Essays
A Room of One's Own
Woolf's elegant argument that a woman needs money and a room of her own to write fiction, and why history made that so hard.
Genre Starter Kit
Essays Starter Kit
5 books to begin with, in the order to read them.
A thoughtful mind, thinking out loud. A guided first step into essays: where to begin, how to read it, and what to try next. About 42 hours of reading.
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- Books
- 5
- Reading time
- About 42 hours
- Formats
- PDF, web guide, content pack
A preview
Read the opening
- Why Read Essays
- How to Read Essays
- Your Reading Path
- Adjacent Reading
- Keep Going
Welcome
Why Read Essays
The essay is the most flexible form there is: part argument, part wandering, part confession. A good collection is like a long conversation with someone who notices more than you do, and sends you back to your own life paying closer attention.
A thoughtful mind, thinking out loud.
The Concierge
Practical
How to Read Essays
- Read one essay at a time and let it settle before the next.
- Do not read in order unless you want to; dip in by title.
- Underline what surprises you and return to it a week later.
Pairs with: A single essay with a cup of tea, once a day.
The full genre starter kit continues for another 3 sections.
Request accessThe books
On the reading list
Essays
Braiding Sweetgrass
A botanist and member of the Potawatomi Nation weaves scientific knowledge and Indigenous wisdom into essays on our reciprocal relationship with the living world.
Memoir
The Year of Magical Thinking
Didion's precise, unsentimental account of the year following her husband's sudden death.
Science
A Short History of Nearly Everything
A genial and funny tour of how we came to know what we know about the universe, the Earth and ourselves.
Literary Fiction
The Remains of the Day
An impeccable English butler takes a motoring holiday and looks back on a lifetime of service, and on what he never allowed himself to say.
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