Book Riot's 50 Must-Read Contemporary Essay Collections (50 books)

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"I feel like essay collections don’t get enough credit. They’re so wonderful! They’re like short story collections, but TRUE. It’s like going to a truth buffet. You can get information about sooooo many topics, sometimes in one single book! To prove that there are a zillion amazing essay collections out there, I compiled 50 great contemporary essay collections, just from the last 18 months alone. Ranging in topics from food, nature, politics, sex, celebrity, and more, there is something here for everyone!

I’ve included a brief description from the publisher with each title. Tell us in the comments about which of these you’ve read or other contemporary essay collections that you love. There are a LOT of them. Yay, books!"

(from https://bookriot.com/2018/07/19/must-...)

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1	Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay in Forty Questions by Valeria Luiselli 4.38 avg rating — 18,087 ratings score: 472, and 5 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
2	They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us: Essays by Hanif Abdurraqib 4.54 avg rating — 20,041 ratings score: 400, and 4 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
3	We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy by Ta-Nehisi Coates 4.38 avg rating — 31,387 ratings score: 287, and 3 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
4	Look Alive Out There by Sloane Crosley (Goodreads Author) 3.77 avg rating — 7,955 ratings score: 286, and 3 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
5	Not That Bad: Dispatches from Rape Culture by Roxane Gay (Goodreads Author) (Editor) 4.43 avg rating — 23,381 ratings score: 281, and 3 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
6	We Are Never Meeting in Real Life. by Samantha Irby (Goodreads Author) 3.89 avg rating — 48,677 ratings score: 278, and 3 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
7	Dead Girls: Essays on Surviving an American Obsession by Alice Bolin (Goodreads Author) 3.03 avg rating — 4,169 ratings score: 194, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
8	Wedding Toasts I'll Never Give by Ada Calhoun (Goodreads Author) 3.71 avg rating — 3,987 ratings score: 193, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
9	How to Write an Autobiographical Novel by Alexander Chee (Goodreads Author) 4.37 avg rating — 12,931 ratings score: 191, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
10	A Really Big Lunch: The Roving Gourmand on Food and Life by Jim Harrison 4.02 avg rating — 1,019 ratings score: 183, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
11	Would You Rather? A Memoir of Growing Up and Coming Out by Katie Heaney (Goodreads Author) 3.78 avg rating — 1,790 ratings score: 181, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
12	Tonight I'm Someone Else: Essays by Chelsea Hodson (Goodreads Author) 3.73 avg rating — 3,297 ratings score: 178, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
13	All the Lives I Want: Essays About My Best Friends Who Happen to Be Famous Strangers by Alana Massey (Goodreads Author) 3.65 avg rating — 2,115 ratings score: 174, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
14	One Day We'll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter by Scaachi Koul 3.72 avg rating — 14,038 ratings score: 172, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
15	We Wear the Mask: 15 Stories of Passing in America by Brando Skyhorse (Goodreads Author) (Editor) 3.86 avg rating — 228 ratings score: 160, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
16	The River of Consciousness by Oliver Sacks 3.94 avg rating — 7,565 ratings score: 158, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
17	Feel Free: Essays by Zadie Smith 3.82 avg rating — 8,477 ratings score: 155, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
17	Against Memoir: Complaints, Confessions & Criticisms by Michelle Tea 4.13 avg rating — 975 ratings score: 155, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
19	The Mother Of All Questions by Rebecca Solnit 4.19 avg rating — 9,268 ratings score: 153, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
20	Can You Tolerate This? by Ashleigh Young (Goodreads Author) 3.96 avg rating — 805 ratings score: 151, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
21	Would Everybody Please Stop?: Reflections on Life and Other Bad Ideas by Jenny Allen 3.27 avg rating — 452 ratings score: 99, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
22	Longthroat Memoirs: Soups, Sex and Nigerian Taste Buds by Yemisi Aribisala 3.98 avg rating — 141 ratings score: 98, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
23	Beyond Measure: Essays by Rachel Z. Arndt (Goodreads Author) 4.02 avg rating — 53 ratings score: 97, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
24	Magic Hours: Essays on Creators and Creation by Tom Bissell 3.77 avg rating — 788 ratings score: 96, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
25	Betwixt-and-Between: Essays on the Writing Life by Jenny Boully 3.98 avg rating — 245 ratings score: 94, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
26	Too Much and Not the Mood: Essays by Durga Chew-Bose 4.01 avg rating — 5,776 ratings score: 91, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
27	Flâneuse: Women Walk the City in Paris, New York, Tokyo, Venice, and London by Lauren Elkin (Goodreads Author) 3.58 avg rating — 4,337 ratings score: 88, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
28	Idiophone by Amy Fusselman 3.91 avg rating — 274 ratings score: 87, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
29	Sunshine State: Essays by Sarah Gerard 3.39 avg rating — 1,722 ratings score: 85, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
30	The Art of the Wasted Day by Patricia Hampl 3.35 avg rating — 1,176 ratings score: 84, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
31	Insomniac City: New York, Oliver, and Me by Bill Hayes (Goodreads Author) 4.39 avg rating — 8,329 ratings score: 82, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
32	This Will Be My Undoing: Living at the Intersection of Black, Female, and Feminist in (White) America by Morgan Jerkins (Goodreads Author) 4.03 avg rating — 6,758 ratings score: 78, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
33	Everywhere Home: A Life in Essays by Fenton Johnson 3.61 avg rating — 28 ratings score: 77, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
34	Typewriters, Bombs, Jellyfish: Essays by Tom McCarthy 3.76 avg rating — 204 ratings score: 73, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
35	Nasty Women: Feminism, Resistance, and Revolution in Trump's America by Samhita Mukhopadhyay (Editor) 4.11 avg rating — 2,075 ratings score: 72, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
36	Don't Call Me Princess: Essays on Girls, Women, Sex, and Life by Peggy Orenstein 3.78 avg rating — 892 ratings score: 71, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
37	When You Find Out the World is Against You: And Other Funny Memories About Awful Moments by Kelly Oxford 3.65 avg rating — 2,734 ratings score: 70, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
38	Too Fat, Too Slutty, Too Loud: The Rise and Reign of the Unruly Woman by Anne Helen Petersen 3.74 avg rating — 10,438 ratings score: 69, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
39	Well, That Escalated Quickly: Memoirs and Mistakes of an Accidental Activist by Franchesca Ramsey (Goodreads Author) 3.78 avg rating — 2,609 ratings score: 68, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
40	Shrewed: A Wry and Closely Observed Look at the Lives of Women and Girls by Elizabeth Renzetti really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 819 ratings score: 67, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
41	What Are We Doing Here? by Marilynne Robinson 3.84 avg rating — 1,025 ratings score: 66, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
42	Double Bind: Women on Ambition by Robin Romm (Goodreads Author) (Editor) 3.85 avg rating — 482 ratings score: 65, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
43	The Destiny Thief: Essays on Writing, Writers and Life by Richard Russo (Goodreads Author) 3.82 avg rating — 1,139 ratings score: 64, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
44	Curry: Eating, Reading, and Race by Naben Ruthnum 3.75 avg rating — 487 ratings score: 63, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
45	All the Women in My Family Sing: Women Write the World: Essays on Equality, Justice, and Freedom (Nothing But the Truth So Help Me God) by Deborah Santana (Goodreads Author) (Editor) 4.32 avg rating — 283 ratings score: 61, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
46	The Wrong Way to Save Your Life: Essays – Intellectually Fierce and Achingly Human Stories on Art, Courage, and Justice by Megan Stielstra 4.22 avg rating — 1,599 ratings score: 57, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
47	A Twenty Minute Silence Followed by Applause by Shawn Wen 3.95 avg rating — 231 ratings score: 55, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
48	Acid West: Essays by Joshua Wheeler (Goodreads Author) 4.02 avg rating — 294 ratings score: 54, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
49	Sexographies by Gabriela Wiener 3.87 avg rating — 1,642 ratings score: 53, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
50	The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative by Florence Williams 3.96 avg rating — 15,462 ratings score: 52, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars