Since its inception in 1915, the Best American series has become the premier annual showcase for the country's finest short fiction and nonfiction....
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Sep 26, 2011
Patrick
rated it: 
Last week I spotted The Best Nonrequired Reading 2003 edited by David Eggers. I had read the inaugural issue of 2002 and enjoyed it (a few of the selections came across as juvenile). There were three stories that I had previously came across, and really enjoyed ("Visiting Hours" by Judy Budnitz in Harper's, "Saint Chola" by K. Kuashay-Boyle in McSweeney's, and "Rooster At The Hitchin Post" by David Sedaris in Esquire), which is a good thing-it shows Eggers has simil
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Apr 30, 2011
Jessica
rated it: 
I have read a few books in this series and it seems that every year it's a pretty solid collection of long form journalism, short stories, and humor pieces. Dave Eggers and his team make a conscious effort to mix big names with unknown authors. I wish I could say that my favorite stories were by these great undiscovered talents. However, these are the pieces I would give five stars:
-Zadie Smith's introduction examining how people read.
-Mark Bowden's "Tales of the Tyrant," More...
-Zadie Smith's introduction examining how people read.
-Mark Bowden's "Tales of the Tyrant," More...
Jan 22, 2011
Paul 'Pezski'
rated it:
3.5 stars overall
Individual ratings:
Foreword - Dave Eggars 3
Introduction - Zadie Smith 4
The Guide to Being a Groupie - Lisa Gabriele 2
Things We Knew When the House Caught Fire - David Drury 4
The Pretenders - Chuck Klosterman 4
How To Write Suspense - James Pinkerton 3
Stuff - JT Leroy 4
Saint Chola - K. Kvashay-Bayle 4
I'll Try Anything With a Detached Air of Superiority - The Onion 3
A moderately interesting collection, but m More...
Individual ratings:
Foreword - Dave Eggars 3
Introduction - Zadie Smith 4
The Guide to Being a Groupie - Lisa Gabriele 2
Things We Knew When the House Caught Fire - David Drury 4
The Pretenders - Chuck Klosterman 4
How To Write Suspense - James Pinkerton 3
Stuff - JT Leroy 4
Saint Chola - K. Kvashay-Bayle 4
I'll Try Anything With a Detached Air of Superiority - The Onion 3
A moderately interesting collection, but m More...
Feb 10, 2009
Demetria
rated it:
This is a very cool collection of short fiction and non-fiction. It's a very diverse group of writers and definitely worth a read. Great for long flights and vacations too.
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Aug 14, 2010
Brian
rated it:
This is not a knock against this collection, I'm just pointing out a coincidence:
Both JT Leroy and Nasdijj contributed to this book. Both later turned out not to be actual people. Or something. It was confusing. And book people tend to get mad when you say that you are a self-taught native american who raises orphaned AIDS babies* or a former teen hustler pimped out by your mother** and it turns out that you are none of those things.
“Next to the writer of real estate advertisements, the au More...
Both JT Leroy and Nasdijj contributed to this book. Both later turned out not to be actual people. Or something. It was confusing. And book people tend to get mad when you say that you are a self-taught native american who raises orphaned AIDS babies* or a former teen hustler pimped out by your mother** and it turns out that you are none of those things.
“Next to the writer of real estate advertisements, the au More...
Jan 25, 2011
Mandy
rated it: 
I feel guilty suggesting I actually read this entire book, as the audio CD only contained 7 of the 25 selections. However that was enough for me. Perhaps I shouldn't have listened to it so soon after listening to another memoir steeped in gen x/y cultural references (Crosley) and coming of age stories. Or perhaps I should simply stop trying to find something out there that Eggers is involved with that I actually like, as I don't think it exists. In any event, what I heard was more than enough to
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Feb 06, 2008
Rob
rated it:
I wasn’t as impressed with this collection as I was with the previous year’s. There seemed to be more pieces here that deal with adolescences, and while that is just fine as I feel any subject is a good one if it’s written about in an interesting way, I got lost in the middle of this collection because I thought we were treading the same ground over and over again. Adolescence is confusing and tough. . . . I get it.
The nonfiction pieces, as well, weren’t as engaging. Mark Bowden’s pi More...
The nonfiction pieces, as well, weren’t as engaging. Mark Bowden’s pi More...
Nov 11, 2007
Christine
rated it:
This is one of the most varied collections of short stories I have read in quite some time. Occassionally it becomes clear that the collection is meant for people to say "this is the most varied collection I've read" which does show it lacks some sort of central theme, something to hold on to, etc.
The variations are in structure as well as tone and voice so unlike many other prose collections or collections of one author's short stories it is will keep your mind stimulat More...
The variations are in structure as well as tone and voice so unlike many other prose collections or collections of one author's short stories it is will keep your mind stimulat More...
Sep 24, 2007
Gregg
rated it:
I liked these stories, although some of them went down better than others. I didn't have the attention span necessary to attend to the subtleties of humor in "A Primer for the Punctuation of Heart Disease," although I wasn't completely addled and did recognize that the author was playing around with emoticons and the human psyche. Liked Eggers' musings on his brother's wedding, liked the Atlantic Monthly article on Sadaam Hussein, and absolutely loved Zadie Smith's introduction, as she
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Dec 01, 2008
Jane
rated it:
this is totally a guinea pig. a few of the stories in here were excellent. shout out to "the ant of the self" by zz packer. a kooky story by js foer ("a primer for the punctuation of heart disease"). another cool article by chuck klosterman abt tribute bands. "riot baby" by daniel voll - insider peek into the 1992 la riots. it also helped that zadie wrote the intro. i freaking love zadie.
i'd still say 75% is thumbs down. good thing this series has impro
i'd still say 75% is thumbs down. good thing this series has impro
Jul 22, 2007
nicole
rated it:
So far:
I'm mostly interested in selections involving heinous dictators: The Littlest Hitler and Tales of a Tyrant, an examination of the life of Saddam Hussein! I don't know why, but they're the most engaging pieces I've read thus far, and they're absolutely nothing alike. I mean, I'm pretty sure I have in fact been living under a rock ("solid as a rock!"... Arrested Development? Yes? Anyway...) for much of my life, but even so it felt surprising to realize how little I'd t More...
I'm mostly interested in selections involving heinous dictators: The Littlest Hitler and Tales of a Tyrant, an examination of the life of Saddam Hussein! I don't know why, but they're the most engaging pieces I've read thus far, and they're absolutely nothing alike. I mean, I'm pretty sure I have in fact been living under a rock ("solid as a rock!"... Arrested Development? Yes? Anyway...) for much of my life, but even so it felt surprising to realize how little I'd t More...
Jun 18, 2010
Lisbeth
rated it:
This is a really good assortment of fiction and nonfiction (perfect for fitful vacation reading). I even read the foreword and the introduction--though I read them afterward. It all made me feel (as I often do) that people are just getting awfully damned smart and worldly and I'm glad they can share things with me/us.
Dec 08, 2010
Week of December 16, 2010 - December 22, 2010
What the Blind Can See
"Things We Knew When the House Caught Fire" by David Drury, performed by Keith Szarabajka
Collected in: The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2003, edited by Dave Eggers (Houghton Mifflin Company)
What the Blind Can See
"Things We Knew When the House Caught Fire" by David Drury, performed by Keith Szarabajka
Collected in: The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2003, edited by Dave Eggers (Houghton Mifflin Company)
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Mar 07, 2008
Logan
rated it:
This collection is, at best, a compendium of hit and miss articles and short stories and, at worst, a collection of writers that remind me of everything I don't like about Dave Eggers. This book has been bathroom reading, sitting on the back of the toilet in case I find myself trapped in the commode for a long duration. The problem is that I am so uninspired to read it that I've taken to bringing in other reading materials.
One bright note: I loved the article about Saddam Hussein More...
One bright note: I loved the article about Saddam Hussein More...
May 01, 2011
Sarah
rated it: 
I though this was terrible. I picked it up because everyone at the time was obsessed with Eggars and it was on sale at Powells. I found the whole thing to be drivel.
Aug 22, 2010
Janice
rated it:
this is sort of a mixed bag. the best according to dave eggers. i laughed out loud when i saw JT leroy in evidence. still, there are some good things in here.
Dec 30, 2010
Jesse
rated it:
A couple of really funny and interesting stories in this collection. Not bad.
Jun 17, 2009
I left the copy I was reading in the dressing room at Joe's Pub. Boo...
Oct 18, 2007
Amy
rated it: 
Dave Eggers is so funny. I heard him read the full version of his intro to this book in Austin. The full and the edited versions are both great pieces of writing. He just gets inside the head of this preteen character and shares those thoughts with the reader. Zadie Smith's piece perfectly describes how I feel about reading. Another notable entry is the former homeless person and her quest to find the woman who helped her save her journals.
Apr 18, 2008
Sally
rated it:
The story I remember and like best was the last one, written from the viewpoint of a 14 year old high school freshman; flip through the author biographies and you find out that it IS actually written by a 14 year old high school freshman who remains anonymous. It makes me so curious. Did her parents know she wrote this? I'm so curious about what she's doing now - by my calculation she's a junior in college.
Feb 08, 2008
Teri
rated it:
Stories I loved:
'The Meticulous Grove of Black and Green' -Michael Buckley
'Visiting Hours' -Judy Budnitz
'Things We Knew When the House Caught Fire' -David Drury
'Love and Other Catastrophes: A Mix Tape' -Amanda Holzer
'Stuff' J.T. Leroy
'Touching Him' -Nasdijj
'Rooster at the Hitching Post' -David Sedaris
'Riot Baby (Life in South Central Los Angeles)' -Daniel Voll
'The Meticulous Grove of Black and Green' -Michael Buckley
'Visiting Hours' -Judy Budnitz
'Things We Knew When the House Caught Fire' -David Drury
'Love and Other Catastrophes: A Mix Tape' -Amanda Holzer
'Stuff' J.T. Leroy
'Touching Him' -Nasdijj
'Rooster at the Hitching Post' -David Sedaris
'Riot Baby (Life in South Central Los Angeles)' -Daniel Voll
Feb 29, 2008
Whitney
rated it:
I love this entire series. I've read this year and one other year (I can't remember which) and really enjoyed them both. Each book has a variety of literary work: fiction, poems, non-fiction, comics: you name it, they have it! And its all amazing, hence the name "Best...reading" Its a great book to have around for casual reading. I'm looking forward to the 2007 edition!
Sep 26, 2011
Marie
rated it:
Not a loser in the lot, a great anthology that mixes it up with lots of variety, from an Onion article to a serious non-fiction piece or two, but the meat is almost all coming-of-age stories, which I don't mind. The stories were picked by a panel of high-schoolers, it'd be odd if they picked stories about middle-aged housewives.
Absolutely a must-read.
Absolutely a must-read.
Jan 13, 2010
David
rated it:
i've learned so far that i'm not very good at engaging with collections by various authors. i'm constantly forgetting that i'm reading this book because nothing is really wetting my appetite to read a new story by someone else new that i know nothing about. i'll make it through eventually. would love some recommendations on which stories to jump around to perhaps.
Jul 29, 2008
Jennifer
rated it:
i bought this book a while ago, recently read it, and really enjoyed it. i like the mix of genres and found pieces by authors that i will now seek out. i've always enjoyed the annual "best american short stories" and "best american mysteries" and am excited that i found a new anthology to enjoy.
Jun 19, 2008
Kitt
rated it:
Dave Eggers does a great job editing this collection of short stories and journalism. Apparently there are 4 more editions now...I'm behind the times sorry. I can't think of a bad piece in this collection, hopefully the other installments are as good as i plan on reading them now. Bust check this out.
Jan 12, 2008
Adam
rated it:
I've read the 2002, 2003, and 2005 editions of this series. If I remember correctly this was the worst. It was still good. I think at the time I didn't realize it was for high school students, so I was confused by how heavily weighted it was toward coming of age stories...
