Book Review: The Book of Delights by Ross Gay (This one’s for the adults in the crowd) …

Book Review: The Book of Delights—Essays by Ross Gay (This one’s for the adults in the crowd) …

From time to time, I will use this blog space to review a book for you, and mostly by that I mean children’s books as I have read ALOT of children’s books in my time creating Fearless Dragon Writers’ lessons. However, I just finished reading a book—a book of ‘essayettes’ by a Poet—that has had an impact on me, so I thought I’d share my thoughts with you. I assume if you have found this website, book reviews might interest you, and while this book isn’t for children, it is an example of BEAUTIFUL WRITING and perhaps most importantly BEAUTIFUL LIVING and OBSERVING. One needs to observe well to write well, and file away all those juicy details for one’s work.

So, onto this book (and a story for you) .... Author and Poet Ross Gay "decided that it might feel nice, even useful, to write a daily essay about something delightful. He set himself some rules: [He would] "write about a 'delight' every day for a year; begin and end on [his] birthday; draft them quickly; and write them by hand." The reflections are playful and deep, often sad (somewhat surprising for a book with this title), but always beautiful. Often, he finds a delight and adds the word, "(delight!)" after it, and that makes me smile every time. This book is prose, but the magical/musical/poetic kind. It is obvious from reading his work that he is a Poet (with a capital “P”). The man can string a few words together in the most unique and thought-provoking ways. There is something in one of the 'essayettes' on what it means to parent that is the truest thing I have ever read on the combined joy/terror that is parenting--although this man (to my knowledge) has no children of his own. He shares so much of himself through his writing—and with deep honesty—that I feel I know him. His words (and the visual imagery they conjure) will stay with me for a long time.

As for my own increased 'delight-awareness', as I was hoping from reading The Book of Delights: It is doing exactly what I hoped it would--making me more aware of the 'delights' around me. Last night I told a small group of friends (delight!) how I'm terrible at parallel parking (mostly because I have closed my mind off to it, and lived my life so I rarely find the need) and how when my younger son wants me to "park in the basketball spot," (which is code for park on the street blocking the driveway so he can practice basketball and the car will catch the ball if he misses) ... how that often requires me to parallel park, which I am always self-conscious about because my next door neighbor-friend (delight!) came from Brooklyn, and it is clear the way she slides up to the curb that she can parallel park in her sleep.... But when I try, it's 'up and back' and 'up and over and back' and 'up and back' again. Too much curb, too little curb, etc. Only now that I'm reading this book of 'delights', I realize the 'up and back' and 'up and back' rocking motion of the tires of my car are rocking over the mint that has grown wild into the road, and I get a tiny hint of mint (delight!) floating into the car. Like I'm crushing some garnish on a street mocktail every time I try (in vain) to properly parallel park. And how that fragrance—’street mint!’ —is so pretty (delight!), and how that wouldn't happen if I actually knew how to parallel park well(!) And how wonderful it was to spend time with friends last night, (delight! delight! delight!), especially when at the night's end, one of them said, "the only thing I crave is chocolate croissants" and the other one said, "hold on a moment" and went into her freezer and handed her a box of chocolate croissants. As if they had planned that for weeks--when, in fact, it wasn't planned at all. (Delight!)

So, dear reader, may I humbly recommend: The Book of Delights by Ross Gay.* It may change the way you see things. It may increase your observational skills—which if you are a writer, is key. This from an author, who in his own website bio states that he is here to study—JOY. (Delight!) Well, if I wasn’t having so much FUN writing, designing FUN lesson plans to help children enjoy writing, and teaching, I might actually consider that as a new occupation. (Who knew?)

P.S. There is also The Book of (More) Delights by Ross Gay* which is coming out in September 2023, and can be pre-ordered now. (Delight; I’m sure.)

For more on this author, please visit his website: Ross Gay.

And now onward to writing…. (Delight!)

(*Please note: These are Amazon Affiliate Links. I earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. Thank you so much for your support!)