The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2003 (The Best American Series) [Paperback]

Dave Eggers (Editor), Zadie Smith (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 10, 2003

Since its inception in 1915, the Best American series has become the premier annual showcase for the country's finest short fiction and nonfiction. For each volume, the very best pieces are selected by an editor who is widely recognized as a leading writer in his or her field, making the Best American series the most respected -- and most popular -- of its kind.
Dave Eggers, who will be editing The Best American Nonrequired Reading annually, has once again chosen the best and least-expected fiction, nonfiction, satire, investigative reporting, alternative comics, and more from publications large, small, and on-line -- The Onion, The New Yorker, Shout, Time, Zoetrope, Tin House, Nerve.com,and McSweeney's, to name just a few. Read on for "Some of the best literature you haven't been reading . . . And it's fantastic. All of it." (St. Petersburg Times).

Lynda Barry Jonathan Safran Foer Lisa Gabriele Andrea Lee J. T. Leroy Nasdijj ZZ Packer David Sedaris

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In his deliciously kooky foreword, Eggers (You Shall Know Our Velocity) describes this excellent literary compilation as a gathering of "good writing from contemporary writers," but it's much more than that. The 25 pieces, previously published in glossies (the New Yorker, Atlantic Monthly, Harper's) and smaller outlets (Tin House, Alaska Quarterly Review, Nerve.com) were selected by San Francisco high schoolers, and all are worthy of the reprint they get here. The eclectic assemblage of fiction, nonfiction, humor and comics alternates between serious articles, such as Mark Bowden's elaborate, exhaustive examination of Saddam Hussein ("Tales of the Tyrant"), and the comic brilliance of illustrator Lynda Barry, the charmingly goofy sentimentality of David Sedaris and the flippancy of the Onion's "I'll Try Anything with a Detached Air of Superiority." Last year's collection was aimed at young adults, and several selections here address themes of peer pressure and children's cruelty: Ryan Boudinot's Halloween-themed "The Littlest Hitler," David Drury's story of suburban misfits in "Things We Knew When the House Caught Fire" and Judy Budnitz's disturbing family tale "Visiting Hours." The street-smart spunk of J.T. Leroy's "Stuff" and K. Kvashay-Boyle's "Saint Chola" combine with Daniel Voll's unflinching view of life in South Central Los Angeles to give the collection a dash of grit. Readers of all ages should be delighted with this literary smorgasbord. Eggers deserves credit for another first-rate collection.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"An excellent literary compilation . . . Eggers deserves credit for another first-rate collection." Publishers Weekly

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Mariner Books; First Edition edition (October 10, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618246967
• ISBN-13: 978-0618246960
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #527,369 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Are we "forced" to read it?, March 29, 2004

By 

JR Pinto (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2003 (The Best American Series) (Paperback)

Another reviewer accuses Eggers of "forcing" his tastes on the reader. I must be one of the lucky few who Dave Eggers did not force to read this book at gunpoint. The title of this book is "Nonrequired Reading" - by definition, you are going to find pieces which are off the beaten path.

Personally, I found this book an invaluable tool to judge the state of modern writing. This is the only "Best American" collection I own, and I think it is the most valuable. Whereas this one gets criticized for being "too hip" the others strike me as being too high-brow or revisionist. This collection shows what people ACTUALLY READ.

The story behind the book is that Eggers has a team of literary-minded high school students cull the best of everything they've read from the entire year. The works contained in this collection run the gamut from fiction, to journalism, to humor, to essays - it even includes a comic strip. What makes this book so indispensable for any aspiring writer is not only that it gives an idea of the current voice of writing and the new young authors who are writing it, but it also lists the publications where one can find them.

Among the new authors that this book has helped me to discover is the very young J.T. Leroy. The author of Blackhawk Down provides an incisive and disturbing biography Saddam Hussein. The always dependable David Sedaris provides a very funny account of his brother Rooster's wedding.

I would have felt I got my money's worth from the book if I had just read the forward by Eggers (the part we were supposed to "skip"). Eggers is one of the best, freshest voices in writing today. Even better is the introduction by Zadie Smith where she provides guidelines of "how to read", complete with a lot of useful quotes from literature.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Eclectic assortment..., October 21, 2004

By 

Kathleen J. Bracken (Latham, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2003 (The Best American Series) (Paperback)

I bought this for a plane ride and I loved it. The fact that it mixes so many different genres is great. There are so many pieces in this collection that I never would have been exposed to had I not purchased this book, and I'm thankful I did.

Without getting into specific essays, I enjoyed almost everything featured in this book. It is a diverse group of readings, and I'd recommend it to anyone that wants to broaden his or her horizons but doesn't know how to do it. You'll feel enriched after reading this.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thought-provoking variety, December 22, 2003

By 

Lynn Harnett (Marathon, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2003 (The Best American Series) (Paperback)

This category was added last year - short pieces from periodicals big and small, chosen for young adults by young adults - San Francisco high school kids. A dubious prospect. But, whether it's youthful enthusiasm or the editor's "firm, unrelenting" guidance, the result is a funny, serious, edgy, clever and thoughtful mix, for all ages.

There's a long, quietly chilling piece on Saddam Hussein by Mark Bowden and a buoyantly resolute piece on growing up American and Muslim during the first Gulf War by V. Kvashay-Boyle.

A number of pieces turn on the traumas of childhood and dealing with family. "Then there's the time I went as Hitler for Halloween," begins Ryan Boudinot. David Drury gets childhood cruelty and suburban conformity down pat in "Things We Knew When the House Caught Fire." David Sedaris, funny as ever, offers up his family on his brother, Rooster's, wedding day, and Jonathan Safran Foer has a clever piece on the silences of family communication. More edgy are Douglas Light's wrenching story of abandoned sisters, J.T. Leroy's tale of an angry, ambitious, homeless boy, and Judy Budnitz' eerie, creepy story of a girl visiting her busted-up brother in the hospital.

The journalism is first rate, especially George Packer's fascinating exploration of what, exactly, happens to all those donated clothes, "How Susie Bayer's T-Shirt Ended Up on Yusuf Mama's Back;" and Chuck Closterman's profile of a tribute band, "The Pretenders."

Shorter pieces - Sherman Alexie's meditative "What Sacagawea Means to Me," as well as the Onion's humorous "I'll Try Anything with a Detached Air of Superiority," and Amanda Holzer's brief, smart, story in song titles - round out the mix.

Whether funny, grim, hip, winsome or informative, all these pieces are stimulating, gripping, thought-provoking. An excellent, well-balanced anthology.