Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Publication
Boston [Mass.] : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009.
Description
Presents selections of mainstream and alternative American literature, including both fiction and nonfiction, that discuss a broad spectrum of subjects.
User reviews
LibraryThing member sgerbic
Actually I am disappointed in this book. The cover is rather clever, and I felt that any book that includes craigs list items, and the best letter to an editor must have great reading in store. According to its into the articles were chosen by a panel of people, some high school students amongst
"Relations" by Eula Biss was interesting, the writer is reflecting on her feelings after reading a study done on black and white dolls. The story is reflective and thought inspiring.
"Everything I know about my Family on my Mother's side" by Nathan Englander. This was a very odd narrative about a man walking down a city street with his girlfriend. He is thinking about his family and also about his girlfriend. I struggled through the story and finally his thoughts turn to his loneliness, as his girlfriend breaks up with him because he cannot show emotion.
"Wild Berry Blue" Rivka Galchen. A young girl of 9-10 falls in love with a young man that works at McDonalds.
"The Chameleon" David Grann was quite a gem, I am going to look this up and find more info. A French child is found on the streets, he is sent to a children's home where he lives for some time until it is discovered that he is actually a 33 year old man. He lives his life going from place to place pretending to be children. He makes it to America where he passes himself off as a boy what is missing 3 years. The mother and brother act suspicious as they know that the real child is dead. Thusly the Chameleon uncovers the mystery. I believe this is all a true story but I want to learn more.
I didn't find much else of interest in the other short stories. Sadly I doubt that I will purchase another NonRequired Reading book anytime soon.
June 2010 - 5
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them. Many of the stories were just awful, I wanted something to make me think and be excited about. Only a few stories did anything for me. "Relations" by Eula Biss was interesting, the writer is reflecting on her feelings after reading a study done on black and white dolls. The story is reflective and thought inspiring.
"Everything I know about my Family on my Mother's side" by Nathan Englander. This was a very odd narrative about a man walking down a city street with his girlfriend. He is thinking about his family and also about his girlfriend. I struggled through the story and finally his thoughts turn to his loneliness, as his girlfriend breaks up with him because he cannot show emotion.
"Wild Berry Blue" Rivka Galchen. A young girl of 9-10 falls in love with a young man that works at McDonalds.
"The Chameleon" David Grann was quite a gem, I am going to look this up and find more info. A French child is found on the streets, he is sent to a children's home where he lives for some time until it is discovered that he is actually a 33 year old man. He lives his life going from place to place pretending to be children. He makes it to America where he passes himself off as a boy what is missing 3 years. The mother and brother act suspicious as they know that the real child is dead. Thusly the Chameleon uncovers the mystery. I believe this is all a true story but I want to learn more.
I didn't find much else of interest in the other short stories. Sadly I doubt that I will purchase another NonRequired Reading book anytime soon.
June 2010 - 5
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LibraryThing member woodsathome
I always love this collection. My favorite part is always the front section which "comes before the next section [and], is the first section in the book."
Among the gems not to be missed this year are:
Best American Letter to the Editor - concerning, ahem, "logs" in a lake.
Best American Anonymous
Best American Kids' Letters to Obama
Can't wait for the 2010 edition
Among the gems not to be missed this year are:
Best American Letter to the Editor - concerning, ahem, "logs" in a lake.
Best American Anonymous
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Postcards Best American Kids' Letters to Obama
Can't wait for the 2010 edition
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LibraryThing member MusicalGlass
This compilation could stand as a kind of sidelong snapshot of early 21st-century American life: an evocative, amusing, dolorous, elliptical report assembled from book & poem titles, festival names, karate tributes, warped graphics, short stories and off-stage news.
‘The campsite was overgrown
Avery Karma Ale
Spaten Oktoberfest
‘The campsite was overgrown
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with poison ivy, and many legs were covered with weeping red blisters. It was the first time in weeks I hadn’t felt self-conscious about being filthy, but now I felt self-conscious about not being punk enough, and I worried I was being eyed with suspicion. Almost none of the kids were older than twenty-five, as if there was a sell-by date on radical social philosophy, a legal limit after which one must surrender lofty ideals and shave off dreadlocks. CrimethInc’s core function is the creation of propaganda, mainly in the form of books and zines, and they held a swap of such anarcho-classics as Days of War, Nights of Love; Evasion; and Fighting for Our Lives. One of my favorite free pamphlets was ‘Wasted Indeed: Anarchy & Alcohol,’ a searing indictment of the revolution-sapping properties of the demon drink, which offered potent slogans: ‘Sedition not Sedation!’ ‘No cocktail but the Molotov cocktail!’ ‘Let us brew nothing but trouble!’”Avery Karma Ale
Spaten Oktoberfest
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LibraryThing member figre
Reading a review of the most recent Best American Nonrequired Reading collection (2011 as of this writing), the reviewer ripped the collection apart while lauding other Best American collections. I have always felt just the opposite – that Nonrequired Reading is usually the pinnacle of these
As I read the2009 collection, I dived in with a slight worry. The first section (dedicated to small subjects and strange things) was as eclectic as ever – some good, some bad – but never a gauge for the entire collection. It is the hors d’oeuvres to the full meal. But the first item in the second section put me in a tailspin – a story that went nowhere and did nothing. Were my past readings an indication of decline? Was the reviewer correct? Had I lost one of the few “sure things” in reading?
Continuing on, my fears were groundless. This is an excellent collection with a good mix of essays, stories, and graphic novels that are entertaining, thought-provoking, and just worth the time. From “Relations” by Eula Biss which explores the issue of race relations using the birth of twins – one white, one black – as the jumping off point, to a strange tale of triplet girls in a small town who meet a man with strange tastes in “Triplet” by Susan Breen, to “Everything I Know About My Family On My Mother’s Side” by Nathan Englander which, in a contrived but incredibly successful approach, explores how much or how little the teller of the tale knows about his family, to “Monster” by Rebekah Frumkin to “Your Exhausted Heart” by Anne Gisleson to a whole lot more, finally ending with Nick St. John’s fascinating “mini-comic” “Further Notes on my Unfortunate Condition”. There are a couple of false notes beyond the first story, but few and far between.
As I’ve come to expect, a collection that entertains and makes you ponder just a little bit
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collections, and all others are wannabes. However, the last few I read, while good, didn’t live up to my expectations.As I read the2009 collection, I dived in with a slight worry. The first section (dedicated to small subjects and strange things) was as eclectic as ever – some good, some bad – but never a gauge for the entire collection. It is the hors d’oeuvres to the full meal. But the first item in the second section put me in a tailspin – a story that went nowhere and did nothing. Were my past readings an indication of decline? Was the reviewer correct? Had I lost one of the few “sure things” in reading?
Continuing on, my fears were groundless. This is an excellent collection with a good mix of essays, stories, and graphic novels that are entertaining, thought-provoking, and just worth the time. From “Relations” by Eula Biss which explores the issue of race relations using the birth of twins – one white, one black – as the jumping off point, to a strange tale of triplet girls in a small town who meet a man with strange tastes in “Triplet” by Susan Breen, to “Everything I Know About My Family On My Mother’s Side” by Nathan Englander which, in a contrived but incredibly successful approach, explores how much or how little the teller of the tale knows about his family, to “Monster” by Rebekah Frumkin to “Your Exhausted Heart” by Anne Gisleson to a whole lot more, finally ending with Nick St. John’s fascinating “mini-comic” “Further Notes on my Unfortunate Condition”. There are a couple of false notes beyond the first story, but few and far between.
As I’ve come to expect, a collection that entertains and makes you ponder just a little bit
Show Less
LibraryThing member stuart10er
Another wonderful anthology. Some are interesting, some blah, but it is engaging to reach such a varied assortment of stuff. My favorites this year were "The Chameleon" and "The Briefcase".
LibraryThing member JBD1
Loved the front section, was quite intrigued by Eula Biss' "Relations," quite liked Philip Connors' "Diary of a Fire Lookout." Jonathan Franzen's remarks delivered at David Foster Wallace's memorial service were very touching, and David Grann's "The Chameleon" was great, as was K.G. Schneider's
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"The Outlaw Bride." More hits than misses, this time. Show Less
Language
Original publication date
2009
Physical description
xviii, 413 p.; 21 inches
ISBN
9780547241609