Amazon.com
Dave Eggers is a terrifically talented writer; don't hold his cleverness against him. What to make of a book called A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius: Based on a True Story?For starters, there's a good bit of staggering genius before you even get to the true story, including a preface, a list of "Rules and Suggestions for Enjoyment of This Book," and a 20-page acknowledgements section complete with special mail-in offer, flow chart of the book's themes, and a lovely pen-and-ink drawing of a stapler (helpfully labeled "Here is a drawing of a stapler:").

But on to the true story. At the age of 22, Eggers became both an orphan and a "single mother" when his parents died within five months of one another of unrelated cancers. In the ensuing sibling division of labor, Dave is appointed unofficial guardian of his 8-year-old brother, Christopher. The two live together in semi-squalor, decaying food and sports equipment scattered about, while Eggers worries obsessively about child-welfare authorities, molesting babysitters, and his own health. His child-rearing strategy swings between making his brother's upbringing manically fun and performing bizarre developmental experiments on him. (Case in point: his idea of suitable bedtime reading is John Hersey's Hiroshima.)

The book is also, perhaps less successfully, about being young and hip and out to conquer the world (in an ironic, media-savvy, Gen-X way, naturally). In the early '90s, Eggers was one of the founders of the very funny Might Magazine, and he spends a fair amount of time here on Might, the hipster culture of San Francisco's South Park, and his own efforts to get on to MTV's Real World. This sort of thing doesn't age very well--but then, Eggers knows that. There's no criticism you can come up with that he hasn't put into A.H.W.O.S.G. already. "The book thereafter is kind of uneven," he tells us regarding the contents after page 109, and while that's true, it's still uneven in a way that is funny and heartfelt and interesting.

All this self-consciousness could have become unbearably arch. It's a testament to Eggers's skill as a writer--and to the heartbreaking particulars of his story--that it doesn't. Currently the editor of the footnote-and-marginalia-intensive journal McSweeney's (the last issue featured an entire story by David Foster Wallace printed tinily on its spine), Eggers comes from the most media-saturated generation in history--so much so that he can't feel an emotion without the sense that it's already been felt for him. What may seem like postmodern noodling is really just Eggers writing about pain in the only honest way available to him. Oddly enough, the effect is one of complete sincerity, and--especially in its concluding pages--this memoir as metafiction is affecting beyond all rational explanation. --Mary Park Book Description
The literary sensation of the year, a book that redefines both family and narrative for the twenty-first century. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius is the moving memoir of a college senior who, in the space of five weeks, loses both of his parents to cancer and inherits his eight-year-old brother.Here is an exhilarating debut that manages to be simultaneously hilarious and wildly inventive as well as a deeply heartfelt story of the love that holds a family together.

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius is an instant classic that will be read in paperback for decades to come.The Vintage edition includes a new appendix by the author. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (892)

not perfect but perfectly wonderful
Wow!I was reading the various reviews of this book and the spread of opinions is staggering, if not heartbreaking.The five star reviews are as passionate as the one star reviews.And doesn't that say something about the quality of the writing?That love it or hate it does engage you?

I was blown away by just how good this book is.It's a hodgepodge of styles and thoughts and emotions.But the writing, ahhh the writing.It sings, it snarls, it spits at you in anger and sometimes it makes you bust out laughing.

This is not an easy or quick read, and yes, many of the one star reviews are right, it can be a frustratingly egocentric.The one flaw is that Eggers is very young and it shows in his writing, which sometimes lacks maturity or the ability to self-edit.But even at it's worse, it's compelling and practically jumps off the page.

It's worth the work.

An Outstanding Review of Exceptional Insight
[Please realize I'm just being ironic with the title.]

When I recently read Kerouac's "On the Road" I lamented that I read it too late in life for it to really change my life."A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius" on the other hand I read at the exact right time.If I'd read it five years earlier or five years later I would have been out of touch with the material.

The book opens (after the preface, which you can read or not--I skipped it) with Dave Eggers's mother dying of cancer.At the same time his father also has some kind of cancer, though this was a little less clear.After both parents succumb to their illness, the Eggers clan moves from their dull little Chicago suburb--the kind of place immortalized in John Hughes movies where the most exciting event was Mr. T moving in--to the Left Coast.Older brother Bill moves to LA where Dave, his sister Beth, and younger brother Christopher (called Toph) go to San Francisco.Because Bill is busy with work and Beth has school, Dave ends up caring for Toph.

In a Hollywood version it would probably end up like "Mr. Mom" or "Mrs. Doubtfire" at this point with lots of slapstick as a slacker twentysomething has to care for a 10-year-old boy.In reality (or what's more or less reality) they live like college roommates in semi-squalor, constantly running late to various appointments.In general Toph is a good kid who doesn't create much trouble for Dave--doesn't start running with a gang or shooting drugs or torturing small animals.Not that it's all a breeze; most of the trouble is caused by trying to convince various private schools and such that Dave is Toph's guardian.

Dave does temp jobs in graphic design while also working for "Might Magazine," an upstart youth culture magazine that like all of Gen X in the early-mid-'90s launches a futile rebellion for no real reason.(Come on, what the heck were we rebelling against with the grunge and Nirvana?I have no idea, really.)They pull stunts like try to audition for the "Real World" (when reality TV was a new concept) and fake the death of the kid from "Eight is Enough."From all appearances the magazine is never really that successful.I have a slight bit of knowledge in this area and know how tough it is, especially in this age where everyone can have a blog or website.

What I think really resonates at this point is the experience of not just growing up, but your family growing up and growing apart.As a kid, most of us don't put too much thought into our parents always being there, but as we get older we realize our parents are all too human and prone to the same weaknesses as anyone else.At the same time, the siblings you used to spend so much time with eventually move away and develop lives of their own that you no longer are much of a part of and in time can become almost like strangers.But the good thing about "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius" is that Eggers never gets too weepy or maudlin to make the experience dreary or dull.Instead, his almost surreal descriptions tinge even the darkest moments like a friend in a coma and another who attempts suicide with dark humor.Dave's neurotic inner-life reminds meof a less-sexual "Portnoy's Complaint" by Philip Roth, only it's more or less real, which is more amazing.

It might be interesting to read this book in five years and see how much it still resonates with me, or if by then this book and I grow apart as well.Wait and see.

That is all.

Lives up to its title
This book is brilliant.Its humor is perfectly balanced with its raw life lessons.I recommend this to anyone who appreciates writers who push the envelope without seeming pushy.

One of My Favorites
This book has been touted so heavily that expectations are probably way out of whack for some readers.But I just loved this book.Yes, Dave Eggers is youthful and arrogant and a little too clever, but this is a rare peek into the thinking of a guy in his 20's who is going through some major stuff with his sense of humor in tact.It's entertaining, touching and yeah, I thought it was a bit of genius.

A Serious Flop
Eggers is trying too hard to be deep in his memoir, and often throws out self-proclaimed "brilliant" ideas and insights on life without defending why they are brilliant.The writing, quite frankly, is simple and uninteresting, and Eggars fails to connect his ideas, leaving the reader confused as to what they are supposed to get from reading this memoir.I feel as if Eggars has an interesting and relatable premise for his story, but many people have interesting lives and do not become authors.It is having the ability to have the reader be effortlessly pulled into your life that makes and interesting story a brilliant memoir.Eggars does no have that ability. ... Read more

Book Description

Customer Reviews (6)

Unferth's Minor Robberies
Unferth's Minor Robberies is a rare treat: at times metafictional, at times formally experimental, at times just plain wacky, these short-short stories delight without becoming glib. Standout stories include "Sickos" which features a "very vaguely, very religious" sex worker, "Give Them the Bag" a funny and strangely heart-breaking tale of sisters traveling together, and "Single Percent" a mathematical analysis of romantic commitment. Bring this lovely book with you everywhere so you can catch a story whenever you have a few minutes.

tiny wonders
These stories are small, sharp, lovely, and giving. Read Deb Olin Unferth's "To Be Honest". Then read it again. And again.Each time it expands, contracts, twists into a tiny ball, then grows giant. This is an amazing trio of booksin the prettiest of mcsweeney's packages. the perfect present (who isn't psyched for dave eggers in their stocking) if there are still any left. i bought 3.

A gem
The three books in this set complement each other well. Although I enjoyed all three, Deb Olin Unferth's Minor Robberies stands out in this group. It is delightfully humorous, adventurous, and with a touch of mystery at times. Unferth's stories cover various topics from relationships, to families, to South American travel, to the lives of great composers and architects. Each story has its own life and ends up in a different place, sometimes an unexpected one. Her stories are accessible, I felt compelled several times to call my friends and read to them out loud. Unferth has a talent for changing an entire story around in one line, and sometimes changing it back with the next. All of the books in this set are carefully written, stylistically interesting and worth reading. I highly recommend it!

Lovingly Crafted
This box of stories is such a treat! The stories in each of the three books might come from the same tradition and share some sensibilities (the precision of language, lovingly crafted sentences), but each has its own voice, style, and character. And that's part of the pleasure: each book is a discovery!Dave Eggers's collection, for example, is full of miniature portraits, the characters (some named, others nameless) caught in strange predicaments (a boy named Charles, who never has his picture taken; a woman named Puma, who has so many friends she must find a way to escape them). In Sarah Manguso's book, a narrator alternates between peculiar experiences of the adult life and the memories of childhood, each childhood vignette a perfect life lesson (an incident with a cruel science teacher, an encounter with a class bully), though the outcome of each is wonderfully unexpected. Deb Olin Unferth's stories are mysterious and surreal (objects disappear in foreign countries, a woman is transformed into a machine and has an affair), often hilarious ("Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: A bit of a brat, so they say. But his wife loved him."), but also recognizable and heartbreaking.

And of course, like all McSweeney's books, this set is exquisitely made. A real treasure!

beauty of poetry, great stories
Deb Unferth, Dave Eggers and Sarah Manguso are just extremely entertaining.This box is a treasure.I have it by my bed on my nighttable (along with a Harper's, a New Yorker and a Bernhardt book) and each night before bed I read a few stories.They give me interesting dreams.And they entertain me and take my mind off the day, into a better, weirder, funnier place.If not "magic"--because these are realistic stories about the drama between lovers, husbands and wives, mothers and daughters, neighbors and ex-lovers, postmen and customers, salesmen, fashion models and etc--they have a humor and intensity that brings through the layer of magic that does exist in our world--to the extent that we all feel its hovering possibility, it's here.I'll be reading these for a while.I had the chance to ask David Sedaris what he was reading, and he said this book, and so I picked it up. ... Read more

Book Description
What Is the What is the epic novel based on the life of Valentino Achak Deng who, along with thousands of other children--the so-called Lost Boys--was forced to leave his village in Sudan at the age of seven and trek hundreds of miles by foot, pursued by militias, government bombers, and wild animals, crossing the deserts of three countries to find freedom. When he finally is resettled in the United States, he finds a life full of promise, but also heartache and myriad new challenges. Moving, suspenseful, and unexpectedly funny, What Is the What is an astonishing novel that illuminates the lives of millions through one extraordinary man. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (122)

hearbreaking and uplifitng
This book blew me away.It is both heartbreaking and uplifting, and left me in tears many times as I read.Valentino Achak Deng is a wonderful role model, able to always wish others a blessed day when his own life has been so full of trauma and upheaval.I wish him success in all he does, and I heartily recommend this book to all. Dave Eggers has done a wonderful job of making us hear Deng's voice, and has structured the story in a way that really pulls the reader in.Kudos to both of them!

Bowls of Bright Oranges
As told to author, Dave Eggers, in What is the What, Valentino Achak Deng, recounts his walking journey from the war-torn Sudan and how he eventually arrived in the United States .In this epic novel, that made it to the New York Times bestsellers list, we are introduced to one of the "Lost Boys", survivors ofthe massacre to their homeland who walked a journey that lasted months with many other motherless (and fatherless) boys and some girls.We realize that many of them made the journey while more did not, having lost their lives to hunger, malaria, being eaten by lions, eating raw meat,the enemy soldiers, and loss of hope among many other things. Achak's hope was in getting to their destination where there would be "bowls of bright oranges" on every kitchen table.

Achak "tells" his story, while living in Atlanta , GA , to the many people he encounters in his life through his daily living.The beginning of his retelling starts as he is being subjected to a home invasion.While he is gagged, he obviously cannot physically talk, but in his mind, he is telling one of his captors, a child, his story as if to say, "Don't you know what I've been through?So why would you pick me to do this to?".In "telling" his story to the people he encounters,we meet his childhood friends, William K, Moses, his walking partner, Deng, Achor Achor, and the leader of the walking boys, Dut.We learn of their fates and how without each of these boys, Ackak does not know how he would have made it.

While reading this novel, I thought of my own son, a nine year-old boy, around the same age that Achak was while on his journey.As many sons are to their mothers, Achak was enamored with his.He frequently remembers her bright yellow dress and through his description, you can visualize the deep admiration, respect and love he had for her for she was everything to him.So to have to leave everything you know and venture on this journey, having to know who to trust and who knows the safest journey, when to rest, and when to keep walking, is so much for an adult, but especially for little boys.That he made it through this journey simply speaks to God's purpose that he had for this boy and increased my faith just by reading about it.We also learn, as readers, what the "what" is.

Dave Eggers did an awesome job of helping Achak tell his story.In reading, you definitely get a sense of Achak's dialect.In addition, while reading, I really heard Achak's voice; it read like a transcription.Dave Eggers made himself invisible so you could know Achak and his journey.This novel has a subject matterI thought was going to be difficult to get through, however he told the story for Achak in a poignant, sometimes funny way with a beautiful use of language and emotion that surpasses all boundaries of language or culture.This book is highly recommended for those that enjoy stories of hope and perseverance.

Lena Willis
APOOO BookClub

Very Relevant Issues - Great Read
Valentino's story brings out all the emotion of the issues going on in Africa. I couldn't wait to read more every day. The author's style was easy to keep track of using the flashback method of storytelling. One of my co-workers has met Valentino and will be joining our bookclub for our discussion - this should be really good.

Great book
Wonderful book, a great read and fit into my college class perfectly. Arrived in great condition!

couldn't put it down
The best book I've read all year. I couldn't put it down and actually got up once at 2AM to continue reading in the middle of the night. The final paragraph is of a lyrical beauty that keeps running through my (mind?) heart like music. ... Read more

Book Description
In his first novel, Dave Eggers has written a moving and hilarious tale of two friends who fly around the world trying to give away a lot of money and free themselves from a profound loss. It reminds us once again what an important, necessary talent Dave Eggers is. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (121)

You Shall Know Mediocrity
Let me begin by saying the title of my review is being generous. If anything, at least Eggers managed to include some funny and interesting observations. There was the occasional flourish of beautiful writing, like when he compares the waves against a person's hands to a soft kiss or the sadness associated with cleaning out someone's storage unit. But beyond these few moments, there really is nothing here. Is this anywhere near "On the Road" as LA Weekly says? Not even close. Does Eggers stand now with Joyce and Bellow as Entertainment Weekly states? Um...No. Did these people even read the book? Or maybe they did and that makes the positive reviews this got all the more scary. If this is where literature is heading, then I'm getting off the bus now. I'll spare you any details concerning the plot, because that is oddly interesting and you you may as well read the first 30-40 pages to learn about it. Afterwards, give the book away.

A moving, living experience of a book
The most beautiful things occur in experience, not retrospect - a wonderful, detached, exciting, awed emotion becomes us, one that is almost inexpressible, but one that Dave Eggers, in this work, has managed to capture and give to his readers. Unfortunate things occur, plans are dashed, we miss out on things and do things we regret, fear and sadness envelop us, yet in the end we feel complete. This is a book to be experienced, the tale of two friends, with all the qualms of friendship attached, trying to good, despite the guilt and impatience we as Americans are inclined to feel, while carrying the burdens of a recently dead friend, the hyperactive mind and badly injured body of the narrator, and all of it is very real, very honest, and never heavy handed or pretentious. Despite a slow start, this book proved to be incredibly worthwhile to read and often times incredibly hard to put down. It's exciting, it's fun, it's sad, it's hilarious, it's human, it's life. It's wonderful. Read it.

Only Made It Halfway
I ordered this book because I had read AHWOSG and found that pretty good.I was surely dissapointed in this book.The story just drags on and on and on and never really goes anywhere.I made it about halfway through before I decided to stop wasting my time with a "story" I didn't really care about.It seems like it could be a really good book but falls so short of its potential.

painful
very
hard to beleive this endless story is by the same author who wrote his other engaging novels

Good, but not great
As others have said, there are parts of this book that are so original, they blow your mind. But, Eggers is so self-conscious in his writing, for every clever plot twist, the reader can almost envision Eggers, the wheels of his brain turning as he writes what he considers to be extremely clever passages. It gets old. As with HWOSG, the book is far better in the first half than in the second. It was a good read, but not the great read I had hoped. ... Read more

Book Description
"Another"
"What It Means When a Crowd in a Faraway Nation Takes a Soldier Representing Your Own Nation, Shoots Him, Drags Him from His Vehicle and Then Mutilates Him in the Dust"
"The Only Meaning of the Oil-Wet Water"
"On Wanting to Have Three Walls Up Before She Gets Home"
"Climbing to the Window, Pretending to Dance"
"She Waits, Seething, Blooming"
"Quiet"
"Your Mother and I"
"Naveed"
"Notes for a Story of a Man Who Will Not Die Alone"
"About the Man Who Began Flying After Meeting Her"
"Up the Mountain Coming Down Slowly"
"After I Was Thrown in the River and Before I Drowned" ... Read more

Customer Reviews (35)

Very human and subtly beautiful
Dave Eggers has a way of capturing the most simplistically beautiful moments of human existence and conveying them masterfully and subtly through his writing, so that when you read his work you feel elated and inspired without knowing exactly why, much as when these simple, beautiful moments occur in life. When we get caught up in a moment of emotion, when we lose control and overcome our social inhibitions and truly experience the beauty of life - these moments, these feelings are at the core of Eggers's work. The stories in this book capture different moments such as these, and while if read one at a time and apart from each other they convey somewhat anecdotal experiences, together they form a beautiful painting of life in all its purest moments. After closing this book, I felt as if I gained something. On the downside, however, a few of the stories really aren't worth much on their own, particularly the first in the collection, "Another," which may turn new readers away. I'm not sure if I would be as dissatisfied with it if it appeared later in the collection, however, because after reading a number of these stories you begin to gain a feeling for the picture each collectively convey, whether they work alone or not. On the other hand, some of the stories do work apart from the others, particularly "Up the Mountain Coming Down Slowly," "Climbing to the Window, Pretending to Dance" and "Quiet." In other words, I can appreciate the aforementioned stories as works in and of themselves, while others, "Another" and "What It Means..." for example, I can only truly appreciate as less significant parts of the collection as an entirety, ones that I am glad are there but would not particularly miss if they were left out. Taken together, the stories have a definite flow to them, and reading this book is truly a worthwhile experience - though some parts seem insignificant or anecdotal at first, together they form something very human and subtly beautiful.

A fine collection
I have been reading a lot of what I think is undue criticism about Dave Eggers How We Are Hungry.Though I can agree with many points, the fact still remains that Eggers is an exciting and wildly talented writer.The stories "Up the Mountain Coming Down Slowly" and "After I was Thrown in the River but Before I Drowned" are both masterful and prove that Eggers can turn just about anything into an engaging, funny, and (often) heartbreaking narrative.However, the overall quality of this book is ultimately detracted by some of the weaker stories ("The Only Meaning of the Oil-Wet Water," "Quiet," and several of the shorter ones), yet this is not to suggest that this book isn't worth reading, or rewarding.It is.Yet, not unlike AHWOSG, this collection struggles through large sections that feel half-baked, and could do well to be edited out ("Real World" self interview, anyone?)Recommended.

Gasp, Literature?!
Dave eggers is easily one of the most approachable authors alive today. Filled with wit and humor, it is likely any infrequent reader would fall in love with him. However, underneath this vail of seducing the illiterate, is an author who crafts stories so original and beautiful and full of meaning, that I'm convinced everyone would love his work, and this book specifically. That said, "After I Was Thrown in the River and Before I Drowned" is, to me, one of the best short stories I have ever come across. It has everyhting a good story needs, and though maybe not ALL the stories in here are for everyone, surely people will find a story they love and identify so strongly with, as I have.

Brimming With Form and Substance
This short story collection by Dave Eggers was hit or miss for me.Never a traditionalist, Eggers makes sure that each and every one of his stories is original and unusual in some facet or another.At times, this method works brilliantly; however, sometimes it also gets irksome.

Don't mistake me, I'm all for experimental writing.It's just that story after story of it got old.I don't blame the author for this.I was largely unfamiliar with Eggers' work and wanted to give him a try.In my mind, he simply isn't a writer to curl up with in order to relax, and that's not necessarily a bad thing.

There were a few stories in this collection that I truly enjoyed and found masterful."Up the Mountain Coming Down Slowly" was one such story.Practically a novella, this story makes up the bulk of the collection and the price of the entire book is worth this one story alone.

All in all, if you're looking for a page-turner to get lost in, this isn't for you.But, if you're looking to study the form and substance of a work of original literature, Eggers will please.

~Scott William Foley, author of The Imagination's Provocation: Volume II: A Collection of Short Stories

Headline: "Solid Gold Found in Mixed Bag"

I can honestly understand the desire to 'pan' this entire collection after slogging through the first couple of stories.I think with better editing, a re-arrangement of stories would have turned these 2 star ratings to 4's.Just as in day to day life, you must not get bogged down in your initial opinion of this book..If you breathe new life into each story, clensing your untrusting palate, you'll find yourself half way through this book when you finally say "YES" .......and after re-reading the first stories, I have been converted completely.

However, if you haven't enjoyed 'staggering genius' and 'velocity' I wouldn't suggest it. If you were helplessly converted by his infectious style of writing, then jump right in... the water is fine.. ... Read more

Book Description
A selection of the best writing, including fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and comics, published in American periodicals during 2006 aimed at readers 15 and up. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Dissecting narratives
Sufjan Stevens tells amusingly of his Rudolf Steiner childhood in the introduction.By third grade Stevens was attending public school and couldn't read.A teacher explained how we are surrounded by words.

Goth is dying, most bands are industrial, an informant tells Jonathan Ames in his piece entitled 'Middle-American Gothic'.The graphic story by Alison Bechdel concerning a father's intentional or accidental death is engrossing.D. Winston Brown, in 'Ghost Children', opines that time can transform violence.

Burma, the size of Texas, called Myanmar, is a place of absolute government control.Scott Carrier, 'Rock the Junta', claims he lied on his visa application to get into the country.Incipient consumerism, a condition he has encountered in other parts of the world, confronts him as he goes in quest of political truths.Foucault described the effects of surveillance.The Burmese poeple, it is asserted, suffer from surveillance.

In the main, women are empathizers and men are synthesizers, (from 'What is Your Dangerous Idea?').Query--will human beings understand the universe, ever?Reasonably considered, scientific knowledge may be pursued only for its practical applications.In 1900 most inventions involved physical reality. In 2005 they revolve upon virtual entertainment.Today a technological elite owns the country's intellectual property.

Stephen Elliott, 'Where I Slept', had been a known drug user and eighth grade drinker.At least two characters in this collection wear sleeping masks.In 'How to Tell Stories to Children' two of the characters determine that they have forty minutes before the perishables perish and so they have time for tea.

Lee Klein, in 'All Aboard the Bloated Boat' compares Barry Bonds to Jimi Hendrix.Maybe Bonds in a scapegoat.An NGO, Darfur, a mission to make a record of the evolving crisis reveals that the emptiness of the region is disconcerting.Airplanes are referred to Antonovs, (Russian).The marauders are the Janjaweed.

The jarhead underground is a tale of Marines.In 2006 there are shifts in the action.In Iraq information is tribal.Control of Fallujah is turned over to an Iraqi brigade.Then the Marines are called upon to deal with the insurgents.

The collection is a joy.Basically it is a clutch of the products of youngish, cospmopolitan, emerging writers.

Read Delicious
Good, good stuff thus far...we'll see about the "Best" when I finish. The scintillating wit of Mr. Stevens' intro is enough to convince me that it will live up to its title. Not one to normally use cyber lingo, I must confess that this book, within just the first 20 or so pages, provoked me to literally LOL. A lot.

The Best Reading, Period
I love anthologies for a couple of reasons: the stories or articles are easily read in a short sitting and no matter how it was edited I usually find a couple of pieces I like.Today I'm writing about one that sets a whole new standard. The Best American Nonrequired Reading of 2007, edited by Dave Eggers produced not just a couple of passable stories, but an entire volume of the most thought-provoking powerful writing I've ever encountered.

The premise is simple - San Francisco high school students scour through literary magazines, independent publications, and on-line journals for articles, stories, vignettes, and memoirs that they consider the best.They share their findings with each other and with their editor, Dave Eggers, until they've parsed it down to a few pieces to publish in this NonRequired Reading volume.

Who would've thought that high schools students would have the ability to spot stories to move me emotionally.Me, a jaded forty-one year old man who heaps cynicism on top of his morning cereal the way some spoon out blueberries, or sugar.But they did.Story after article after first-hand account all pulled emotions from me and sat stewing in my mind for days afterward.There wasn't a bad one in the bunch.

The first section is assorted lists and memes, which I consider filler.It was fun I suppose, but the heart of the book lies in Section Two.

The best of it all was from my all-time favorite essayist, Scott Carrier.He weaves an account of his time in Burma before the crackdown.When reading it I was struck by the obvious - how could we have been surprised?

After that brilliance the next story that caused me to ponder for days after reading was by Lee Klein. He put our entire society into perspective with the most amazing sports essay I can remember reading since Joyce Carol Oates wrote about Mike Tyson.His All Aboard the Bloated Boat: Arguments in Favor of Barry Bonds is required reading for anyone complaining about unfair competition in sports.

Another favorite was by Stephen Elliott who knows what it's like to be a thirteen year old boy, homeless, sleeping wherever misfortune allows, and by reading Where I Slept, I feel as if I have some understanding as well.

Others that stand out:Joshua Clark brings the reader into New Orleans first hand for the disaster.It's terrifying and mesmerizing simultaneously. James Ames, a reporter from Spin penned a piece about being out of place at GothicFest 2005. In it he comes to an understanding of a new culture and appreciates it for what it is, not for how it's similar to what he knows.Alison Bechdel's graphic comic tragedy is one of the finest pieces of writing I've seen in comic book form.Well-known writer, Jennifer Egan was included with a piece of short fiction, Selling the General, that satirizes our P.R. obsession and makes me want to pick up one of her books. Also, Miranda July weaves a story as well-crafted and surprising as any I've read this year in How to Tell Stories to Children.Finally Conan O'Brien's commencement speech to Stuyvesant High School is the best of its kind I ever heard.

Here is the table of contents from the Book's Second Section.

Jonathan Ames. Middle-American Gothic
Alison Bechdel. A Happy Death
D. Winston Brown. Ghost Children
Scott Carrier. Rock the Junta
Joshua Clark. American
Edge Foundation. What Is Your Dangerous Idea?
Jennifer Egan. Selling the General
Stephen Elliott. Where I Slept
Kevin A. González. Lotería
Miranda July. How to Tell Stories to Children
Matthew Klam. Adina, Astrid, Chipewee, Jasmine
Lee Klein. All Aboard the Bloated Boat: Arguments in Favor of Barry Bonds
Nam Le. Love and Honor and Pity and Pride and Compassion and Sacrifice
Jen Marlowe, Aisha Bain, and Adam Shapiro. Darfur Diaries
David J. Morris. The Big Suck: Notes from the Jarhead Underground
Conan O'Brien. Stuyvesant High School Commencement Speech
Mattox Roesch. Humpies
Patrick Somerville. So Long, Anyway
Joy Williams. Literature Unnatured

- CV Rick, February 2008

Drop the "non" - this is required reading
What a fun, engrossing, bizarre and eclectic read this is - it starts off with a funny introduction by Sufjan Stevens followed by poetry about Ed Asner, "Best American" selections (for example, "Best American Beginnings of Ten Stories About Ponies"), an excerpt from a graphic novel, short stories, essays, journalism pieces, book excerpts and even a high school commencement speech written by Conan O'Brien. The great thing about reading anthologies like this is coming across something written by a writer you would normally never read that absolutely blows you away - I achieved that a few times with this collection. The Big Suck by David J. Morris, Selling the General by Jennifer Egan and What is Your Dangerous Idea by the Edge Foundation along with several others are all required reading if you ask me. This is the first year I've read the Best American Nonrequired Reading, and I'm looking forward to making it a yearly reading tradition.

Too Many Cooks Not Doing Their Job
I've really enjoyed Best American Non-Required in the past and looked forward to this year's edition. The last few years the series has contained some of the best reading I've come across. But this year's edition is off. While the stories and articles in these books have always been chosen by high school students in Dave Egger's writing programme, the content has always been relevant for a general audience and chosen from a broad range of journals. But the 2007 edition is plainly something that would only appeal to high school students. It's full of banal lists, graphic comics, stories with lines like "The car gleamed throughout the day and into the night as we drank beer purchased from stores that let teenage drivers of gleaming cars buy beer. We drank more beer at each stop, in each new neighborhood:..." This isn't good writing.There are a few good stories in here, but even the stories I liked contained elements which clearly appeal to high school students. "How To Tell Stories to Children" is good, but its central character is coming of age and therefore relateable to the committe that chose it. It's a great story made less appealing by the stories it was collected with.

"What Is Your Dangerous Idea" was a great book, full of bite-sized, provocative essays. Unfortunately Best American Non-Required 2007 copied a dozen or more of these essays for it's pages, filling up about a fifth of the book. I'd like to make some comments about kids in high school padding assignments, but that seems mean. My point is, why buy a book full of another book? If "What is Your Dangerous Idea" was good enough to fill up a sizeable portion of Best American, why not just buy "What is Your Dangerous Idea"? The whole point of being an editor is that you choose the best. One essay from Dangerous would have been appropriate. Dave Eggers and his students need to realise their job is to edit, cull, cut down and give us the cream.

I don't know what happened this year but I am very disappointed. I read the biographies of the students chosen to pick stories this year and they all seem like the kind of kids trying to pad their college applications with lots of superachievements. Maybe these people aren't the best judges of good writing. Maybe too many cooks spoil the pot. Who knows? But whatever the case, Best American Non-Required Reading 2007 is definitely non-required for good reason.

P.S. I liked the introduction by Sufjan Stevens, but the "interview" with Dave Eggers was off-putting. Is anyone else growing tired of his sarcasm? It's so old. New act please. ... Read more

Book Description
The bestselling call to action for improving the working lives of public school teachers—and improving our classrooms along the way.

Since its initial publication and multiple reprints in hardcover in 2005, Teachers Have It Easy has attracted the attention of teachers nationwide, appearing on the New York Times extended bestseller list, C-SPAN, and NPR's Marketplace, in addition to receiving strong reviews nationwide. Now available for the first time in paperback, this groundbreaking book examines how bad policy makes teachers' lives miserable.

Many teachers today must work two or more jobs to survive; they cannot afford to buy homes or raise families. Interweaving teachers' voices from across the country with hard-hitting facts and figures, this book is a clear-eyed view of the harsh realities of public school teaching, without chicken-soup-for-the-soul success stories.

With a look at the problems of recruitment and retention, the myths of short workdays and endless summer vacations, the realities of the work week, and shocking examples of how society views America's teachers, Teachers Have It Easy explores the best ways to improve public education and transform our schools. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (25)

This Really Should Be Read by Most Americans
If you are--or expect someday to be--a parent of school aged children, if you are a taxpayer, or if you are a civic or political leader in your community, this book is one you really MUST read. It is especially important for those who do not personally know a teacher to read this, to understand just a little more what life is really like for these people who are such an important part of our children's lives and who ultimately have such an impact on how our country will function in the years to come. After all, as the authors state:

"Schools are called on to help raise children and assist them in understanding themselves in relation to their world. Schools and teachers are asked to provide basic moral instruction, to teach children right from wrong and how to function as part of a community...In short, we want our schools to help children learn to be valuable to society."

The subtitle of the book emphasizes a major problem in American education today: the "big sacrifices" that teachers make for our children, for the future of this country. "Small salaries" are definitely part of the sacrifice, but looming just as large is the loss of prestige and intense on-the-job pressures teachers face on a daily basis. They are expected to be fully in charge of 20, 25, even more than 30 children every classroom moment, and many have no more than a couple of 5 minute breaks throughout the entire day. Yet the image of teachers seems to fall farther and farther down the scale. "You can do better than THAT," a bright student is told when he or she expresses an interest in teaching--and they can, IF salary and perks are the standard for success.

This book presents, in the words of teachers themselves, what a typical school day, week, year, is like, and the stories of dedicated professionals who have had to leave the jobs they love because they could not support their families are tragic. This is where the real value of this book is found.

However--and this however is one reason for only three stars: in trying to sell the need for higher salaries and new approaches to salary scales and tables (all of which I fully support), the authors inadvertently contribute to the "prestige" problem. Yes, many good teachers have left the profession and other solid candidates have not gone into education because of the poor compensation, BUT there continue to be hundreds of thousands of dedicated, sacrificing professionals who ARE staying in their classrooms and ARE making a difference in kids' lives. By so emphasizing the "brain drain" out of the profession, there is an impression left that only "losers" are entering and/or staying in teaching. This attitude that "we just can't any good teachers anymore" only contributes to the diminished reputation of those willing to do everything they can to continue working with our children, the future of our nation.

The other weakness in the book is that there is no mention of the inequity of school financing in our country because of the heavy reliance on property taxes for funding. As a result, efforts to improve teacher salaries are most possible in more affluent districts, or in isolated charter schools such as the Vaughan Next Century Learning Center, where much of the success of the small program has come from an aggressive fund-raising principal.The authors did provide some excellent examples in the Helena MT and Denver experiments, but I think a little more attention to the realities of having to make changes via votes on bonds, etc., would have been helpful.

Weaknesses aside, try to get this book in the hands of everyone you know who might be able to start to make a difference in how we recognize (and compensate) those who are so involved with our children's lives.

Teachers Unite!A Great Look at Why Such a Rewarding Job Leave Much to be Desired
I am a teacher and I love teaching, but there are definitely things that frustrate me to no end.This book is a fair and honest appraisal of what's wrong with teacher pay, contracts, and even the public's opinion of teachers.I have recommended it to every teacher I know as well as many of the parents I know personally.It should be on every parent's -- especially every school committee member's -- summer reading list.Find out why "those who can -- teach" and how you can support your community's teachers in their pursuit for what's best for our children and our future.

When Will We Change This Insane System?
I am involved as a volunteer at my local high school and I sit on a number of parent/citizen committees, so I have a pretty good look inside the education system. I have always known that teachers were underpaid, as well as underappreciated, but never knew just how bad the situation was until I began to work with the school. I was truly appalled at how poorly teachers were compensated for the work that they do.

This book is a very good look at the system and what it is doing to teachers. It is written in a Studs Terkel fashion, with interviews from teachers around the country on pay issues, as well as other problems teachers face. While much of it is compensation oriented, it also deals with the lack of funding for continuing education, lack of respect, long work days, and the pressures teachers face.

One particularly telling chapter was when they lined up the day of a pharmaceutical salesman with that of a high school math teacher. Both were real, and it amazing to see the differences. It outlines not only the length of the work day, but the responsibilities in proportion to the pay.

I find it amazing that here in California, as we face a prison crisis, guards in the prisons, without college educations are making $73,000 a year without applying overtime, yet teachers who are at the top end of the salary scale, with a masters or doctorate degree are lucky to come anywhere near close to that. In addition, teachers do not collect overtime. If we paid good teachers what they are worth, and improved educational opportunities for children, we could possibly cut the number of inmates. The cycle is vicious, but we need to take paying teachers seriously, and work to change the system so good teachers are willing to stay.

The book is well written and the interviews are fascinating. Sadly, although I think everyone in America needs to read this book, it will probably only be read by those who know about the problem, or those who are contemplating a future in education. The majority of people who think teachers actually do have it easy will pass it by without a second look. To that degree, the book is preaching to the choir, but is still a wonderful read.

Excellent Look at Teaching
As someone who is working towards her Master's in Eduction, I got this for an "inside look" at the profession. So far (I'm halfway through) it is full of useful information (not always "good" news, though!) about the salary, working conditions, rigours, and realities of teaching. I recommend this book not only for people interested in becoming educators, but also for parents, students, and anyone who has ever said "teachers have it easy."

On target about a lot, but misses an important point.
As a teacher myself, I would like to have a higher salary.In looking over the salary raise schedule of the first district where I worked, I saw that I would retire at the salary my (then) 26 year old engineer nephew started at! I think he makes some good points about teacher salaries, although he gives examples from days when teachers started at $18,000 a year which is not the case today.

He also bashes the myths about a teacher's short work day and our so called "weekends off" and our long summer vacations.During the school year weekends are taken up with correcting papers, figuring out averages and getting new lesson plans in order.The short work day is an illusion.When the children leave there are papers to correct, grades to post and tutoring to do.And very often the summers are spent taking classes which Eggers correctly points out are paid out of the teachers' own pockets.

However, it seems like most of these books do not point out what is, in my humble opinion, an often horrific problem -- namely, the lack of discipline and control in the classroom.

While there are teachers who are incompetent in classroom management, many more times they have to put up with everything from nonstop talking up to disrespect, rudeness and hostile behavior.I have met teachers who said that they think they would strike more to regain control in the classroom than for more money!

There are a lot of things that go into this -- a teacher must have a well laid out plan, of course.Children must know what to expect and experience both rewards and consequences for their behavior.I am not necessarily advocating corporal punishment (my personal jury is still out on that) but children must know when their behavior is unacceptable and experience consequences if they cross over the line -- and to work, the consequences must be unpleasant.

And most importantly, teachers need to be backed up by administration and the parents.I know a teacher whose attempt at making a student responsible for his conduct was opposed by the child's equally babyish parent and a principal who gave in to the demands of the parent.

We need to do something to keep teaching from being the Catch-22, can't win profession it often has become in many areas. ... Read more

Amazon.com
Created in Darkness by Troubled Americans: The Best of McSweeney's, Humor Category, a collection from the clever young writers that bring us the McSweeney's literary journal and Web site, and co-edited by their leader, Dave Eggers, is funny from the first page. And by "first page," we mean the table contents. Of course not every essay, list, and swatch of dialogue are created equal, but the collection has many tasty morsels that are well worth a read, a read to friends, and then a re-read, after a decent interval has elapsed.

Most appealing in the book's starting lineup is J.M. Tyree's "On the Implausibility of the Death Star's Trash Compactor." Humorous as well as thought-provoking, this essay makes the perfect amuse bouche for what is arguably the collection's main course of hilarity, "Fire: the Next Sharp Stick?", "Candle Party," and "Unused Audio Commentary by Howard Zinn and Noam Chomsky, Recorded Summer 2002, for the Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring DVD (Platinum Series Extended Version), Part One," all to be found in the early middle. Though a familiarity with candle parties, Howard Zinn, sharp sticks, and other topics satirized in this book is helpful, it's not necessarily required for understanding the jokes. The biggest risk here is binge-reading, as you may exchange audible laughter for the feeling that you are being force-fed an ice cream sundae. If you pace yourself--say no more than four to six pieces at a time--you should have the energy for the final third, including the funny list marathon at the end. Or save a few portions for later when you are really starving for a good laugh. --Leah WeathersbyBook Description
Now more than ever, Americans are troubled by questions. As sweaty modernity thrusts itself upon us, the veil of ignorance that cloaked our nation hangs in tatters, tattered tatters. Our "funny bones" are neither fun nor bony. Glum is the new giddy, and the old giddy wasn't too giddy to begin with.

What can be done to stop this relentless march of drabbery? Nothing. But perhaps this book can be used to dull the pain. Included herein:

The Ten Worst Films of All Time, as Reviewed by Ezra Pound over Italian Radio

Unused Audio Commentary by Howard Zinn and Noam Chomsky, Recorded Summer 2002, for The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring DVD (Platinum Series Extended Edition), Part One.

How Important Moments in My Life Would Have Been Different If I Was Shot in the Stomach

My Beard, Reviewed

Circumstances under Which I Would Have Sex with Some of My Fellow Jurors

Words That Would Make Nice Names for Babies, If It Weren't for Their Unsuitable Meanings

As a Porn Movie Titler, I May Lack Promise

Ineffective Ways to Subdue a Jaguar

Eleven Lunch Meats I Have Invented

Four Things I Would Have Said to Sylvia Plath if I Had Been Her Boyfriend

And much, much more, including 20 brilliant new lists . . . ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

Great doorknob
I bought this book thinking it would make a good bookstop. Doorknob. Showstopper. Whatever.
I was quite disappointed. This book is not suitable for any kind of portmanteau. It makes you think, however. I had at least three, not, four thoughts while, before, instead and after reading it. For that, I will be inmensely grateful.

Hm.My rating stars may be tainted.
I was so extremely bored by the stories, that the time I got to the lists I was almost falling off of my couch laughing.I loved the lists.Loved.But I must be honest and wonder if this was a true literary effort, or a study regarding the effects of different types of comedy on vaguely intelligent human beings.

If the latter is the case, myself and my boyfriend were tearing the book out of each others hand to giggle endlessly over the absurdity of the contents.

Cran-Pepper Hen Loaf, Spiced Saucetail, And Fleen
Overall this is an excellent book, with only a few disappointments, which are inevitable in a compendium of this nature. My favorite part of the book is at the end, and consists of humorous lists (my title comes from a list by Steven Tomsik, "Eleven Lunch Meats I Have Invented") of all varieties.

McSweeney's is always a mixed bag, and this volume is no exception. Most of the material is very good, yet there are some articles that are weak or overly lengthy ("Journal of a New COBRA Recruit" and "Unused Audio Commentary by Howard Zinn and Noam Chomsky, Recorded Summer 2002, for 'The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring DVD (Platinum Series Extended Edition), Part One'" come to mind here, respectively). Despite these exceptions, the majority of the pieces are very clever and entertaining. Especially noteworthy are "How Important Moments in my Life Would Have Been Different if I Was Shot Twice in the Stomach", "Fire: The Next Sharp Stick?", and "A Letter From Ezra Pound to Billy Wilder, 1963", to name but a few.

This book isn't for everyone, but people who are inclined to academic humor or clever wordplay will love it. I highly recommend this book. Perhaps you can enjoy it over a brumschlagen sandwich.

GET THE DOOR. IT'S ... THE LUNATIC FRINGE!
Now, more than ever, Americans are troubled.

By bladder-contol, erectile dysfunction, evolution and cat litter. By Humvees masquerading as family sedans, and SUVs that brake for cracks in the pavement! (I mean, really! Who are these morons?) By a government that spews out cant about "morality" and "values" and lies like Hitler at a torchlight rally! By Celebrity Bimbos (male, female, and not sure), who have taken it upon themselves to "explain" to us how we should feel about everything from Bush to babies. By childish books about Da Vinci Codes and Sorcerers' Stones that out-sell anything containing an actual original idea! By ...

... Well, you get the idea. Nothing seems quite right any more in the Great Republic; it's all just ... well ... wrong! Despite the fire-and-brimstone blandishments of the `New' Right, despite the timid bleatings of the Other Guys (what's the name of our "Opposition" Party again? I can't seem to remember) ... we're still troubled. Terribly, terribly troubled. It's evident from the state of the "culture" (Low Brow, Middle Brow, Hi!, and Not Sure), that we've reached a sorry state indeed.

What to do?

Well, you could do worse than follow some our brightest minds across the thin line that separates "us" from The Lunatic Fringe. If this collection of offerings is anything to go by, the trip is short and painless, and it's not nearly as Dark and Fearful over there as you'd think. Sean Condon's "Pop Quiz" for instance sheds considerable light on the great imponderables: Who's That Girl? Why Do Fools Fall In Love? Who Are You? Are You Experienced?, etc., etc. And Tom Ruprecht provides convincing, albeit anecdotal, evidence that "It's Not Actually A Small World" after all. Jim Stollard reveals what you've always suspected: The Supreme Court has nothing to do with the Supremes ... and everything to do with Basketball. Jason Roeder brings "Words of Hope and Wisdom" that'll stick in the craw of insomniacs everywhere. And John Moe provides a representative list of some "Cancelled Regional Morning TV Shows" that'll make your stay out there on the Lunatic Fringe so much more enjoyable ("Wake the Hell Up Knoxville!").

If all of this is too ... well ... Low Brow ... for you, then John Hodgman's "Fire: The Next Sharp Stick" should bring you up to speed on the revolutionary new technolgies that are changing our world; J. M. Tyree's disquisition "On the Implausibility of the Death Star's Trash Compactor," will answer those questions we all have about space excrement (it's a bigger problem than you'd think); and Jeff Alexander's and Tom Bissell's brilliantly insightful Zinn/Chomsky commentary on "The Lord of the Rings" DVD Collection will bring to light hidden depths in ... well ... The Lord of the Rings trilogy!


Though not all of the pieces in this collection will grab your attention, the best have a sort of anarchic brilliance that'll have you howling with laughter. Many of those that don't will catch you unawares when you double dip later. Even the quietly "unfunny" ones have their magic. Give them time.

I'm not an American, but this kind of humor strikes me as quintessentially American. It's intelligent, literate and highly irreverent. No holds are barred, and it takes no prisoners. (What a Crock of Cliches!) Like everything else with Eggers stamp on it, it reminds me of some of the more deranged moments in Zappa or "Catch-22." It bubbles up like a deranged guffaw from an improbable stew of what Ezra Pound'd call "Kitch and Kulcher".

Same old McSweeney's
When I purchased this book, I expected humor that was new, that was unpublished, that was quirky.I was a third right.It was quirky, and while I hadn't read some of them, most of them I had read(...)That being said, the stories and the lists are funny, and it's a great bathroom book.just don't expect anything new. ... Read more

Book Description

Customer Reviews (8)

Topical
The thing I enjoyed the most about this book were the new writers I had never heard let alone read before. I may not agreed with all of there opinions I did joy the writing. At times I felt that it was over-politicized and close minded but over all had a very important message.

great book, lovely CD, fantastic cause
Not only did I enjoy this book both for straight-out reading as well as random dipping, but I've bought it for three different friends AND I've purchased more copies as insurance for the looming gift-giving season. It really is the perfect book for every shelf.

Hopeful
This book is a positive contribution to our current state of disunion in the United States. Yes, there are entries that look back at the Shrub administration with contempt, but others look at a positive future where we overcame the myopia, nepotism, and greed of the bushies. It is positive in itself that the future is there to write the entries. I would have given it 4 stars, but a reviewer that obviously did not read it compared it to Ann Coulter and only gave it one star. I am canceling out that vote. Thanks are owed to Foer, Eggers, et al. for their qualitywriting, work, and discerning eyes.

One of a kind
I've never read a book quite like this.It's delightful, philosophical, inventive, poignant, unique, funny.The "dictionary" format lets you read it a paragraph at a time or in long stretches; a perfect book for the crapper or a long plane ride.Most importantly, the book reminds us there is a future.All we need now is a more useful present.If we are lucky, this book will help us get there.

unique, fun
This is a really unique book.I kept hearing about how it was supposed to be really funny, and some of it is funny, but a lot of the entries are philosophical, or just artsy writing, or fun to think about in a science fiction kind of way; some of them aren't really political at all. Though I don't agree with conservative politics I don't like personal, mean attacks on people with different opinions and I was happy to find that overall, this book isn't caustic. With a few exceptions. Mostly its just fun, and the $$ is for a good cause.

It also contains some interesting extras like the Declaration of Independence and a charting of the evolution of Indo-European language families (I don't want to give a lot of stuff away).It's definitely worth having, I would like to give it 4 1/2 stars.But, the CD that comes with the book is truly a jewel and it definitely deserves 5 stars.

The CD contains several folksy type songs, several good rock songs, a couple of punk songs, a good r&b song, an interesting a capella song, and a remake of a real 19th century campaign ditty. ... Read more

Book Description
How We Are Hungry is a gripping, lyrical and soulful collection of stories from the acclaimed author of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. Ranging from a doomed Irish setter’s tales of running and jumping (“After I Was Thrown in the River and Before I Drowned”) to a bitterly comic meditation on suicide and friendship (“Climbing to the Window, Pretending to Dance”), and from the Egyptian desert to the asphalt of Interstate 5, these stories are Eggers at his finest. By turns devastating, clear-eyed and funn– incredibly funny – this collection is a marvel. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Left "Hungry"
Dave Eggers first caught the world's attention with the semi-autobiographical "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius." With the release of "How We Are Hungry," we get to see Eggers in a slightly new light -- these stories possess his usual postmodern skill and pensive intelligence, but lack the gentle humor and wit.

In this collection, Eggers examines various people who try to escape their difficulties, whether climbing mountains or roaming through rural Scotland. These people may be searching for love, for glory, for release, a burst of adrenaline in the desert, or for just a fling by the beach -- however, their problems and pasts will not go away.

Eggers does occasionally dip into gimmickry, such as "There Are Some Things He Should Keep to Himself." Don't expect much -- it's a few blank pages, which made me smile. But I feel a little cheated. He's at his best when he's unconsciously quirky, such as a cute conversation between God and the ocean in one short story.

Eggers has done well in his past novel and memoir, but some of the themes of "How We Are Hungry" feel worn -- this man has a unique writing talent, but writers have to grow, and this writing doesn't show his mind or soul growing. The themes have not changed, and that lack of movement and growth makes it feel like he's just... stuck.

That said, Eggers' writing is genuinely compelling and rich; in his rambly way, he's incredibly eloquent. His descriptions have a raw energy that can take your breath away, such as riding a horse in the desert. At the same time, he can wrap his characters in so much finely-drawn misery that it is difficult to not be moved by them. It's also the one area where Eggers stumbles -- despite the whimsy of the occasional "gimmick" story, the writing is dark and rather depressed. I'm not asking for sunshine and butterflies, but it lacks quips, wit and human insight.

Those characters tend to feel like reflections of Eggers himself -- rather world-wear and melancholy. One woman, who climbs a legendary mountain in search of a purpose, is perhaps the richest character -- her inner thoughts are so real that they fly off the page. And she, like all the other characters, is hungry. Not for food, but to fill some emptiness inside that can't be named.

Perhaps it's that inner hole that preoccupies Eggers' work, and the endless search is what keeps it from exploring the world. Despite a hint of stagnation, "How We Are Hungry" is a rich and engaging collection of stories. It leaves me wondering where -- if anywhere -- Eggers will go as a writer. ... Read more

Book Description
The Best American Series First, Best, and Best-Selling The Best American series has been the premier annual showcase for the country's finest short fiction and nonfiction since 1915.For each volume, the very best pieces are selected by a leading writer in the field, making the Best American series the most respected--and most popular--of its kind.The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2005 includesDaniel Alarcn - Aimee Bender - Dan Chaon - Daniel Clowes - Tish Durkin - Stephen Elliott - Al Franken - Jhumpa Lahiri - Rattawut Lapcharoensap - Anders Nilsen - Georges Saunders - William T.Vollmann - and others Dave Eggers, editor, is the author of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, You Shall Know Our Velocity!, and How We Are Hungry, and the editor of McSweeney's.He is the founder of 826 Valencia, a San Francisco writing lab for young people. Beck, guest introducer, whose single "Loser" was instantly labeled an anthem for the slacker generation, is also known for his Grammy Award-winning albums Odelay and Mutations. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Best Non-required reading
The book arrived in a timely manner and was just as advertised.I also really enjoyed reading it.

A Delightful Series
I love most of the "Best American" series, but I eagerly look forward to the "Nonrequired Reading" title. This volume is one of the best, with wonderful, quirky, hard to find stories that range all over the place. Selected by high schoolers, it gives me hope for the future that this is what our youth find of interest.

the best
The fourth edition of David Eggers Best American Nonrequired Reading is an impressive collection of twenty four of the year's finest fiction, essays, and memoirs.Culled from a mountain of publications and assembled by a group of teenagers at Eggers' 826 Valencia; a non-profit writing lab, drop-in tutoring center and the Bay Area's only independent pirate supply shop, this collection is a refreshing approach to modern American literature.
Covering a huge spread of interests and emotions Best American has everything from William T. Vollmann's (The Came Out Like Ants!) search for subterranean Chinese casinos and opium dens hidden under the streets of Mexicali since the nineteenth century to the almost familiar lives of Douglas Trevor (Girls I Know) and Ryan Boudinot (Free Burgers For Life).Completely devoid of clichés and tired literary devices every page of the genre-less Best American will have you awaiting next year's collection.

Best Nonrequired Reading So Far
I'm a fan of short stories and essays in general because I tend to finish a good 60 to 70% of the ones I start.Contrast that to novels and non-fiction monographs, where, secondary to undertreated ADHD and a busy schedule, I probably complete less than 10% of books I start.That's okay, I like accumulating books with bookmarks a third of the way in.An unfinished book is like a totem, a sacred symbol of potential wisdom, something to anticipate.But still, there is something satisfying and confidence boosting about reading something completely in one sitting.

I like this series, the adolescents we are told do the selections must have a keen eye for talent.Unlike other reviewers, I was not bothered by some of the overlap, in particular multiple stories about sibling rivalry.It's a pretty big theme in the lives of most people with siblings, and its effects resonate in multiple realms of our relationships and interactions.Perhaps it's closer to the surface for the Bay area teenagers who made these selections.That's fine.Personally, I'm glad they didn't throw out any of these stories in the name of variety and balance.Oh, by the way, have you gotten into Sudoku yet?You really should.

I particularly enjoyed Molly McNett's work, I hope we'll hear more from her, as well as the contributions by Franken, Saunders, Vollmann, Dickinson, and Boudinot.Big fan, big fan.So far, 2005 is the best edition of this series.
... Read more

Book Description

Customer Reviews (3)

aww! super cute!
This is an intimate collection of (short short)stories by Dave Eggers under the pseudonym Lucy Thomas. The first story "People Should not Laugh at Savings" made me laugh and laugh. It was charming and I was not disappointed with the rest of the book. Because it is not disappointing. It is refreshing. Also, an enlightening way to spend (oh my god) eight dollars.

I hasten to differ
I have to disagree with the only other critique of this book. It pangs me to see a single, sad little star next to what I consider to be a beautiful, lyrical work of poetry. This work, written by Lucy Thomas (if she really exists) is lucid surrealism, delicate and provocative with hidden strength. One could consider it 'boring' and 'pointless' if one also didn't care for Japanese poetry, or the prose poems of James Tate and Ron Padgett-the sorts of artists who maintain the gorgeously skewed vision to consider subjects like, for example, the happiness of the employees at 'my' post office, the small, artificial hand of a boy that was never replaced even when he became a man, why one should never laugh at discounts-points of view that gently jar your world. If you are a writer, and you wish to release the taut bindings that inhibit one's imagination, this might be, to mix the old metaphors, your cup of tea. If you aren't, and still would care for the ultimate grown up stocking stuff, here's a book for you.

Utterly Horrible and Miniscule Collection of Prose
I knew this book was small when I ordered it, but because it is published by McSweeney's, I expected a big payoff. Uh...not. Of the 36 pages in this little book (counted title page, copyright page, and filler pages), 7 of them are filled with simple drawings of the same pier from different angles. And, I eventually figured out what they had to do with the text: NOTHING!

And the text...Awful, boring, pointless, disjointed...whatever. I'd say more if there was enough content in this book to even warrant further exposition.

Don't, I REPEAT DO NOT, waste your $8.00 on this book - I already did that for you. ... Read more

Book Description
From Dave Eggers: For this years edition of The Best American Nonrequired Reading, we wanted to expand the scope of the book to include shorter pieces, and fragments of stories, and transcripts, screenplays, television scripts -- lots of things that we hadnt included before.Our publisher readily agreed, and so youll see that this years edition is far more eclectic in form than previous editions.Along the way to making the book, we also came across a variety of things that didnt fit neatly anywhere, but which we felt should be included, so we conceived the front section, which is a loose Best American roundup of notable words and sentences from 2005.It is, like this book in general, obviously and completely incomplete, but might be interesting nevertheless. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

Find new and interesting authors - expand your horizons
This is a great book for those who wish to be exposed to new contemporary authors.I especially enjoyed the story on Dubai by George Saunders, "The New Mecca".If you've never read about Dubai (or even if you have), it's a real treat to hear more about the Fantasyland of the Middle East...

Different brand of humor, but its the kind I like!
I first became a Dave Eggers fan after getting into McSweeney's thanks to an NPR review. I'm actually not retirement age, listening to NPR, but a 20 year old co