Other books that might interest you

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  She's Nice Though - Essays on...

  Mia Mercado

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  AN NPR BOOK-OF-THE-DAY • A PUBLISHERS WEEKLY STAFF PICK • A NYLON MUST-READ • A FORTUNE NEW BOOK TO READ IN AUGUST 
  “And, at the center of it all, am I actually nice or am I just performing a role I think I’m expected to play?” Mia Mercado is a razor-sharp cultural critic and essayist known for her witty and hilarious dissections of the uncomfortable truths that rule our lives. In this thought-provoking collection of new essays, Mercado examines what it means to be “polite,” “agreeable,” and “nice.” She covers topics from the subtleties of the “Bad Bitch” and why women dominate the ASMR market, to what makes her dog an adorable little freak and how you know if you’re shy. This is a book about the unspoken trick mirror of our “good” intentions: the inherent performance of the social media apology, celebrating men when they do the bare minimum, and why we trust a Midwesterner to watch our stuff when we go pee. 
  Throughout, she ponders her identity as an Asian woman and asks what “nice” even means—and why anyone would want to be it. With writing that is as precise as it is profound, and cultural references that range from trash reality television to the New York Times Sunday-morning crossword puzzle, Mercado uncovers weird, long-overdue truths about our frailties and failings. In the end, she sees them not as a source of shame but as a cause for celebration. Filled with revelations that range from the silly to the serious, 
  She’s Nice Though offers a mind-bending glimpse into the illusions and delusions of contemporary life—and reveals who we *really* are when no one is watching.

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  Cockroach The

  Ian McEwan

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  A brilliant, of-the-moment political satire like no other: here is Ian McEwan's Brexit-era take on Kafka's Metamorphosis, centered on a cockroach transformed into the prime minister of England. An Anchor Original. That morning, Jim Sams, clever but by no means profound, woke from uneasy dreams to find himself transformed into a giant creature. Jim Sams has undergone a metamorphosis. In his previous life he was ignored or loathed, but in his new incarnation he is the most powerful man in Britain--and it is his mission to carry out the will of the people. Nothing must get in his way; not the opposition, nor the dissenters within his own party. Not even the rules of parliamentary democracy. In this bitingly funny Kafkaesque satire, Ian McEwan engages with scabrous humor a very recognizable political world and turns it on its head.

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  Best Enemies

  Jane Heller

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  Amy Sherman has a nice apartment in Manhattan, a good job as publicity director at a publishing company, and a decent social life. Then she runs into Tara Messer, prom queen and Amy's ex-best friend. It's been four years since Tara stole Amy's fiance, and Amy swore she'd stop playing second fiddle to spotlight-hog Tara. Or so she thought. Tara, now married to the man who broke Amy's heart, is a lifestyle guru with her own book deal-and Amy gets tapped to be her publicist. When Amy enlists a commitment-phobic mystery writer as the pawn in her game of payback, she stumbles on the surprising truth about Tara's lifestyle and her own fears about falling in love.

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  Drum-Taps

  Walt Whitman

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  Drum Taps is the next collection of poems published by Walt Whitman after his famous Leaves of Grass.  This collection is a direct response to Whitman's personal observations of the Civil War, many of which come from his volunteer efforts in wartime hospitals.  Despite the miseries of war described, Whitman's poems in Drum Taps assert a steady patriotism in favor of Lincoln's war effort.  Interestingly, the 1915 edition used for this reading includes an introduction from the Times Literary Supplement which draws analogies between the Civil War and the current throes of World War I, enlisting Whitman posthumously as a supporter of the Allied campaign against Germany. - Summary by Expatriate

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  Vernon God Little

  DBC Pierre

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  “If Huckleberry Finn were set on the Mexican-American border and written by the creators of South Park, it might read something like this.” —San Francisco Chronicle   Hailed by critics and lauded by readers for its riotously funny and scathing portrayal of America in an age of trial by media, materialism, and violence, Vernon God Little was an international sensation when it was first published in 2003 and awarded the prestigious Man Booker Prize.   The memorable portrait of America is seen through the eyes of a wry, young protagonist. Fifteen-year-old Vernon narrates the story with a cynical twang and a four-letter barb for each of his townsfolk, a medley of characters. With a plot involving a school shooting and death-row reality TV shows, Pierre’s effortless prose and dialogue combine to form a novel of postmodern gamesmanship.   “A dangerous, smart, ridiculous, and very funny first novel . . . Pierre renders adolescence brilliantly, capturing with seeming effortlessness the bright, contradictory hormone rush of teenage life.” —Sam Sifton, The New York Times

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  Travels with Epicurus - A...

  Daniel Klein

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  The best-selling coauthor of Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar, Daniel Klein delivers a stirring meditation on the simple pleasures to be found late in life. Traveling to the Greek island of Hydra, Klein set out to discover what could be learned about aging from the sage philosopher Epicurus. Equal parts travel book and guide to living well, Klein's delightful work shines a welcome light on the richer aspects of one's golden years.

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