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

This Explains Everything

by John Brockman • 2013

One question, 150 scientists: name the elegant idea that makes the most sense of everything.

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📚 Science Anthologies 🧬 Evolutionary Biology 🧠 Cognitive Biases ⚛️ Quantum Mechanics 🦋 Emergent Complexity

This Explains Everything

One question, 150 scientists: name the elegant idea that makes the most sense of everything.

by John Brockman 2013 411 pages

3.66

2k+ ratings

📚 Science Anthologies 🧬 Evolutionary Biology 🧠 Cognitive Biases ⚛️ Quantum Mechanics 🦋 Emergent Complexity

To Repair the World

by Paul Farmer • 2013

A doctor's manifesto: replace charity with long-term solidarity and treat the impossible as doable.

4.11

1k+

🏥 Global Health Equity 🌍 Medical Anthropology 🏘️ Social Determinants Of Health 🌱 Pragmatic Idealism 🩺 Grassroots Healthcare

To Repair the World

A doctor's manifesto: replace charity with long-term solidarity and treat the impossible as doable.

by Paul Farmer 2013 294 pages

4.11

1k+ ratings

🏥 Global Health Equity 🌍 Medical Anthropology 🏘️ Social Determinants Of Health 🌱 Pragmatic Idealism 🩺 Grassroots Healthcare

The Elephant, The Tiger, And the Cell Phone

by Shashi Tharoor • 2007

A billion people, 23 languages, one democracy: what holds India together when nothing should.

3.59

1k+

🇮🇳 Indian Democracy 🌏 Postcolonial India 📈 Indian Economic Reform 🌐 Diaspora Studies 📝 Essay Collections

The Elephant, The Tiger, And the Cell Phone

A billion people, 23 languages, one democracy: what holds India together when nothing should.

by Shashi Tharoor 2007 498 pages

3.59

1k+ ratings

🇮🇳 Indian Democracy 🌏 Postcolonial India 📈 Indian Economic Reform 🌐 Diaspora Studies 📝 Essay Collections

"You Just Need to Lose Weight"

by Aubrey Gordon • 2023

Twenty myths about fat people dismantled: the real epidemic is anti-fat bias, not body size.

4.32

11k+

✊ Fat Acceptance 🍽️ Diet Culture 🏥 Medical Bias ⚖️ Weight Stigma ♀️ Fat Feminism

"You Just Need to Lose Weight"

Twenty myths about fat people dismantled: the real epidemic is anti-fat bias, not body size.

by Aubrey Gordon 2023 228 pages

4.32

11k+ ratings

✊ Fat Acceptance 🍽️ Diet Culture 🏥 Medical Bias ⚖️ Weight Stigma ♀️ Fat Feminism

Trick Mirror

by Jia Tolentino • 2019

The internet promised a self you could perfect. It delivered a performance you can never escape.

4.02

78k+

🏛️ Cultural Criticism ✊ Feminist Critique 🌐 Internet Culture 🪞 Self-Deception 🎭 Performative Identity

Trick Mirror

The internet promised a self you could perfect. It delivered a performance you can never escape.

by Jia Tolentino 2019 303 pages

4.02

78k+ ratings

🏛️ Cultural Criticism ✊ Feminist Critique 🌐 Internet Culture 🪞 Self-Deception 🎭 Performative Identity

Young, Gifted, and Black

by Theresa Perry • 2003

Forget the white-Black comparison. The real gap is between African American students and excellence.

4.04

322

📏 Achievement Gap 📚 Black Education 🏫 Culturally Responsive Pedagogy 👩‍🏫 Teacher Quality 🌱 Asset-Based Pedagogy

Young, Gifted, and Black

Forget the white-Black comparison. The real gap is between African American students and excellence.

by Theresa Perry 2003 196 pages

4.04

322 ratings

📏 Achievement Gap 📚 Black Education 🏫 Culturally Responsive Pedagogy 👩‍🏫 Teacher Quality 🌱 Asset-Based Pedagogy

Standpoints

by Svend Brinkmann • 2018

Modernity wants a use for everything. Ten old ideas that refuse to earn their keep.

3.77

500+

🚫 Anti-Self-Help 🧠 Existential Philosophy 🏛️ Virtue Ethics 🏙️ Modernity Critique 🤝 Ethics Of Care

Standpoints

Modernity wants a use for everything. Ten old ideas that refuse to earn their keep.

by Svend Brinkmann 2018 160 pages

3.77

500+ ratings

🚫 Anti-Self-Help 🧠 Existential Philosophy 🏛️ Virtue Ethics 🏙️ Modernity Critique 🤝 Ethics Of Care

Very Good Lives

by J.K. Rowling • 2015

Rock bottom taught her things success never could. A commencement speech that outgrew the ceremony.

4.08

28k+

🥀 Embracing Failure 🎓 Commencement Wisdom 🤲 Social Responsibility 🎨 Creative Resilience 💪 Moral Courage

Very Good Lives

Rock bottom taught her things success never could. A commencement speech that outgrew the ceremony.

by J.K. Rowling 2015 80 pages

4.08

28k+ ratings

🥀 Embracing Failure 🎓 Commencement Wisdom 🤲 Social Responsibility 🎨 Creative Resilience 💪 Moral Courage

El fútbol a sol y sombra

by Eduardo Galeano • 1995

Before the logos and the TV contracts, soccer was a poor kid's dance. A poet remembers.

4.20

8k+

🏟️ Soccer History 🌎 Latin American Soccer ⚖️ Sports And Politics ⚽ Football Culture ✍️ Lyrical Sports Writing

El fútbol a sol y sombra

Before the logos and the TV contracts, soccer was a poor kid's dance. A poet remembers.

by Eduardo Galeano 1995 279 pages

4.20

8k+ ratings

🏟️ Soccer History 🌎 Latin American Soccer ⚖️ Sports And Politics ⚽ Football Culture ✍️ Lyrical Sports Writing

Scandals of Classic Hollywood

by Anne Helen Petersen • 2014

Hollywood scandals were never just gossip. They were the culture's ugliest arguments, in public.

3.48

2k+

🎬 Hollywood History 🎞️ Classic Cinema ⭐ Star System 💥 Celebrity Scandal 🚫 Film Censorship

Scandals of Classic Hollywood

Hollywood scandals were never just gossip. They were the culture's ugliest arguments, in public.

by Anne Helen Petersen 2014 289 pages

3.48

2k+ ratings

🎬 Hollywood History 🎞️ Classic Cinema ⭐ Star System 💥 Celebrity Scandal 🚫 Film Censorship

Yes Means Yes!

by Jaclyn Friedman • 2008

Rape culture silences women's desire. The real consent standard requires an enthusiastic yes.

4.20

5k+

✋ Consent Culture 🔥 Sex-Positive Feminism ⚠️ Rape Culture 🧘 Body Politics 📚 Feminist Anthologies

Yes Means Yes!

Rape culture silences women's desire. The real consent standard requires an enthusiastic yes.

by Jaclyn Friedman 2008 361 pages

4.20

5k+ ratings

✋ Consent Culture 🔥 Sex-Positive Feminism ⚠️ Rape Culture 🧘 Body Politics 📚 Feminist Anthologies

Big Questions from Little People

by Gemma Elwin Harris • 2012

Kids ask the universe's biggest questions. Experts reply with clarity that stuns grown-ups.

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🧒 Children's Questions 🧠 Expert Answers 💡 Simple Explanations 🔬 Science For Kids 🤔 Philosophy For Children

Big Questions from Little People

Kids ask the universe's biggest questions. Experts reply with clarity that stuns grown-ups.

by Gemma Elwin Harris 2012 336 pages

3.86

1k+ ratings

🧒 Children's Questions 🧠 Expert Answers 💡 Simple Explanations 🔬 Science For Kids 🤔 Philosophy For Children

The Art of Subtext

by Charles Baxter • 2007

What a character won't say, can't hear, and can't admit: the hidden engine of unforgettable fiction.

4.02

1k+

📖 Narrative Craft ✍️ Writers On Writing 🎨 Fiction Aesthetics 🔍 Close Reading 👤 Character Depth

The Art of Subtext

What a character won't say, can't hear, and can't admit: the hidden engine of unforgettable fiction.

by Charles Baxter 2007 182 pages

4.02

1k+ ratings

📖 Narrative Craft ✍️ Writers On Writing 🎨 Fiction Aesthetics 🔍 Close Reading 👤 Character Depth

Superman Is an Arab

by Joumana Haddad • 2012

An Arab feminist declares war on God, marriage, and the toxic myth of the invincible man.

3.53

500+

🧕 Arab Feminism 👩 Middle Eastern Women 💪 Toxic Masculinity 🔥 Sexual Liberation ⛪ Religious Critique

Superman Is an Arab

An Arab feminist declares war on God, marriage, and the toxic myth of the invincible man.

by Joumana Haddad 2012 199 pages

3.53

500+ ratings

🧕 Arab Feminism 👩 Middle Eastern Women 💪 Toxic Masculinity 🔥 Sexual Liberation ⛪ Religious Critique

Spoilt Rotten

by dalrymple-theodore • 2010

Sentiment now governs law, schools, and foreign aid. The cruelty that follows is no accident.

3.96

1k+

🏛️ Cultural Criticism 🗣️ Political Polemics 🔍 Rational Inquiry 🎭 Victimhood Culture ⚖️ Public Policy Critique

Spoilt Rotten

Sentiment now governs law, schools, and foreign aid. The cruelty that follows is no accident.

by dalrymple-theodore 2010 256 pages

3.96

1k+ ratings

🏛️ Cultural Criticism 🗣️ Political Polemics 🔍 Rational Inquiry 🎭 Victimhood Culture ⚖️ Public Policy Critique

The Creative Writing Coursebook

by Julia Bell • 2001

Forty authors teach the exercises and craft tools that turn rough drafts into publishable work.

3.95

363

✍️ Creative Writing 📝 Writing Exercises 🏫 Workshop Method 👤 Character Development 📐 Story Structure

The Creative Writing Coursebook

Forty authors teach the exercises and craft tools that turn rough drafts into publishable work.

by Julia Bell 2001 449 pages

3.95

363 ratings

✍️ Creative Writing 📝 Writing Exercises 🏫 Workshop Method 👤 Character Development 📐 Story Structure

Semicolon

by Cecelia Watson • 2019

How a semicolon started a grammar war: the rules we invented, the people they hurt.

3.68

2k+

🖋️ Grammar And Style 📜 Language History 🔍 Cultural Microhistory ⚖️ Language Prescriptivism 🗣️ Grammar Elitism

Semicolon

How a semicolon started a grammar war: the rules we invented, the people they hurt.

by Cecelia Watson 2019 224 pages

3.68

2k+ ratings

🖋️ Grammar And Style 📜 Language History 🔍 Cultural Microhistory ⚖️ Language Prescriptivism 🗣️ Grammar Elitism

The Communist Manifesto and Other Writings

by Karl Marx • 2005

History is class struggle, and the bourgeoisie forged the weapons now aimed at its own throat.

3.63

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🚩 Marxism 🏛️ Political Philosophy 📜 Historical Materialism ⚒️ Class Struggle 🏢 State Theory

The Communist Manifesto and Other Writings

History is class struggle, and the bourgeoisie forged the weapons now aimed at its own throat.

by Karl Marx 2005 224 pages

3.63

1k+ ratings

🚩 Marxism 🏛️ Political Philosophy 📜 Historical Materialism ⚒️ Class Struggle 🏢 State Theory

Everything in Its Place

by Oliver Sacks • 2019

Oliver Sacks's final essays: what broken brains reveal about music, identity, and being human.

4.14

3k+

🧠 Neurology 🩺 Medical Humanities 📖 Narrative Medicine 👁️ Altered Perception 🏛️ History Of Psychiatry

Everything in Its Place

Oliver Sacks's final essays: what broken brains reveal about music, identity, and being human.

by Oliver Sacks 2019 288 pages

4.14

3k+ ratings

🧠 Neurology 🩺 Medical Humanities 📖 Narrative Medicine 👁️ Altered Perception 🏛️ History Of Psychiatry

On Writing Horror

by Mort Castle • 1997

What makes readers afraid: the complete craft of horror writing, from first draft to small press.

3.87

1k+

🎃 Horror Writing ✍️ Genre Writing 🧑 Characterization 🧩 Plot Structure ⏳ Suspense Writing

On Writing Horror

What makes readers afraid: the complete craft of horror writing, from first draft to small press.

by Mort Castle 1997 272 pages

3.87

1k+ ratings

🎃 Horror Writing ✍️ Genre Writing 🧑 Characterization 🧩 Plot Structure ⏳ Suspense Writing

A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper

by John Allen Paulos • 1997

The morning paper rests on hidden math. A mathematician reveals the numbers that change the story.

3.60

1k+

A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper

The morning paper rests on hidden math. A mathematician reveals the numbers that change the story.

by John Allen Paulos 1997 224 pages

3.60

1k+ ratings

A Beginner's Guide to Japan

by Pico Iyer • 2019

Why 32 years in Japan taught Pico Iyer less than his first week.

3.81

2k+

🗾 Travel Essays 🎭 Japanese Culture 🔬 Cultural Anthropology 🤫 Indirect Communication 👥 Social Conformity

A Beginner's Guide to Japan

Why 32 years in Japan taught Pico Iyer less than his first week.

by Pico Iyer 2019 240 pages

3.81

2k+ ratings

🗾 Travel Essays 🎭 Japanese Culture 🔬 Cultural Anthropology 🤫 Indirect Communication 👥 Social Conformity

How to Read and Why

by Harold Bloom • 2000

Read selfishly, chase pleasure, and recover the irony that academic jargon banished.

3.61

3k+

📚 Western Canon 🔍 Close Reading 🧘 Solitary Reading 🎨 Aesthetic Pleasure 📖 Lifelong Reading

How to Read and Why

Read selfishly, chase pleasure, and recover the irony that academic jargon banished.

by Harold Bloom 2000 288 pages

3.61

3k+ ratings

📚 Western Canon 🔍 Close Reading 🧘 Solitary Reading 🎨 Aesthetic Pleasure 📖 Lifelong Reading

Eat Pray Love Made Me Do It

by Elizabeth Gilbert • 2016

One memoir, a million life reinventions. The readers who followed its map tell what they discovered.

3.53

3k+

🌍 Transformative Travel ✍️ Personal Essays 🔄 Life Reinvention 🙏 Spiritual Journeys 💔 Post-Divorce Recovery

Eat Pray Love Made Me Do It

One memoir, a million life reinventions. The readers who followed its map tell what they discovered.

by Elizabeth Gilbert 2016 240 pages

3.53

3k+ ratings

🌍 Transformative Travel ✍️ Personal Essays 🔄 Life Reinvention 🙏 Spiritual Journeys 💔 Post-Divorce Recovery

Arguing with Zombies

by Paul Krugman • 2020

Dead economic ideas still shape policy. A Nobel laureate on why they survive and what they cost.

3.86

2k+

💰 Income Inequality 📊 Economic Policy 📝 Political Commentary 📈 Keynesian Economics 🌎 Climate Economics

Arguing with Zombies

Dead economic ideas still shape policy. A Nobel laureate on why they survive and what they cost.

by Paul Krugman 2020 464 pages

3.86

2k+ ratings

💰 Income Inequality 📊 Economic Policy 📝 Political Commentary 📈 Keynesian Economics 🌎 Climate Economics

Design Your Work

by Tiago Forte • 2017

Four steps to turn the notes you're already taking into a personal creative engine.

4.04

194

🧠 Knowledge Management ✅ Personal Productivity 🎨 Creative Workflow 💾 Digital Curation 📝 Note-Taking Systems

Design Your Work

Four steps to turn the notes you're already taking into a personal creative engine.

by Tiago Forte 2017 303 pages

4.04

194 ratings

🧠 Knowledge Management ✅ Personal Productivity 🎨 Creative Workflow 💾 Digital Curation 📝 Note-Taking Systems

Role Models

by John Waters • 2010

Your role models are safe: John Waters learns from criminals, pornographers, and weird artists.

4.07

8k+

🧑‍🎨 Outsider Art 💅 Camp Sensibility ✊ Counterculture 🕯️ Cult Figures 🏳️‍🌈 Queer Aesthetics

Role Models

Your role models are safe: John Waters learns from criminals, pornographers, and weird artists.

by John Waters 2010 304 pages

4.07

8k+ ratings

🧑‍🎨 Outsider Art 💅 Camp Sensibility ✊ Counterculture 🕯️ Cult Figures 🏳️‍🌈 Queer Aesthetics

Slouching Towards Bethlehem

by Joan Didion • 1968

At the continent's edge, the American dream frays into murder, lost children, self-deception.

4.18

84k+

✍️ New Journalism 🔍 Cultural Criticism 🌸 California Counterculture 🏚️ American Dream Critique 🎬 Hollywood Critique

Slouching Towards Bethlehem

At the continent's edge, the American dream frays into murder, lost children, self-deception.

by Joan Didion 1968 238 pages

4.18

84k+ ratings

✍️ New Journalism 🔍 Cultural Criticism 🌸 California Counterculture 🏚️ American Dream Critique 🎬 Hollywood Critique

The Two Cultures

by C.P. Snow • 1959

A scientist's 1959 warning: the rift between science and the humanities is a crisis of civilization.

3.66

1k+

📜 Intellectual History 🔬 Science And Society 🧪 Scientific Literacy 🏫 Education Reform 🏭 Industrialization

The Two Cultures

A scientist's 1959 warning: the rift between science and the humanities is a crisis of civilization.

by C.P. Snow 1959 180 pages

3.66

1k+ ratings

📜 Intellectual History 🔬 Science And Society 🧪 Scientific Literacy 🏫 Education Reform 🏭 Industrialization

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

📝 College Admissions 📄 Application Essays 📖 Narrative Writing 🏗️ Essay Structure 🎤 Authentic Voice

Conquering the College Admissions Essay in 10 Steps

A narrative arc, not a list of honors: the story structure that gets you in.

by Alan Gelb 2013 226 pages

3.66

154 ratings

📝 College Admissions 📄 Application Essays 📖 Narrative Writing 🏗️ Essay Structure 🎤 Authentic Voice

The Meaning of Things

by A.C. Grayling • 2001

Love, hate, and happiness: what philosophy knows that we keep forgetting.

3.86

1k+

🧭 Practical Philosophy 🌍 Secular Humanism 🏛️ Classical Philosophy 🌟 Meaning And Purpose 🦉 Happiness And Wisdom

The Meaning of Things

Love, hate, and happiness: what philosophy knows that we keep forgetting.

by A.C. Grayling 2001 208 pages

3.86

1k+ ratings

🧭 Practical Philosophy 🌍 Secular Humanism 🏛️ Classical Philosophy 🌟 Meaning And Purpose 🦉 Happiness And Wisdom

World Travel

by Anthony Bourdain • 2021

For people who hate guidebooks: Bourdain's rules for eating, drinking, and finding the real story.

3.63

13k+

🍽️ Food And Travel 🧭 Travel Philosophy 🏘️ Local Immersion 🚫 Anti-Tourism 🎤 Gonzo Journalism

World Travel

For people who hate guidebooks: Bourdain's rules for eating, drinking, and finding the real story.

by Anthony Bourdain 2021 480 pages

3.63

13k+ ratings

🍽️ Food And Travel 🧭 Travel Philosophy 🏘️ Local Immersion 🚫 Anti-Tourism 🎤 Gonzo Journalism

Greek to Me

by Mary Norris • 2019

One copy editor's love affair with Greek: ancient ruins, Aegean swims, and a nation in turmoil.

3.63

2k+

🏛️ Greek Language ✈️ Travel Memoir 📖 Language Obsession 🏺 Greek Mythology 🇬🇷 Philhellenism

Greek to Me

One copy editor's love affair with Greek: ancient ruins, Aegean swims, and a nation in turmoil.

by Mary Norris 2019 240 pages

3.63

2k+ ratings

🏛️ Greek Language ✈️ Travel Memoir 📖 Language Obsession 🏺 Greek Mythology 🇬🇷 Philhellenism

Science Fiction

by David Seed • 2011

How space voyages, aliens, and time travel turned science fiction into the literature of ideas.

3.31

500+

📖 Literary Criticism 📜 Science Fiction History 👽 Alien Encounters ⏳ Time Travel 🚀 Space Exploration

Science Fiction

How space voyages, aliens, and time travel turned science fiction into the literature of ideas.

by David Seed 2011 147 pages

3.31

500+ ratings

📖 Literary Criticism 📜 Science Fiction History 👽 Alien Encounters ⏳ Time Travel 🚀 Space Exploration

The Best Strangers in the World

by Ari Shapiro • 2023

He follows a Syrian refugee and sings with a band; his real job is listening.

4.02

6k+

📻 Radio Journalism 🌍 Foreign Correspondence 🎙️ Storytelling Craft 🔍 Curiosity As Practice 💞 Radical Empathy

The Best Strangers in the World

He follows a Syrian refugee and sings with a band; his real job is listening.

by Ari Shapiro 2023 256 pages

4.02

6k+ ratings

📻 Radio Journalism 🌍 Foreign Correspondence 🎙️ Storytelling Craft 🔍 Curiosity As Practice 💞 Radical Empathy

The Cottage Fairy Companion

by Paola Merrill • 2022

You do not need the cottage. The slow life and its wonder are built from the inside out.

4.29

1k+

🐌 Slow Living 🍄 Cottagecore ✨ Finding Wonder 🫂 Self-Acceptance 🧘 Introvert Life

The Cottage Fairy Companion

You do not need the cottage. The slow life and its wonder are built from the inside out.

by Paola Merrill 2022 180 pages

4.29

1k+ ratings

🐌 Slow Living 🍄 Cottagecore ✨ Finding Wonder 🫂 Self-Acceptance 🧘 Introvert Life

Gathering Moss

by Robin Wall Kimmerer • 2003

They drink fog, build forests, bridge worlds. A scientist and Potawatomi woman on what mosses know.

4.38

21k+

🌿 Botanical Writing 🧡 Indigenous Ecology 📝 Essay Collections 👁️ Attentive Observation 🔬 Microscopic Worlds

Gathering Moss

They drink fog, build forests, bridge worlds. A scientist and Potawatomi woman on what mosses know.

by Robin Wall Kimmerer 2003 168 pages

4.38

21k+ ratings

🌿 Botanical Writing 🧡 Indigenous Ecology 📝 Essay Collections 👁️ Attentive Observation 🔬 Microscopic Worlds

Kundalini Rising

by Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa • 2007

Coiled at the spine's base, an evolutionary energy can ignite spontaneously and redraw the self.

3.96

300

🐍 Kundalini Awakening 🌀 Chakra Systems ⚡ Energy Healing 🕉️ Tantric Traditions 🧠 Consciousness Studies

Kundalini Rising

Coiled at the spine's base, an evolutionary energy can ignite spontaneously and redraw the self.

by Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa 2007 408 pages

3.96

300 ratings

🐍 Kundalini Awakening 🌀 Chakra Systems ⚡ Energy Healing 🕉️ Tantric Traditions 🧠 Consciousness Studies

Quentin Tarantino and Philosophy

by Richard Greene • 2007

Tarantino's blowtorch-wielding criminals as moral philosophers: nihilism, karma, and revenge.

3.73

201

🎞️ Film And Philosophy 🍿 Pop Culture Philosophy ⚡ Nietzschean Thought ☸️ Buddhist Philosophy ⚖️ Revenge Ethics

Quentin Tarantino and Philosophy

Tarantino's blowtorch-wielding criminals as moral philosophers: nihilism, karma, and revenge.

by Richard Greene 2007 288 pages

3.73

201 ratings

🎞️ Film And Philosophy 🍿 Pop Culture Philosophy ⚡ Nietzschean Thought ☸️ Buddhist Philosophy ⚖️ Revenge Ethics

Slanted

by Sharyl Attkisson • 2020

How newsrooms kill inconvenient stories, and the words that tell you they're doing it.

4.31

1k+

📰 Media Bias 🎭 Narrative Control 🗣️ Weaponized Language 🕹️ Media Manipulation 🔍 Investigative Journalism

Slanted

How newsrooms kill inconvenient stories, and the words that tell you they're doing it.

by Sharyl Attkisson 2020 316 pages

4.31

1k+ ratings

📰 Media Bias 🎭 Narrative Control 🗣️ Weaponized Language 🕹️ Media Manipulation 🔍 Investigative Journalism

Mentor

by Tom Pace • 2007

A comedy writer's journey from wallflower to Hollywood, filled with humor and hard-won advice.

4.04

500+

😂 Humorous Memoir 👯 Female Friendship 💪 Body Image 🎬 Hollywood Career 🤷 Self-Deprecating

Mentor

A comedy writer's journey from wallflower to Hollywood, filled with humor and hard-won advice.

by Tom Pace 2007 175 pages

4.04

500+ ratings

😂 Humorous Memoir 👯 Female Friendship 💪 Body Image 🎬 Hollywood Career 🤷 Self-Deprecating

Poser

by Claire Dederer • 2010

Yoga undid her. Here is why a Seattle mother spent years trying to nail a backbend.

3.57

6k+

👩‍👧 Modern Motherhood 🧘‍♀️ Mom Perfectionism 💔 Generational Divorce 🧘 Yoga Memoir ✍️ Art And Motherhood

Poser

Yoga undid her. Here is why a Seattle mother spent years trying to nail a backbend.

by Claire Dederer 2010 352 pages

3.57

6k+ ratings

👩‍👧 Modern Motherhood 🧘‍♀️ Mom Perfectionism 💔 Generational Divorce 🧘 Yoga Memoir ✍️ Art And Motherhood

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

7k+

📖 Literary Memoir ✍️ Personal Essays 🕸️ Interconnectedness 🌿 Nature Writing 🧭 Meaning Making

The Faraway Nearby

The frontier between a life and the story told about it is where everything important happens.

by Rebecca Solnit 2013 271 pages

4.20

7k+ ratings

📖 Literary Memoir ✍️ Personal Essays 🕸️ Interconnectedness 🌿 Nature Writing 🧭 Meaning Making

The Mummy at the Dining Room Table

by Jeffrey A. Kottler • 2003

Unusual patients forced the best therapists to abandon the textbook. What they improvised instead.

3.88

500+

🔍 Unusual Case Studies 💡 Therapy Breakthroughs 🤝 Relational Healing 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Family Systems 🎨 Creative Interventions

The Mummy at the Dining Room Table

Unusual patients forced the best therapists to abandon the textbook. What they improvised instead.

by Jeffrey A. Kottler 2003 325 pages

3.88

500+ ratings

🔍 Unusual Case Studies 💡 Therapy Breakthroughs 🤝 Relational Healing 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Family Systems 🎨 Creative Interventions

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+

✍️ Literary Essays 🗣️ Free Speech Defense 🌐 Cultural Hybridity 🪪 Postcolonial Identity ⚠️ Religious Intolerance

Step Across This Line

A death sentence for a book. A decade of essays on freedom, Oz, and writing anyway.

by Salman Rushdie 2002 317 pages

3.93

1k+ ratings

✍️ Literary Essays 🗣️ Free Speech Defense 🌐 Cultural Hybridity 🪪 Postcolonial Identity ⚠️ Religious Intolerance

Hatred of Democracy

by Jacques Rancière • 2005

Democracy is not about elections. It is the scandal that no one is born to rule.

3.72

500+

🏛️ Political Philosophy 🗳️ Democratic Theory 💰 Oligarchy Critique 👥 Popular Sovereignty 🎭 Representation Critique

Hatred of Democracy

Democracy is not about elections. It is the scandal that no one is born to rule.

by Jacques Rancière 2005 106 pages

3.72

500+ ratings

🏛️ Political Philosophy 🗳️ Democratic Theory 💰 Oligarchy Critique 👥 Popular Sovereignty 🎭 Representation Critique

How to Say No

by Diogenes of Sinope • 2022

Freedom's secret from the man who lived in a jar: say no to everything society worships.

3.40

273

🏛️ Ancient Philosophy 🐕 Classical Cynicism 🪴 Minimalist Living 🚫 Social Nonconformity 🧱 Self-Sufficiency

How to Say No

Freedom's secret from the man who lived in a jar: say no to everything society worships.

by Diogenes of Sinope 2022 248 pages

3.40

273 ratings

🏛️ Ancient Philosophy 🐕 Classical Cynicism 🪴 Minimalist Living 🚫 Social Nonconformity 🧱 Self-Sufficiency

An Everlasting Meal

by Tamar Adler • 2011

The case for simpler cooking: boil water, batch-cook vegetables, save every scrap, trust yourself.

4.20

7k+

🏠 Home Cooking 📝 Food Essays 🥡 Batch Cooking 🗑️ Food Waste Reduction 🎨 Improvisational Cooking

An Everlasting Meal

The case for simpler cooking: boil water, batch-cook vegetables, save every scrap, trust yourself.

by Tamar Adler 2011 272 pages

4.20

7k+ ratings

🏠 Home Cooking 📝 Food Essays 🥡 Batch Cooking 🗑️ Food Waste Reduction 🎨 Improvisational Cooking

I Don't Want to Die Poor

by Michael Arceneaux • 2020

Student debt trapped him. Being Black and gay meant the escape routes were already closed.

3.71

1k+

💰 Student Debt 🏚️ Poverty Memoirs 🏳️‍🌈 Queer Black Identity 📝 Essay Collections 🧬 Generational Trauma

I Don't Want to Die Poor

Student debt trapped him. Being Black and gay meant the escape routes were already closed.

by Michael Arceneaux 2020 240 pages

3.71

1k+ ratings

💰 Student Debt 🏚️ Poverty Memoirs 🏳️‍🌈 Queer Black Identity 📝 Essay Collections 🧬 Generational Trauma

Movement Matters

by Katy Bowman • 2016

Movement is biology, not exercise. The true cost of outsourcing it reaches beyond your body.

4.28

500+

🧬 Evolutionary Health 🪑 Sedentary Culture 🌍 Ecological Living 🏋️ Functional Movement 🌿 Nature Connection

Movement Matters

Movement is biology, not exercise. The true cost of outsourcing it reaches beyond your body.

by Katy Bowman 2016 248 pages

4.28

500+ ratings

🧬 Evolutionary Health 🪑 Sedentary Culture 🌍 Ecological Living 🏋️ Functional Movement 🌿 Nature Connection

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