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Recommendations based on Here Is New Yorkby E.B. White
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The Elements of Style
by William Strunk Jr.
A practical guide to written English, providing guidance on grammar and style.
This style manual offers practical advice on improving writing skills. Throughout, the emphasis is on promoting a plain English style. This little book can help you communicate more effectively by ... (Goodreads)
Slouching Towards Bethlehem
by Joan Didion
Collection of essays exploring the cultural landscape of 1960s America.
The first nonfiction work by one of the most distinctive prose stylists of our era, Joan Didion's Slouching Towards Bethlehem remains, decades after its first publication, the essential portrait of ... (Goodreads)
Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly
by Anthony Bourdain
A humorous and unflinching account of life in restaurant kitchens, exploring the culture and camaraderie of the culinary world.
A deliciously funny, delectably shocking banquet of wild-but-true tales of life in the culinary trade from Chef Anthony Bourdain, laying out his more than a quarter-century of drugs, sex, and haute ... (Goodreads)
Barrel Fever: Stories and Essays
by David Sedaris
A collection of humorous and satirical stories and essays that explore the absurdities of modern life.
In David Sedaris’s world, no one is safe and no cow is sacred. A manic cross between Mark Leyner, Fran Lebowitz, and the National Enquirer , Sedaris’s collection of essays is a rollicking tour ... (Goodreads)
Between the World and Me
by Ta-Nehisi Coates
A letter to his son, exploring the realities of racism in America.
“This is your country, this is your world, this is your body, and you must find some way to live within the all of it.” In a profound work that pivots from the biggest questions about American ... (Goodreads)
Letters to a Young Poet
by Rainer Maria Rilke
Uplifting and inspiring words of wisdom, encouraging a young poet to find his own artistic voice.
In 1903, a student at a military academy sent some of his verses to a well-known Austrian poet, requesting an assessment of their value. The older artist, Rainer Maria Rilke (1875–1926), replied to ... (Goodreads)
Songbook
by Nick Hornby
A collection of essays on the power of music and its impact on our lives, exploring the emotional connections we make with songs.
“All I have to say about these songs is that I love them, and want to sing along to them, and force other people to listen to them, and get cross when these other people don’t like them as much as I ... (Goodreads)
The Death and Life of Great American Cities
by Jane Jacobs
Exposes the flaws of urban planning, advocating for a more organic approach.
A direct and fundamentally optimistic indictment of the short-sightedness and intellectual arrogance that has characterized much of urban planning in this century, The Death and Life of Great ... (Goodreads)
Hamilton: The Revolution
by Lin-Manuel Miranda
A behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the groundbreaking musical "Hamilton", and its impact on American culture.
A backstage pass to the groundbreaking, hit musical, Hamilton, winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Eleven Tony Awards, including Best Musical, including the award-winning libretto, ... (Barnes & Noble)
Just Kids
by Patti Smith
Chronicles of two young artists in New York City, finding friendship and inspiration in each other.
In Just Kids , Patti Smith's first book of prose, the legendary American artist offers a never-before-seen glimpse of her remarkable relationship with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe in the epochal ... (Goodreads)
On Photography
by Susan Sontag
Examination of the implications of photography and its effects on society.
First published in 1973, this is a study of the force of photographic images which are continually inserted between experience and reality. Sontag develops further the concept of 'transparency'. When ... (Goodreads)
Naked
by David Sedaris
Collection of humorous essays exploring the absurdities of everyday life.
Welcome to the hilarious, strange, elegiac, outrageous world of David Sedaris. In Naked , Sedaris turns the mania for memoir on its proverbial ear, mining the exceedingly rich terrain of his life, ... (Goodreads)
On Bullshit
by Harry G. Frankfurt
A philosophical exploration of the concept of bullshit, and its implications in society.
One of the most salient features of our culture is that there is so much bullshit. Everyone knows this. Each of us contributes his share. But we tend to take the situation for granted. Most people ... (Goodreads)
Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions
by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
A guide for raising children with feminist values, and advocating for gender equality.
From the best-selling author of, Americanah, and, We Should All Be Feminists, comes a powerful new statement about feminism today–written as a letter to a friend. A few years ago, Chimamanda Ngozi ... (Goodreads)
Citizen: An American Lyric
by Claudia Rankine
Poetic exploration of racial injustice, highlighting the everyday experiences of racism.
A provocative meditation on race, Claudia Rankine's long-awaited follow up to her groundbreaking book Don't Let Me Be Lonely: An American Lyric. Claudia Rankine's bold new book recounts mounting ... (Goodreads)
Meditations
by Marcus Aurelius
Reflections on Stoic philosophy, exploring the nature of existence and how to live life.
Written in Greek by the only Roman emperor who was also a philosopher, without any intention of publication, the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius offer a remarkable series of challenging spiritual ... (Goodreads)
Gift from the Sea
by Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Exploring the depths of the ocean, seeking solace and wisdom.
In this inimitable, beloved classic—graceful, lucid and lyrical—Anne Morrow Lindbergh shares her meditations on youth and age; love and marriage; peace, solitude and contentment as she set them down ... (Goodreads)
The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals
by Michael Pollan
Exploration of the modern food chain, examining the impact of food choices on our health and the environment.
What should we have for dinner? The question has confronted us since man discovered fire, but according to Michael Pollan, the bestselling author of The Botany of Desire , how we answer it today, at ... (Goodreads)
Dispatches
by Michael Herr
A journalist's account of the Vietnam War, depicting the brutality, confusion and chaos of the conflict.
Written on the front lines in Vietnam, Dispatches became an immediate classic of war reportage when it was published in 1977. From its terrifying opening pages to its final eloquent words, Dispatches ... (Goodreads)
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures
by Anne Fadiman
Exploring the cultural divide between the Hmong people and the medical establishment.
Lia Lee was born in 1982 to a family of recent Hmong immigrants, and soon developed symptoms of epilepsy. By 1988 she was living at home but was brain dead after a tragic cycle of misunderstanding, ... (Goodreads)
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption
by Bryan Stevenson
A powerful true story of justice and redemption, exposing the flaws of America's criminal justice system.
In 1989, idealistic young Harvard law graduate Bryan Stevenson travels to Alabama hoping to help fight for poor people who cannot afford proper legal representation. Teaming with Eva Ansley, he ... (Wikipedia)
What I Talk About When I Talk About Running
by Haruki Murakami
Reflections of a runner, exploring the physical and mental challenges of the sport.
In 1982, having sold his jazz bar to devote himself to writing, Murakami began running to keep fit. A year later, he'd completed a solo course from Athens to Marathon, and now, after dozens of such ... (Goodreads)
Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
by David Sedaris
A humorous collection of autobiographical essays reflecting on family relationships.
David Sedaris plays in the snow with his sisters. He goes on vacation with his family. He gets a job selling drinks. He attends his brother’s wedding. He mops his sister’s floor. He gives directions ... (Goodreads)
Tender at the Bone: Growing Up at the Table
by Ruth Reichl
A memoir of a food critic's childhood, filled with eccentric characters and culinary adventures that shaped her love for food and writing.
At an early age, Ruth Reichl discovered that "food could be a way of making sense of the world. . . . If you watched people as they ate, you could find out who they were." Her deliciously crafted ... (Goodreads)
Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel
by Rolf Potts
A guide to long-term travel, emphasizing the benefits of immersing oneself in different cultures and ways of life.
Vagabonding is about taking time off from your normal life - from six weeks to four months to two years - to discover and experience the world on your own terms. Veteran shoestring traveler Rolf ... (Goodreads)
Tao Te Ching
by Lao Tzu
A collection of wise sayings and reflections on the nature of existence.
A lucid translation of the well-known Taoist classic by a leading scholar-now in a Shambhala Pocket Library edition. Written more than two thousand years ago, the Tao Teh Ching , or -The Classic of ... (Goodreads)
Chronicles: Volume One
by Bob Dylan
A memoir tracking Bob Dylan's musical journey from humble beginnings to iconic status.
WINNER OF THE NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE The celebrated first memoir from arguably the most influential singer-songwriter in the country, Bob Dylan. “I’d come from a long ways off and had started a ... (Barnes & Noble)
Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life
by Anne Lamott
A witty and honest guide to writing and life, encouraging writers to embrace imperfection and find their own voice.
A newer edition of this title can be found, here., "Thirty years ago my older brother, who was ten years old at the time, was trying to get a report on birds written that he'd had three months to ... (Goodreads)
The Autobiography of Malcolm X
by Malcolm X
A gripping account of one man's transformation from criminal to civil rights leader.
Alternate cover for ISBN 9780345350688 Through a life of passion and struggle, Malcolm X became one of the most influential figures of the 20th Century. In this riveting account, he tells of his ... (Goodreads)
How to Be Alone
by Jonathan Franzen
A collection of essays exploring the complexities of solitude, self-reliance, and personal growth.
From the National Book Award-winning author of, The Corrections, a collection of essays that reveal him to be one of our sharpest, toughest, and most entertaining social critics While the essays in ... (Goodreads)
