The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2012

November 8, 2010
David Sedaris's unflappable inventiveness translates, in the first section of this anthology, to a smattering of pieces with giddiness, daring, and heart. A particular highlight, by Wendy Molyneux, earned his award for "Best American Woman Comedy Piece Written by a Woman" and is guaranteed to set off snorts of delight with each re-read. In the second section, as in previous years, Eggers's picks prove solid and balanced, if expected. Rana Dasgupta's superb article, exploring India's new wealth and subsequent fallout, as well as David Rhode's profound and gripping account of his seven months as a Taliban hostage reflect not only the literary achievements of 2009, but also the horrors and complexities of these current times on. Meanwhile, Tea Obreht's "The Tiger's Wife" and Kurt Vonnegut's "The Nice Little People" embody the ageless miracles of surprise and originality that comprise the human imagination.

September 3, 2012
Staying true to its mission of eclecticism, the 11th volume in this series makes room not just for magazine articles and short stories, but also comic strips, letters, text messages, tweets, and committee minutes. Given that those last mentioned items come from the Occupy Wall Street protests, however, this anthology shows more signs of earnest timeliness than might be expected from the title’s tongue-in-cheek grandiosity. Some of the 32 selections, once again chosen by high school students in the writing programs known as 826 Valencia and 826 Michigan cofounded by McSweeney’s editor Eggers, venture to Russia and Japan in, respectively, Anthony Marra’s “The Palace of the People” and Nora Krug’s “Kamikaze.” Widely different corners of American immigrant experience, meanwhile, figure into short-form memoirs from Junot Díaz, Jose Antonio Vargas, and Wesley Yang. This year’s guest introducer, the late Ray Bradbury, wrote just weeks before his death. While in theory Bradbury’s presence should more than justify fantastical selections like Jess Walter’s trendily zombie-themed “Don’t Eat Cat” or Eric Puchner’s Harrison Bergeron–like “Beautiful Monsters,” Louise Erdrich’s and Mark Robert Rapacz’s harder-bitten fiction impresses more. Nonfiction from John Jeremiah Sullivan and Jon Ronson, meanwhile, more than measures up to the series’ essentially lighthearted spirit, also captured by this year’s cover illustrator, Brian Selznick.

September 15, 2012
An eclectic annual that will leave readers marveling over many of the discoveries and puzzling over the inclusion of a few. The most category-defying of The Best American Series once again finds noted author Eggers (A Hologram for the King, 2012, etc.) listed as editor while serving more as teacher/mentor/ringleader for the high school class that is "voluntary and extracurricular and very simple: We read and discuss contemporary writing." The anthology emerges from those discussions, and if its proudly proclaimed "nonrequired reading" status makes it something other than the year's essential American writing, it at least gives a hint as to what a bunch of bright, responsive high school readers have found particularly compelling. Very much a product of its time, the anthology encompasses, among other things, graphic narratives, manifestos and reports from the various "Occupy" outposts, the eulogy for Apple's Steve Jobs by his sister, Mona Simpson, the variety of phone responses elicited by a flyer requesting "If anyone wants to talk about anything, call me," "Best American Lonely Guy" and pieces of long-form journalism about the complex lives and identities of real-life superheroes. There is zombie fiction from Jess Walter, inscrutable fiction from George Saunders and some pieces that leave it to readers to determine whether they are fiction or not. Perhaps the most powerful is "Redeployment" by Phil Klay, a Marine Iraqi vet with a master's degree in creative writing and a collection of stories due. "We shoot dogs," it starts. "Not by accident." It then proceeds to detail what soldiers find when they return from battle--empty houses, broken marriages, lives that seem surreal, dogs that need to be put down. All readers will find their own favorites that justify the collection as a whole. An anthology that reads like a long, engaging annual magazine.

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October 15, 2012
This quirky collection of fiction and nonfiction shorts, chosen annually by high-school students in California and Michigan, is part of the prestigious Best American series. Mentored by Eggers (McSweeney's, A Hologram for the King, 2012), the voluntary, extracurricular Best American Nonrequired Reading committee, comprised of bright young minds from dozens of different high schools, meets regularly to read, debate, and compile the country's best fiction, journalism, essays, comics, tweets, letters, humor pieces, and so on for inclusion in this eclectic anthology. The 2012 edition boasts an introduction written shortly before his death by the legendary Ray Bradbury and cover art by Caldecott-winning author-illustrator Brian Selznick (The Invention of Hugo Cabret, 2007). A veritable time capsule of the past year, this mostly winning edition includes nonfiction ruminations from the front lines of the Occupy movement as well as a transcript of the eulogy written by the sister of Steve Jobs. Fiction contributors include George Saunders and Julie Otsuka. Proceeds from the book benefit youth literacy via 826 National, a network of eight youth tutoring, writing, and publishing centers in eight cities across the country.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)