If you’re looking for some new inspiration for your reading list, get a little pensive this spring with one of the many new essay collections published this season. Join New York’s largest unofficial book club, The Subway Book Club, and page through one of these titles on your commute this April.
‘The Curse of The Boyfriend Sweater’
By Alanna Okun
Knitters may be familiar with the curse of knitting a special object for an S.O., but withholding spoilers for non-crafters, Racked editor Okun’s first book shares memoir-esque essays, all spun together through well-considered tales of crafting.
‘Look Alive Out There’
By Sloane Crosley
The newest collection of witty essays by the bestselling author delves into Crosley’s very specific, and often unique, lived experiences, including performing as herself in a “Gossip Girl” cameo. Humor is integral to Crosley’s storytelling, though she delves deeper in a sincere, introspective manner that is, even to those who’ve never appeared on a hit CW series, undeniably relatable.
‘Sabers and Utopias: Visions of Latin America’
By Mario Vargas Llosa
This collection of newly translated essays by the esteemed Peruvian writer brings the Nobel Prize winner’s insightful critiques and considerations of Latin American politics to a broader audience.
‘How To Write An Autobiographical Novel’
By Alexander Chee
Most readers know him as a novelist, but the author is back in print with a collection of essays reflecting on his ever-expansive identity as an artist, activist and beyond. Chee’s stories of writing his first novel and enduring the 2016 presidential election may inspire readers to start jotting down their own semi-autobiographical novels. (Out April 17)
‘Acid West’
By Joshua Wheeler
Continuing and contemporizing a tradition of narrative from the American West, Wheeler’s first essay collection is strongly rooted in New Mexico, where family history, folklore and UFOs meld to form a collection of distinct, richly constructed essays. (Out April 17)
