The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2014

by Daniel Handler (Editor), Lemony Snicket (Introduction)

Overview

“Lively, eclectic and surprising.” — Minneapolis Star Tribune

Daniel Handler, aka Lemony Snicket, author of the enormously popular young adult series A Series of Unfortunate Events, takes over as editor for this volume. He will work with the students of 826 Valencia and 826 Michigan writing labs to compile new fiction, nonfiction, poetry, comics, and other category-defying gems, ensuring that “if you need to fall in love with reading again — or just want a reminder that high school students deserve a lot more than their reading lists give them — then this is the book for you” (Bust).  

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780544129986
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	04/16/2024
Series:	Best American Nonrequired Reading Series
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	414
File size:	12 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

DANIEL HANDLER is the author of the novels Why We Broke Up, Adverbs, The Basic Eight, and Watch Your Mouth, and as Lemony Snicket, bestselling children’s and young adult novels.

Editorial Reviews

★ 11/03/2014
Anthologies can be a mixed bag, particularly when editors try to include something for everyone. But this latest annual collection of "journalism, fiction, poetry, comics, stage plays, interviews and podcast transcripts" is consistently impressive, with nary a dud in the 32 previously published selections. Some of the contributors—Amos Oz and Zadie Smith among them—are well known. Others, like newcomers Cole Becher and Rebecca Rukeyser, get an excellent showcase, these two for their vivid, visceral stories. Becher's haunting "Charybdis" has Iraq War vets adjusting to life (or not) back home, while Rukeyser's "The Chinese Barracks" chronicles a woman working in a cannery. The nonfiction entries are equally strong, numbering among them Nathaniel Rich's "The Man Who Saves You from Yourself," about a private investigator specializing in cults, and Luke Mogelson's "The Dream Boat," an account of Iraqis making a perilous journey from Indonesia to Australia. Other entries not to be missed include an amusing excerpt from Anders Nilsen's graphic novel, Rage of Poseidon, and Yasmine El Rashidi's interview with Egyptian activist Mona Eltahawy. This book provides a fantastic compendium of "In Case You Missed It." (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

"A collection that simply shouldn’t be missed." —Miami Herald "Full of delights...a joy to read." —The Stranger "Consistently impressive, with nary a dud in the 32 previously published selections...This book provides a fantastic compendium of "'In Case You Missed It.'" —Publishers Weekly, starred review "A highly eclectic collection...The quality of the material included is uniformly high...Consider this a sumptuous feast for free (nonrequired, that is) reading." —Booklist —

From the Publisher