The Book of Delights cover art

The Book of Delights

Essays

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The Book of Delights

By: Ross Gay
Narrated by: Ross Gay
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About this listen

The winner of the NBCC Award for Poetry offers up a spirited collection of short lyric essays, written daily over a tumultuous year, reminding us of the purpose and pleasure of praising, extolling, and celebrating ordinary wonders.

Ross Gay’s The Book of Delights is a genre-defying collection of essays - some as short as a paragraph; some as long as five pages - that record the small joys that occurred in one year, from birthday to birthday, and that we often overlook in our busy lives. His is a meditation on delight that takes a clear-eyed view of the complexities, even the terrors, in his life, including living in America as a Black man; the ecological and psychic violence of our consumer culture; the loss of those he loves.

©2019 Ross Gay (P)2018 Recorded Books African American Studies Americas Essays Social Sciences Specific Demographics United States Nonfiction
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The world feels hard right now. But this book is a soft, funny and delicious reminder to be present. He talks about a “delight radar”, and reading this book activated mine at every turn. An invitation and a sacred deliberation.

An antidote to dread

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Definitely worth enjoying on audiobook rather than physical book so you can delight in Ross Gay's lovely voice.

This book is a delight

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I really enjoyed listening to Ross Gay’s observations and reflections. He didn’t shy away from earthy and visceral topics, he didn’t shy away from suffering and wrongs. Nevertheless, I found it “delightful”. I could visualise what he was describing and it often made me smile and laugh. I feel like I had a glimpse into someone else’s inner life and I felt connected to them. I also noticed as I read that I found myself noticing my own simple delights. Thank you Ross Gay that was wonderful.

It soothed and sang

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