Category Archives: Essays

CALYPSO by David Sedaris

Posted on January 27, 2019 by OnlyGoodBooks

If you are not already familiar with David Sedaris’s writing, then you should start with ME TALK PRETTY ONE DAY, for reasons which I’ve explained here. Then, read everything else he’s written. He has a dysfunctional family (Who doesn’t?) and … Continue reading →

Posted in Essays, Humor, Memoir, Nonfiction | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

YOU’LL GROW OUT OF IT by Jessi Klein

Posted on August 12, 2016 by OnlyGoodBooks

My friend Anne had trouble reading this book. Not intellectually, but logistically. She had to keep taking off her glasses and wiping her eyes because she couldn’t stop laughing so hard that it made her weep. Jessi Klein is a … Continue reading →

Posted in Essays, Humor, Memoir, Nonfiction, Relationships | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

FURIOUSLY HAPPY by Jenny Lawson

Posted on November 26, 2015 by OnlyGoodBooks

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a hundred times: if you sit next to me on public transportation, you are in danger of being chortled to death. A recent train ride home from New York with a copy … Continue reading →

Posted in Essays, Humor, Memoir, Mental illness, Nonfiction | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

BROKEN OPEN by Elizabeth Lesser

Posted on April 28, 2014 by OnlyGoodBooks

We live in a society where people often pretend things are fine when they aren’t. There are doubtless many reasons for this, some of them economic (you have to earn a living, and most jobs require a modicum of good … Continue reading →

Posted in Change, Essays, For BUSINESS PEOPLE, For EDUCATORS, For PARENTS, Inspirational, Nonfiction, Relationships, Self-help | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

THIS IS THE STORY OF A HAPPY MARRIAGE by Ann Patchett

Posted on November 17, 2013 by OnlyGoodBooks

Some things are meant to happen, and some things just aren’t.  I’ve had that thought many times in my life, and it occurred to me again last night as I sat at the bar of a crowded restaurant in Louisiana, … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Dogs, Essays, Humor, Inspirational, Memoir, Nonfiction, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

THE REASON I JUMP by Naoki Higashida

Posted on October 17, 2013 by OnlyGoodBooks

Why should you read this book?  Two reasons: 1) if you know anyone who is autistic, and 2) if you are human. Written by a 13 year-old autistic boy, THE REASON I JUMP will open your mind to a whole … Continue reading →

Posted in Autism, Essays, For EDUCATORS, For PARENTS, Inspirational, Memoir, Nonfiction, Young Adult | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

LET’S EXPLORE DIABETES WITH OWLS by David Sedaris

Posted on April 30, 2013 by OnlyGoodBooks

For me, one measure of a good book is if I can easily remember, years later, when and where I first read it. For example, I will never forget the half-hour I spent snorting uncontrollably in line at the Montclair … Continue reading →

Posted in Essays, Humor, Memoir, Nonfiction | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

IN PRAISE OF MESSY LIVES by Katie Roiphe

Posted on December 1, 2012 by OnlyGoodBooks

I am pretty sure that most of my friends will like this book as much as I did, and not just because of the ironic title.  Which is not to say that we are messy people, per se.  Katie Roiphe’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Essays, Humor, Nonfiction | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

WE LEARN NOTHING by Tim Kreider

Posted on September 3, 2012 by OnlyGoodBooks

On the back cover of WE LEARN NOTHING, Judd Apatow describes Tim Kreider’s writing as “heartbreaking, brutal, and hilarious—usually at the same time,” and I couldn’t agree more.  In this collection of personal essays and cartoons (mostly essays), Kreider recounts … Continue reading →

Posted in Cartoons, Essays, Humor, Memoir, Nonfiction | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

LIZZ FREE OR DIE by Lizz Winstead

Posted on May 16, 2012 by OnlyGoodBooks

As I was reading LIZZ FREE OR DIE last night and this morning, laughing hysterically to the point that I had to blow my nose several times, I kept thinking, How lucky I am to have the kind of work … Continue reading →

Posted in Essays, Humor, Inspirational, Memoir, Nonfiction | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment