The past few years have provided people with lots of chances for self-reflection. From isolation during COVID to major shifts globally, to personal changes like new jobs, friends or houses, we’ve all got a lot to think about. For many people, this time to think has been a welcome source of inspiration — for writing, major decisions, or mental peace. Are you still looking to expand your mind, open yourself to new perspectives, and explore both the mundane and the profound? Look no further than these five essay collections that cover a range of timelines and topics that will cause you to ponder, well, everything.
These Precious Days by Ann Patchett
Ann Patchett has written a grace-filled, insightful compilation of narrative essays of her literary life. From meditations on unexpected friendships, to her creative process, to looking at the world with fresh eyes, to a fondness for knitting, Patchett encompasses the highs and lows of life. Readers will find humor, optimism, abundant joy and acceptance of loss, along with moments of laughter sprinkled with tears. These essays are a beautiful reminder to celebrate our precious moments with a sense of adventure, good books and great conversations with family and friends.
Musings 2022 by Denis O’Neill
In Musings 2022, author/screenwriter/observer Denis O’Neill describes a world most unsettled in a collection of essays including rants and riffs about politics, poetry, societal matters, his Irish heritage, and subjects of the heart. 2022 was a year of living most dangerously. The pandemic marched on, Putin marched in, and politics became even more of a hot-button issue. His topics, more than 70 all told, are far-ranging, though it’s hard not to have so many of them focus on the political climate, both worldwide and domestically, and the well-documented events that dominated front pages everywhere. The motive for these musings? “The older you get,” the author says, “the more your life becomes a vehicle for wistful contemplation. A natural condition,” especially when paired with a sense of humor.
Would Everybody Please Stop?: Reflections on Life and Other Bad Ideas by Jenny Allen
Across the personal, the philosophical and everywhere in between, humorist and performer Jenny Allen muses on a wide variety of life’s experiences. With a conversational and witty tell-it-how-it-is tone, Allen explores romance, sex, divorce, her trial as a “wig person” during chemo, phrases that just don’t make sense, and scathing social commentary. Called “a tartly funny and often piercingly emotional ramble through life at a certain age,” by The New York Times, these 35 essays are sure to provoke every kind of response, from laughter to tears.
Some Stories: Lessons from the Edge of Business and Sport by Yvon Chouinard
Yvon Chouinard, the founder of the outdoor brand Patagonia, has curated a collection of stories from a rugged, beautiful, and full life dedicated to nature. Chouinard has dipped his toes into almost every outdoor sport there is, imbuing his accounts with a sense of responsibility toward our planet. From decrying the national government for a lack of protection of public lands to encouraging voter turnout, Chouinard’s experiences have taught him that with power, adventure, and pioneering, comes the responsibility to be ethical and to give back. He shares his thoughts, philosophies, sports adventures, business excellence, and environmental activism with an audience that is sure to enjoy every word.
Waxing Pathetic: My Two Cents, For What They're Worth by M. B. Clark
Waxing Pathetic is a merging of personal commentary and memoir couched in a humorous voice. From a sardonic perspective, readers are treated to a stream of consciousness that picks and nibbles at the human experience. From the pathetic to the political, the lunatic to the poetic, Merry Clark’s memoir is a masterwork of dry wit and piercing observation.
Organized in five major sections, each personal essay carries a unique theme that is hung upon the overriding concept of the “pathetic principle”. Readers will see real events merge with dream-state fiction to elicit a deeper truth than just memories can provide. These essays are a revealing dive into the mind of a modern woman.
