Essays

By way of H. G. Wells and Rebecca West's affair through 1930s nuclear physics to Flanagan's father working as a slave labourer near Hiroshima when the atom bomb is dropped, this daisy chain of events reaches fission when Flanagan as a young man finds himself trapped in a rapid on a wild river....

With an introduction by Will Self. A classic work of psychology, this international best seller provides a groundbreaking insight into the human mind....

In this inspiring masterpiece, best-selling author Susan Cain shows the power of 'bittersweetness'—a tendency towards sorrow and longing, an acute awareness of passing time and a piercing joy when beholding beauty....

A Memoir of My Former Self reveals the shape of Hilary Mantel's life in her own dazzling words, narrated by a prestigious cast of actors and notable literary figures connected to Hilary's work....

From the Man Booker Prize-winning, New York Times best-selling author of Lincoln in the Bardo, a literary masterclass on how to become both a better writer and reader, on what makes great stories work and what they can tell us about how to live....

What does it mean to feel truly alive? Aged 24, Matt Haig's world caved in. He could see no way to go on living....

A deeply moving and insightful collection of personal essays from number-one best-selling author John Green, adapted from his critically acclaimed podcast....

The inspirational wisdom of Oprah Winfrey, collected for the first time in a beautiful book....

Universally acclaimed from the time it was first published in 1968, Slouching Towards Bethlehem has been admired for decades as a stylistic masterpiece....

How to Be Alone is a must-listen for anyone whose childhood still feels unresolved, who spends more time pretending to have friends online than feeling close to anyone in real life, who tries to have genuine, deep conversations in a roomful of people who'd rather you not....

Erin Napier, designer, host of HGTV’s Home Town, and author of Make Something Good Today, returns with a one-of-a-kind celebration of the homes we live in and love....

In On the Genealogy of Morals, Nietzsche furthers his pursuit of a clarity that is less tainted by imposed prejudices....

I Love Russia takes us to places that non-Russians have never seen and brings us voices we have never heard. It is Elena Kostyuchenko’s courageous attempt to document Russia as experienced by those whom it systematically and brutally erases....

In Gratitude Dr Sacks reflects on and gives thanks for a life well lived and expresses his thoughts on growing old, facing terminal cancer and reaching the end....

Oliver Sacks examines the powers of music through the individual experiences of patients, musicians and everyday people....

'Politics and the English Language' is widely considered one of Orwell's most important essays....

In Praise of Shadows is an eloquent tribute to the austere beauty of traditional Japanese aesthetics....

Picking up where Things I Don't Want to Know left off, this short, exhilarating memoir shows a writer in radical flux, facing separation and bereavement and emerging renewed from the ashes of a former life....

David Sedaris' remarkable ability to uncover the hilarious absurdity teeming just below the surface of everyday life is elevated to wilder and more entertaining heights....

Opinions is a collection of Roxane Gay's best nonfiction pieces from the past ten years, addressing a wide range of topics - politics, the culture wars, civil rights, celebrities, and much more....

When society seems to demand confidence and certainty, how much courage does it take to admit doubt, especially self-doubt? In this personal essay, one of Australia's most respected journalists argues in favour of a doubtful mind....

What is it like to grow up Aboriginal in Australia? This anthology, compiled by award-winning author Anita Heiss, showcases many diverse voices, experiences and stories in order to answer that question.... 

You'll be wincing in recognition and scratching your head in incredulity, but like Marian herself you won't be able to stop laughing at the sheer delightful absurdity that is modern life....

The collection of 10 absorbing tales by master psychotherapist Irvin D. Yalom uncovers the mysteries, frustrations, pathos, and humor at the heart of the therapeutic encounter....

Funny, thoughtful, and fascinating, this wonderful series of essays and stories read by the author offers an extraordinary journey into an exceptional career of an award-winning writer....

ケイ・ヘザリ（「ＮＨＫラジオ英会話」元レギュラー・ゲスト）のエッセイ単行本『American Pie』の中から厳選した17本を、著者自らが英語で朗読。

Enjoy an anthology of short stories, poems, and essays by Tony Martello. Some stories and poems are reprints while others have yet to be discovered. Included is a personal essay on his perspective of the COVID-19 shutdown. Some called it a curse while others discovered opportunities in its wake!

I Love Russia takes us to places that non-Russians have never seen and brings us voices we have never heard. It is Elena Kostyuchenko’s courageous attempt to document Russia as experienced by those whom it systematically and brutally erases: village girls recruited into sex work, queer people in the outer provinces, patients and doc­tors at a Ukrainian maternity ward, and reporters like herself. At once uncompromising and deeply humane, it stitches reportage and personal essays into a kaleidoscopic, often other-worldly journey. Here is Russia as it is, not as we imagine it.

Judith Thurman, a prolific staff writer at The New Yorker for more than two decades, has gathered a selection of her essays and profiles in A Left-Handed Woman. They consider our culture in all its guises: literature, history, politics, gender, fashion, and art, though their paramount subject is the human condition. Thurman is one of the preeminent essayists of our time—"a master of vivisection," as Kathryn Harrison wrote in the New York Times. "When she's done with a subject, it's still living, mystery intact."

Author Joni B. Cole worries that Vlad the Impaler may be a distant cousin. She feuds with a dead medium. She thinks (or overthinks) about insulting birthday cards, power trips, and the real reason writers hate Amazon. And she wishes, really wishes, all those well-meaning people would stop talking about Guatemala. At once irreverent and thought provoking, Cole's collection is a joy ride through eclectic essays that arrive smack on that sweet spot between soul searching and social commentary, between humor and heft.

Through the rising action of his life in literature, Lennon’s remembrances track the influence not only of his literary pater familias, Norman Mailer, but his actual father, a booze-bitten blue-collar bibliophile with his own reputation for genius, and how together these mentors forged and focused the 20/20 literary vision Lennon takes to the work of some of the greatest writers of the Twentieth Century, from Baldwin and Bishop to Didion and DeLillo and, not least, Mailer himself.

Europe and Elsewhere by Mark Twain is a literary voyage that takes you on a humorous and insightful journey across continents. This audiobook presents Twain's travel writings, filled with his signature wit, keen observations, and cultural commentary. Join Twain as he explores Europe and shares his witty impressions of the Old World, offering a fresh perspective on the cultures, traditions, and quirks of the people he encounters.

Embark on a journey into the imaginative and whimsical world of "The Curious Republic of Gondour and Other Whimsical Sketches" by Mark Twain. This audiobook offers a delightful collection of Twain's satirical and humorous essays and sketches that explore a wide range of topics, from politics to society to the absurdities of everyday life. With Twain's trademark wit and clever storytelling, you'll find yourself transported to a place where irony reigns, and laughter is guaranteed. These sketches provide a sharp and often hilarious commentary on the quirks and follies of the human experience.

When was the last time you cried? Was it because you were sad? Or happy? Overwhelmed, or frustrated? Maybe from relief or from pride? Was it in public or in private? Did you feel better afterwards, or worse? The reasons that we cry—and the circumstances in which we shed a tear—are often surprising and beautiful. Sad Happens is a collective, multi-faceted archive of tears that captures the complexity and variety of these circumstances.

Delve into the satirical and thought-provoking world of "Christian Science" by Mark Twain, a collection of essays and writings that offer a humorous yet critical examination of Christian Science and its founder, Mary Baker Eddy. This audiobook presents Twain's signature wit and incisive commentary as he explores the tenets of Christian Science, its practices, and its impact on society.

As a teenager, Elspeth Barker had two great desires: to have a passionate love affair with a poet and to be a writer. She achieved the first when she and the poet George Barker fell in love: although he was perpetually broke, had several children by previous lovers and couldn't marry her as his first wife refused a divorce, they were extremely happy together, had five children and finally married two years before George's death. They had five children and finally married two years before George's death.

Immerse yourself in the enchanting world of "Italian Hours" by Henry James. This audiobook transports you to the picturesque landscapes and vibrant cities of Italy. With James' evocative prose and keen observations, you'll embark on a sensory journey through the art, culture, and history of this captivating country. The narrative offers a rich exploration of the intersection between travel, literature, and personal reflection.

In this galloping collection of twenty pointed essays, G. K. Chesterton (1874-1936) nimbly punctures the philosophical pretensions of modern non-Christian thinkers and artists—heretics, as he calls them. Chesterton good-naturedly takes on contemporaries Rudyard Kipling, H. G. Wells, James McNeill Whistler, and even his good friend George Bernard Shaw, exposing the muddled logic of their popular ideas with his characteristic wisdom and razor-sharp wit. He also begins to lay the groundwork for Orthodoxy, his subsequent account of a rational and coherent Christian faith.

In this powerful, concise set of essays, world-renowned finance PhD Dr. Boyce Watkins explains that African Americans must dramatically and immediately shift the way we think about wealth, education, family, and community. We must educate our own children, own our own businesses, strengthen our families, and do what is necessary to ensure that the next generation is able to compete in a global, high-tech society.

By way of H. G. Wells and Rebecca West's affair through 1930s nuclear physics to Flanagan's father working as a slave labourer near Hiroshima when the atom bomb is dropped, this genre-defying daisy chain of events reaches fission when Flanagan as a young man finds himself trapped in a rapid on a wild river not knowing if he is to live or to die. At once a love song to his island home and to his parents, this hypnotic melding of dream, history, literature, place and memory is about how reality is never made by realists and how our lives so often arise out of the stories of others.