"If anyone ever asks if an artist should be primarily concerned with aesthetics or politics, answer with three words: “Yep” and “Grace Paley.” Her funny, fond, wild energy produced stunningly beautiful stories, poems, and essays, and a lifetime of passionate social engagement. Pair this with the lovely documentary (Grace Paley: Collected Shorts) by Lily Rivlin, for a sense of who Grace Paley was, and why it’s so important to keep her memory and work alive in our time."

"It’s not often that a writer makes me laugh out loud, but [David] Sedaris does. He brings me to tears. It’s to the point where I can’t read his writing in public because people think I’m having some kind of meltdown. In this collection of essays, [When You Are Engulfed in Flames] he has a way of finding humour in the strangest and most painful moments, like a week with a creepy baby-sitter, or the death of his mother."

"Most of my recent essays include a reference to Jane Austen and to my mum. I read and reread "Persuasion" for its painful rendering of love that continues in the absence of an object, and for the delicacy of its heroine’s goodness. Anne, in the sadness of what she believes to be her ruined life, can be concerned to prevent a country walk from being spoiled by her sister Mary-- a marvelous depiction of obnoxiousness. And the happy ending is delicious."

"Cultural Amnesia might just be my favourite book of all time. It’s his essays and reflections on people he has been fascinated by, mainly from the 20th century, and I felt like I’d been properly woken up after reading it. A friend of mine actually walks Clive’s dog, so I wrote him a fan letter and my mate was able to pass it on. It was the first gushing fan letter I had written in a long, long time. I actually sent one to Henry Rollins many many years ago, and he wrote back to me. Fan letters are cool."

"Full disclosure: Samantha Irby is my real life actual friend, but that’s only because I was so rabidly obsessed with her perfect, brilliant, peerlessly funny writing that I flew to Chicago and forced her to love me, so I think that hardly counts as a traditional conflict of interest. I was a fan FIRST. This book doesn’t come out until March, but I was lucky enough to read an early manuscript, and it’s exactly the collection of new Samantha Irby essays you’ve been yearning for, the perfect spring promise to keep you trucking through the winter."

"Roxane Gay is one of the funniest and most insightful authors, and her book of essays is essential reading because I think most women can relate to her varied interests, and I am no exception. Gay, an academic and prolific author, writes about watching certain reality shows but also recognizing how damaging they can be. She writes about feminism in a way that is deeply authentic and realistic. Also, as someone who has had to work her way up this business for years, I really appreciate that she is an overnight success twenty years in the making"