom in your body. They can also kill you. Welcome to the universe.

4.10

32k+

🪐 Astrophysics 🌌 Cosmology 📝 Essay Collections 🌍 Cosmic Perspective 🔍 Scientific Skepticism

Death by Black Hole

Stars made every atom in your body. They can also kill you. Welcome to the universe.

by Neil deGrasse Tyson 2006 384 pages

4.10

32k+ ratings

🪐 Astrophysics 🌌 Cosmology 📝 Essay Collections 🌍 Cosmic Perspective 🔍 Scientific Skepticism

Fierce Attachments

by Vivian Gornick • 1987

Decades of walks, a mother and daughter, and a bond that felt like a locked room.

4.02

20k+

👩‍👧 Mother-Daughter Bonds 📖 Literary Memoir 🏭 Working Class Memoir 🌱 Women's Coming Of Age 💡 Intellectual Awakening

Fierce Attachments

Decades of walks, a mother and daughter, and a bond that felt like a locked room.

by Vivian Gornick 1987 216 pages

4.02

20k+ ratings

👩‍👧 Mother-Daughter Bonds 📖 Literary Memoir 🏭 Working Class Memoir 🌱 Women's Coming Of Age 💡 Intellectual Awakening

Leaves of Grass

by Walt Whitman • 1855

A lisp, a Paris classroom, a profane brother: Sedaris on how language betrays and bonds us.

4.11

100k+

📄 Essay Collections 💔 Family Dysfunction 👀 Observational Humor 🗣️ Language Memoirs ✈️ Expat Life

Leaves of Grass

A lisp, a Paris classroom, a profane brother: Sedaris on how language betrays and bonds us.

by Walt Whitman 1855 624 pages

4.11

100k+ ratings

📄 Essay Collections 💔 Family Dysfunction 👀 Observational Humor 🗣️ Language Memoirs ✈️ Expat Life

Living Beyond Borders

by Margarita Longoria • 2021

Where are you from? Mexican American teens navigate two cultures in search of their own voice.

4.09

1k+

🇲🇽 Mexican American 📚 YA Anthology 🎭 Dual Identity 🗣️ Code-Switching 👨‍👩‍👧 Generational Stories

Living Beyond Borders

Where are you from? Mexican American teens navigate two cultures in search of their own voice.

by Margarita Longoria 2021 224 pages

4.09

1k+ ratings

🇲🇽 Mexican American 📚 YA Anthology 🎭 Dual Identity 🗣️ Code-Switching 👨‍👩‍👧 Generational Stories

Imaginary Homelands

by Salman Rushdie • 1991

After empire, the migrant's double vision and a stolen tongue remake what home and freedom mean.

3.99

1k+

📖 Postcolonial Literature 🗳️ Indian Politics 🧳 Migrant Perspectives 📝 Literary Criticism 🚫 Censorship And Free Speech

Imaginary Homelands

After empire, the migrant's double vision and a stolen tongue remake what home and freedom mean.

by Salman Rushdie 1991 448 pages

3.99

1k+ ratings

📖 Postcolonial Literature 🗳️ Indian Politics 🧳 Migrant Perspectives 📝 Literary Criticism 🚫 Censorship And Free Speech

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+

📝 Literary Criticism 🗳️ Political Essays 📚 Book Censorship 📖 Reading And Resistance ⚠️ Authoritarian Critique

Read Dangerously

Why reading a novel can be more dangerous to a regime than marching in the street.

by Azar Nafisi 2022 225 pages

4.04

2k+ ratings

📝 Literary Criticism 🗳️ Political Essays 📚 Book Censorship 📖 Reading And Resistance ⚠️ Authoritarian Critique

Writing and Difference

by Jacques Derrida • 1967

Structuralism loved the architecture of texts. One philosopher asked where the energy went.

4.00

7k+

🏛️ Continental Philosophy 📜 Literary Theory ✍️ Philosophy Of Writing 🔍 Deconstruction 🕸️ Post-Structuralism

Writing and Difference

Structuralism loved the architecture of texts. One philosopher asked where the energy went.

by Jacques Derrida 1967 362 pages

4.00

7k+ ratings

🏛️ Continental Philosophy 📜 Literary Theory ✍️ Philosophy Of Writing 🔍 Deconstruction 🕸️ Post-Structuralism

Archaeologies of the Future

by Fredric Jameson • 2005

Utopia's function is not to predict the future but to prove the present is not inevitable.

4.04

500+

📚 Literary Criticism 🧠 Critical Theory ☭ Western Marxism 🌅 Utopian Studies 👽 Science Fiction Theory

Archaeologies of the Future

Utopia's function is not to predict the future but to prove the present is not inevitable.

by Fredric Jameson 2005 448 pages

4.04

500+ ratings

📚 Literary Criticism 🧠 Critical Theory ☭ Western Marxism 🌅 Utopian Studies 👽 Science Fiction Theory

How to Be Alone

by Lane Moore • 2018

When you raise yourself through childhood, adulthood is a crash course in letting people in.

3.68

6k+

🧒 Childhood Trauma 💔 Emotional Neglect 💘 Attachment Wounds 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Chosen Family 🙇 People-Pleasing

How to Be Alone

When you raise yourself through childhood, adulthood is a crash course in letting people in.

by Lane Moore 2018 226 pages

3.68

6k+ ratings

🧒 Childhood Trauma 💔 Emotional Neglect 💘 Attachment Wounds 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Chosen Family 🙇 People-Pleasing

You Are Your Best Thing

by Tarana Burke • 2021

Shame, vulnerability, and resilience, reframed by Black voices who live the extra weight of racism.

4.51

7k+

🛡️ Shame Resilience ✊🏾 Black Experience 🧬 Generational Trauma ⛓️‍💥 Systemic Racism 🖤 Black Feminism

You Are Your Best Thing

Shame, vulnerability, and resilience, reframed by Black voices who live the extra weight of racism.

by Tarana Burke 2021 6 pages

4.51

7k+ ratings

🛡️ Shame Resilience ✊🏾 Black Experience 🧬 Generational Trauma ⛓️‍💥 Systemic Racism 🖤 Black Feminism

What Young India Wants

by Chetan Bhagat • 2012

A bestselling novelist's urgent call for young Indians to reshape a nation stuck in old habits.

3.26

9k+

🇮🇳 Indian Society 🏛️ Indian Politics 🔍 Anti-Corruption ⚖️ Economic Inequality 🏫 Indian Education

What Young India Wants

A bestselling novelist's urgent call for young Indians to reshape a nation stuck in old habits.

by Chetan Bhagat 2012 181 pages

3.26

9k+ ratings

🇮🇳 Indian Society 🏛️ Indian Politics 🔍 Anti-Corruption ⚖️ Economic Inequality 🏫 Indian Education

God Is Dead. God Remains Dead. And We Have Killed Him.

by Friedrich Nietzsche • 1888

The old gods are dead. The task left: invent your own values and treat existence as an experiment.

3.85

1k+

✝️ Critique Of Christianity 🧠 Psychology Of Religion ⚖️ Moral Skepticism 🏗️ Value Creation 🌞 Life Affirmation

God Is Dead. God Remains Dead. And We Have Killed Him.

The old gods are dead. The task left: invent your own values and treat existence as an experiment.

by Friedrich Nietzsche 1888 128 pages

3.85

1k+ ratings

✝️ Critique Of Christianity 🧠 Psychology Of Religion ⚖️ Moral Skepticism 🏗️ Value Creation 🌞 Life Affirmation

The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction

by Alan Jacobs • 2011

Your to-read pile is a tyrant. Follow curiosity instead, and reading becomes alive again.

3.94

3k+

📚 Bibliophilia 🐌 Slow Reading 🕊️ Reading Freedom ✍️ Active Reading 🎯 Attention Management

The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction

Your to-read pile is a tyrant. Follow curiosity instead, and reading becomes alive again.

by Alan Jacobs 2011 162 pages

3.94

3k+ ratings

📚 Bibliophilia 🐌 Slow Reading 🕊️ Reading Freedom ✍️ Active Reading 🎯 Attention Management

Four Hundred Souls

by Ibram X. Kendi • 2021

Eighty writers tell 400 years of African American history, starting where the textbooks go silent.

4.55

11k+

🖤 African American History ⛓️ Transatlantic Slave Trade 🔍 Systemic Racism ✊ Black Resistance 📖 Revisionist History

Four Hundred Souls

Eighty writers tell 400 years of African American history, starting where the textbooks go silent.

by Ibram X. Kendi 2021 504 pages

4.55

11k+ ratings

🖤 African American History ⛓️ Transatlantic Slave Trade 🔍 Systemic Racism ✊ Black Resistance 📖 Revisionist History

Being Human

by Robert M. Sapolsky • 2012

From parasite mind control to the biology of metaphors: what science reveals about being human.

4.35

500+

🧬 Behavioral Biology 🧠 Social Neuroscience 🩺 Status And Health 🧪 Dopamine And Motivation 🔄 Neuroplasticity

Being Human

From parasite mind control to the biology of metaphors: what science reveals about being human.

by Robert M. Sapolsky 2012

4.35

500+ ratings

🧬 Behavioral Biology 🧠 Social Neuroscience 🩺 Status And Health 🧪 Dopamine And Motivation 🔄 Neuroplasticity

Danse Macabre

by Stephen King • 1981

What scares a society tells you what ails it. King dissects three decades of American nightmare.

3.67

31k+

🎬 Horror Criticism 🧠 Psychology Of Fear 🧟 Monster Theory 🎥 Horror Film History ✍️ Horror Writing

Danse Macabre

What scares a society tells you what ails it. King dissects three decades of American nightmare.

by Stephen King 1981 400 pages

3.67

31k+ ratings

🎬 Horror Criticism 🧠 Psychology Of Fear 🧟 Monster Theory 🎥 Horror Film History ✍️ Horror Writing

On Boxing

by Joyce Carol Oates • 1987

A novelist finds that inside the ring, pain, time, and masculinity obey different laws.

3.89

1k+

🥊 Boxing Culture ✍️ Literary Sports Writing 🧠 Philosophy Of Sport 💪 Masculinity And Violence 🩸 Athletic Suffering

On Boxing

A novelist finds that inside the ring, pain, time, and masculinity obey different laws.

by Joyce Carol Oates 1987 304 pages

3.89

1k+ ratings

🥊 Boxing Culture ✍️ Literary Sports Writing 🧠 Philosophy Of Sport 💪 Masculinity And Violence 🩸 Athletic Suffering

The Good Immigrant

by Nikesh Shukla • 2019

Twenty-six writers on the price of conditional belonging in America.

4.24

2k+

🧳 Immigrant Experience 🚧 Systemic Racism 🚪 Conditional Belonging ✍️ Personal Essays 🎭 Cultural Criticism

The Good Immigrant

Twenty-six writers on the price of conditional belonging in America.

by Nikesh Shukla 2019 336 pages

4.24

2k+ ratings

🧳 Immigrant Experience 🚧 Systemic Racism 🚪 Conditional Belonging ✍️ Personal Essays 🎭 Cultural Criticism

A Mind Spread Out on the Ground

by Alicia Elliott • 2019

Colonialism didn't end; it moved into the mind, the kitchen, and the family photo album.

4.40

10k+

🧬 Intergenerational Trauma 🏛️ Colonial Trauma 🪶 Indigenous Memoir 🧠 Mental Illness Stigma 🥕 Food Justice

A Mind Spread Out on the Ground

Colonialism didn't end; it moved into the mind, the kitchen, and the family photo album.

by Alicia Elliott 2019 240 pages

4.40

10k+ ratings

🧬 Intergenerational Trauma 🏛️ Colonial Trauma 🪶 Indigenous Memoir 🧠 Mental Illness Stigma 🥕 Food Justice

The Book of Basketball

by Bill Simmons • 2009

An obsessive re-ranking of NBA history that argues winning is about people, not players.

4.20

38k+

🏀 Basketball History 🧪 Team Chemistry 📊 Player Rankings ⚔️ Sports Rivalries ✍️ Modern Sports Writing

The Book of Basketball

An obsessive re-ranking of NBA history that argues winning is about people, not players.

by Bill Simmons 2009 736 pages

4.20

38k+ ratings

🏀 Basketball History 🧪 Team Chemistry 📊 Player Rankings ⚔️ Sports Rivalries ✍️ Modern Sports Writing

The Greatest

by Matthew Syed • 2017

Champions are made, not born. Hidden practice, unseen mentors, nerve under pressure.

3.72

500+

🧠 Sports Psychology 🌍 Sport And Society 🎯 Deliberate Practice ⚡ Performance Under Pressure 🌱 Growth Mindset

The Greatest

Champions are made, not born. Hidden practice, unseen mentors, nerve under pressure.

by Matthew Syed 2017 304 pages

3.72

500+ ratings

🧠 Sports Psychology 🌍 Sport And Society 🎯 Deliberate Practice ⚡ Performance Under Pressure 🌱 Growth Mindset

Revolutionary Characters

by Gordon S. Wood • 2006

Not demigods but Enlightenment thinkers who had to turn philosophy into a working republic.

3.96

4k+

🏛️ Founding Fathers 👥 Collective Biography 💡 Enlightenment Thought 🎭 Myth-Making 📚 Intellectual History

Revolutionary Characters

Not demigods but Enlightenment thinkers who had to turn philosophy into a working republic.

by Gordon S. Wood 2006 336 pages

3.96

4k+ ratings

🏛️ Founding Fathers 👥 Collective Biography 💡 Enlightenment Thought 🎭 Myth-Making 📚 Intellectual History

Callings

by Dave Isay • 2016

A sanitation worker, neurosurgeon, and beekeeper reveal how they found purpose in unexpected work.

3.92

1k+

🛠️ Meaningful Work 🎙️ Oral Histories 🏠 Everyday Lives 🌟 Unsung Heroes 💼 Career Stories

Callings

A sanitation worker, neurosurgeon, and beekeeper reveal how they found purpose in unexpected work.

by Dave Isay 2016 277 pages

3.92

1k+ ratings

🛠️ Meaningful Work 🎙️ Oral Histories 🏠 Everyday Lives 🌟 Unsung Heroes 💼 Career Stories

Furiously Happy

by Jenny Lawson • 2015

When despair says forever, fight back with taxidermy, defiant joy, and inappropriate laughter.

3.89

100k+

🧠 Mental Illness Memoir ✨ Defiant Joy 💜 Radical Self-Acceptance 🎭 Imposter Syndrome 🎙️ Confessional Humor

Furiously Happy

When despair says forever, fight back with taxidermy, defiant joy, and inappropriate laughter.

by Jenny Lawson 2015 329 pages

3.89

100k+ ratings

🧠 Mental Illness Memoir ✨ Defiant Joy 💜 Radical Self-Acceptance 🎭 Imposter Syndrome 🎙️ Confessional Humor

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+

🎭 Cultural Criticism ✍️ Essay Collections 🚫 Anti-Self-Help 😊 Toxic Positivity 📱 Social Media Critique

What If This Were Enough?

Enforced cheer imprisons you. The bars are Instagram and Whole Foods; the key is giving up.

by Heather Havrilesky 2018 240 pages

3.64

3k+ ratings

🎭 Cultural Criticism ✍️ Essay Collections 🚫 Anti-Self-Help 😊 Toxic Positivity 📱 Social Media Critique

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+

📝 Literary Essays 🖤 Dark Humor 🎭 Political Satire 🌍 Secular Humanism 🕊️ Anti-War Writing

A Man Without a Country

America as failed empire, Earth as casualty, laughter as survival: Vonnegut's final dispatch.

by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. 2005 145 pages

4.10

50k+ ratings

📝 Literary Essays 🖤 Dark Humor 🎭 Political Satire 🌍 Secular Humanism 🕊️ Anti-War Writing

Neuroqueer Heresies

by Nick Walker • 2021

What if the 'normal' brain is a myth and autism exposes what's true about all minds?

4.28

1k+

🧠 Neurodiversity Movement ♿ Social Model Of Disability 🏳️‍🌈 Queer Theory ♾️ Autism Advocacy 📚 Disability Studies

Neuroqueer Heresies

What if the 'normal' brain is a myth and autism exposes what's true about all minds?

by Nick Walker 2021 196 pages

4.28

1k+ ratings

🧠 Neurodiversity Movement ♿ Social Model Of Disability 🏳️‍🌈 Queer Theory ♾️ Autism Advocacy 📚 Disability Studies

A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful

by Edmund Burke • 1757

Terror produces the sublime. Smoothness and delicacy produce the beautiful. Two instincts, not one.

3.69

2k+

🎨 Aesthetic Philosophy ⛰️ Sublime And Beautiful 😨 Fear And Aesthetics 📐 Empiricist Aesthetics 🧪 British Empiricism

A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful

Terror produces the sublime. Smoothness and delicacy produce the beautiful. Two instincts, not one.

by Edmund Burke 1757 208 pages

3.69

2k+ ratings

🎨 Aesthetic Philosophy ⛰️ Sublime And Beautiful 😨 Fear And Aesthetics 📐 Empiricist Aesthetics 🧪 British Empiricism

On the Brink of Everything

by Parker J. Palmer • 2018

The best preparation for death isn't withdrawal from life but deeper immersion in it.

4.06

1k+

🧘 Conscious Aging 📿 Spiritual Memoir 🕯️ Contemplative Practice 🌱 Inner Life 🎯 Vocation

On the Brink of Everything

The best preparation for death isn't withdrawal from life but deeper immersion in it.

by Parker J. Palmer 2018 198 pages

4.06

1k+ ratings

🧘 Conscious Aging 📿 Spiritual Memoir 🕯️ Contemplative Practice 🌱 Inner Life 🎯 Vocation

The American Spirit

by David McCullough • 2017

Why the American past is a well to draw strength from, not a burden to escape.

4.22

7k+

🏛️ Civic Engagement 🇺🇸 American Identity 🎓 Commencement Wisdom 📚 Love Of Learning 📖 Narrative History

The American Spirit

Why the American past is a well to draw strength from, not a burden to escape.

by David McCullough 2017 176 pages

4.22

7k+ ratings

🏛️ Civic Engagement 🇺🇸 American Identity 🎓 Commencement Wisdom 📚 Love Of Learning 📖 Narrative History

Richest Man in Babylon and The Magic Story

by George S. Clason • 2002

An Office writer gets famous and discovers fame fixes nothing about friendship or self-worth.

4.19

500+

🎬 Celebrity Memoir 📝 Comic Essays 💕 Complicated Friendship 💪 Body Image Struggles 😂 Self-Deprecating Humor

Richest Man in Babylon and The Magic Story

An Office writer gets famous and discovers fame fixes nothing about friendship or self-worth.

by George S. Clason 2002

4.19

500+ ratings

🎬 Celebrity Memoir 📝 Comic Essays 💕 Complicated Friendship 💪 Body Image Struggles 😂 Self-Deprecating Humor

How to Tell When We Will Die

by Johanna Hedva • 2024

The body fails. That's the truth ableism hides. A manifesto for those already living it.

3.76

1k+

♿ Disability Justice 🩻 Chronic Illness 💸 Anti-Capitalism 🤝 Care Ethics 🧬 Body Politics

How to Tell When We Will Die

The body fails. That's the truth ableism hides. A manifesto for those already living it.

by Johanna Hedva 2024 384 pages

3.76

1k+ ratings

♿ Disability Justice 🩻 Chronic Illness 💸 Anti-Capitalism 🤝 Care Ethics 🧬 Body Politics

Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now

by Maya Angelou • 1993

Maya Angelou on dignity: short lessons from a life built from nothing.

4.30

11k+

🕯️ Spiritual Memoir 📜 Wisdom Literature 👩🏿 Black Womanhood 💝 Self-Acceptance 🍂 Midlife Reflection

Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now

Maya Angelou on dignity: short lessons from a life built from nothing.

by Maya Angelou 1993 144 pages

4.30

11k+ ratings

🕯️ Spiritual Memoir 📜 Wisdom Literature 👩🏿 Black Womanhood 💝 Self-Acceptance 🍂 Midlife Reflection

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

🎓 College Admissions ✍️ Application Essays 📖 Personal Storytelling 💬 Authentic Voice 📄 Model Essays

50 Successful Harvard Application Essays, Fourth Edition

Get inside the admissions reader's head. Fifty real Harvard essays, dissected line by line.

by Harvard Crimson 2005 208 pages

3.89

243 ratings

🎓 College Admissions ✍️ Application Essays 📖 Personal Storytelling 💬 Authentic Voice 📄 Model Essays

Dear Dolly

by Dolly Alderton • 2022

Love, shame, heartbreak, and the friends who outgrow you: an agony aunt's most honest answers.

3.78

44k+

🖋️ Advice Columns 💔 Modern Dating 👯 Female Friendship 🩹 Heartbreak Recovery 👩 Millennial Womanhood

Dear Dolly

Love, shame, heartbreak, and the friends who outgrow you: an agony aunt's most honest answers.

by Dolly Alderton 2022 224 pages

3.78

44k+ ratings

🖋️ Advice Columns 💔 Modern Dating 👯 Female Friendship 🩹 Heartbreak Recovery 👩 Millennial Womanhood

I Want To Die but I Want To Eat Tteokpokki 2

by Baek Se-hee • 2020

A Korean twentysomething returns to therapy, still certain she looks wrong, still pushing love away.

3.63

8k+

🇰🇷 Korean Memoir 🛋️ Therapy Transcripts 🧠 Cognitive Distortions 💗 Self-Acceptance 😰 Social Anxiety

I Want To Die but I Want To Eat Tteokpokki 2

A Korean twentysomething returns to therapy, still certain she looks wrong, still pushing love away.

by Baek Se-hee 2020 232 pages

3.63

8k+ ratings

🇰🇷 Korean Memoir 🛋️ Therapy Transcripts 🧠 Cognitive Distortions 💗 Self-Acceptance 😰 Social Anxiety

Ursula K. Le Guin

by Ursula K. Le Guin • 2018

Ursula K. Le Guin shares the philosophy behind her worlds, her craft, and the power of stories.

4.28

2k+

✍️ Writing Craft 🎙️ Author Interviews 🌍 Fantasy Worldbuilding ✨ The Writing Life 📚 Literary Analysis

Ursula K. Le Guin

Ursula K. Le Guin shares the philosophy behind her worlds, her craft, and the power of stories.

by Ursula K. Le Guin 2018 138 pages

4.28

2k+ ratings

✍️ Writing Craft 🎙️ Author Interviews 🌍 Fantasy Worldbuilding ✨ The Writing Life 📚 Literary Analysis

Aftershocks of Disaster

by Yarimar Bonilla • 2019

After Maria, Puerto Ricans found the worst disaster wasn't the storm. It was colonial rule.

4.29

129

🇵🇷 Puerto Rican History 🌴 Caribbean Politics 🌀 Disaster Response 🤝 Mutual Aid 🏚️ Disaster Capitalism

Aftershocks of Disaster

After Maria, Puerto Ricans found the worst disaster wasn't the storm. It was colonial rule.

by Yarimar Bonilla 2019 404 pages

4.29

129 ratings

🇵🇷 Puerto Rican History 🌴 Caribbean Politics 🌀 Disaster Response 🤝 Mutual Aid 🏚️ Disaster Capitalism

How to Stay Sane in an Age of Division

by Elif Shafak • 2020

We have never been more connected, nor more divided. Storytelling, not information, is the bridge.

3.95

8k+

🗳️ Political Division 🤝 Civic Engagement 🔁 Echo Chambers 📚 Narrative Empathy 💬 Emotional Honesty

How to Stay Sane in an Age of Division

We have never been more connected, nor more divided. Storytelling, not information, is the bridge.

by Elif Shafak 2020 45 pages

3.95

8k+ ratings

🗳️ Political Division 🤝 Civic Engagement 🔁 Echo Chambers 📚 Narrative Empathy 💬 Emotional Honesty

Grief Is for People

by Sloane Crosley • 2024

A burglar took her jewelry. A suicide took her friend. Only one loss she could chase.

3.83

18k+

💔 Suicide Loss 👥 Friendship Grief 📿 Objects And Memory 🌊 Grief Without Stages ✍️ Lyric Memoir

Grief Is for People

A burglar took her jewelry. A suicide took her friend. Only one loss she could chase.

by Sloane Crosley 2024 208 pages

3.83

18k+ ratings

💔 Suicide Loss 👥 Friendship Grief 📿 Objects And Memory 🌊 Grief Without Stages ✍️ Lyric Memoir

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

📐 Short Story Theory ✍️ Writers On Writing 🔨 Craft Of Fiction 🌿 Outsider Narratives 💔 Literary Loneliness

The Lonely Voice

The short story speaks for the outsider the novel was never built to see.

by Frank O'Connor 1961 224 pages

3.89

246 ratings

📐 Short Story Theory ✍️ Writers On Writing 🔨 Craft Of Fiction 🌿 Outsider Narratives 💔 Literary Loneliness

Real Estate

by Deborah Levy • 2021

She wanted a room of her own. At sixty, she realized she needed the whole house.

4.28

10k+

🧠 Feminist Memoir 🖋️ Writer's Memoir 🏠 Home And Identity 🦸‍♀️ Female Autonomy 🍂 Aging And Reinvention

Real Estate

She wanted a room of her own. At sixty, she realized she needed the whole house.

by Deborah Levy 2021 297 pages

4.28

10k+ ratings

🧠 Feminist Memoir 🖋️ Writer's Memoir 🏠 Home And Identity 🦸‍♀️ Female Autonomy 🍂 Aging And Reinvention

Theories, Predictions, and Diagnoses

by Malcolm Gladwell • 2009

Most failures of expertise come from treating one kind of problem as if it were another.

3.99

1k+

🧠 Cognitive Biases 🤔 Decision Theory 📊 Information Overload 💥 Failure Analysis 💡 Counterintuitive

Theories, Predictions, and Diagnoses

Most failures of expertise come from treating one kind of problem as if it were another.

by Malcolm Gladwell 2009 120 pages

3.99

1k+ ratings

🧠 Cognitive Biases 🤔 Decision Theory 📊 Information Overload 💥 Failure Analysis 💡 Counterintuitive

Between Barack and a Hard Place

by Tim Wise • 2009

Obama's election didn't end racism; it adapted it to look like respect.

4.14

500+

🧱 Structural Racism ⚪ White Privilege 💰 Racial Wealth Gap 👁️ Colorblind Ideology 🙈 White Denial

Between Barack and a Hard Place

Obama's election didn't end racism; it adapted it to look like respect.

by Tim Wise 2009 159 pages

4.14

500+ ratings

🧱 Structural Racism ⚪ White Privilege 💰 Racial Wealth Gap 👁️ Colorblind Ideology 🙈 White Denial

Thick

by Tressie McMillan Cottom • 2019

Black women are punished for complexity, so embracing every contradiction becomes its own rebellion.

4.43

18k+

✊🏿 Black Feminist Thought ⚖️ Critical Race Theory 💄 Beauty As Capital 🏥 Healthcare Disparities 🎩 Respectability Politics

Thick

Black women are punished for complexity, so embracing every contradiction becomes its own rebellion.

by Tressie McMillan Cottom 2019 248 pages

4.43

18k+ ratings

✊🏿 Black Feminist Thought ⚖️ Critical Race Theory 💄 Beauty As Capital 🏥 Healthcare Disparities 🎩 Respectability Politics

The Importance of Living

by Lin Yutang • 1937

In 1937, a Chinese philosopher made the radical argument that loafing beats striving.

4.06

1k+

🏮 Chinese Philosophy 🏯 Eastern Wisdom 🐢 Slow Living ☕ Leisure Philosophy 🌸 Simple Pleasures

The Importance of Living

In 1937, a Chinese philosopher made the radical argument that loafing beats striving.

by Lin Yutang 1937 462 pages

4.06

1k+ ratings

🏮 Chinese Philosophy 🏯 Eastern Wisdom 🐢 Slow Living ☕ Leisure Philosophy 🌸 Simple Pleasures

True Style

by G. Bruce Boyer • 2015

Your clothes speak before you do. The grammar of timeless menswear, decoded item by item.

3.87

421

🧥 Classic Menswear 📜 Sartorial History 🥂 Classic Elegance 🏗️ Wardrobe Building 💼 Professional Image

True Style

Your clothes speak before you do. The grammar of timeless menswear, decoded item by item.

by G. Bruce Boyer 2015 272 pages

3.87

421 ratings

🧥 Classic Menswear 📜 Sartorial History 🥂 Classic Elegance 🏗️ Wardrobe Building 💼 Professional Image

Eternal Echoes

by John O'Donohue • 1998

Celtic wisdom reframes longing as the soul pulling you toward belonging, not a void to escape.

4.42

1k+

🍀 Celtic Wisdom 📖 Spiritual Essays 🕯️ Soul Work 🧘 Contemplative Spirituality 🌿 Nature Mysticism

Eternal Echoes

Celtic wisdom reframes longing as the soul pulling you toward belonging, not a void to escape.

by John O'Donohue 1998 306 pages

4.42

1k+ ratings

🍀 Celtic Wisdom 📖 Spiritual Essays 🕯️ Soul Work 🧘 Contemplative Spirituality 🌿 Nature Mysticism

Ethics in the Real World

by Peter Singer • 2016

A philosopher's case that buying a luxury watch when children are dying is an ethical failure.

3.92

5k+

⚖️ Applied Ethics 🏛️ Moral Philosophy 🌍 Effective Altruism 📊 Utilitarianism 🐾 Animal Rights

Ethics in the Real World

A philosopher's case that buying a luxury watch when children are dying is an ethical failure.

by Peter Singer 2016 336 pages

3.92

5k+ ratings

⚖️ Applied Ethics 🏛️ Moral Philosophy 🌍 Effective Altruism 📊 Utilitarianism 🐾 Animal Rights

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