The Book of Delights

The Book of Delights, by Ross Gay

36/60 | Started 07.30.25 • Finished 08.04.25 | 3 stars

I'm all about a book of essays - it's probably my favorite kind of non-fiction to read. The premise is that the author commits to producing an essay a day on something that brings him delight. We don't get all the essays in this book, but a good number of them (*spoiler alert: there's a follow-up collection*), and many of them are fine. However, hardly any of it gripped me like I hoped it would (see earlier reviews of essay collections like Ann Patchett's These Precious Days or Laura Maria Philpot's Bomb Shelter or John Greene's The Anthropocene Reviewed for proof that I'm a big fan of the genre). I was really expecting to be moved in my own sense of delight and gratitude, I guess. And a few were just kind of dumb to be honest. Still, there was some good writing and overall it was decent, so I'm giving it 3 stars.

The Door-to-Door Bookstore

The Door-to-Door Bookstore, by Carsten Henn

35/60 | Started 07.25.25 • Finished 07.30.25 | 4 stars

A fun little story about an older man, set in his ways as the delivery man for the local bookstore. His position, according to the new bookstore manager, is becoming more and more obsolete, and so he fears his very existence is in the balance. Insert a precocious girl who befriends the man while he's on his last few rounds. An easy read, clean, delightful and a little predictable but with a good blend of characters. Would recommend.

The Ungrateful Refugee

The Ungrateful Refugee, by Dina Nayeri

34/60 | Started 07.16.25 • Finished 07.25.25 | 4 stars

Upon seeing that a friend had read this book, and noticing the last name Nayeri (yes, related to the wonderful Daniel Nayeri of Everything Sad is Untrue fame), I quickly picked it up. It includes stories of mostly Middle Eastern refugees, both their escapes and their difficulties or successes in obtaining asylum, as well as Dina's own refugee story. There is also a lot of commentary on the refugee crisis, mainly in Europe, and the many unsuccessful asylum requests. I felt like it got a little political at times, though her first hand accounts lend credence to her take on the whole situation. Her writing is winsome yet provocative. I found myself wishing for more refugee stories to go along with her analysis, though many of the ones she tells are heart wrenching. Would recommend with a tiny grain of salt.