This Is My Best: Great Writers Share Their Favorite Work [Paperback]

Retha Powers (Author, Editor), Kathy Kiernan (Editor)

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Product Details

Paperback: 448 pages
Publisher: Chronicle Books (April 15 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0811848299
ISBN-13: 978-0811848299
Product Dimensions: 20.9 x 14.3 x 4.3 cm
Shipping Weight: 567 g
Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,901,999 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Product Description

We all have our favorite pieces by our beloved writers. But what do they think is their own best work? Inspired by an acclaimed collection published in 1942, the editors at the Quality Paperback Book Club invited fiction writers, essayists, poets, playwrights, and cartoonists to choose and comment on their best work. The result is a veritable who's who of contemporary literature and popular culture, including selections by Anne Tyler, Arthur Miller, Gary Trudeau, David Sedaris, Rita Dove, Tom Robbins, Ruth Reichl, T. C. Boyle, Mary Karr, John Updike, and dozens more. Each selection is rewarding in itself; more still for the introductions in which the author explains his or her choice, shedding light on both the work and creative process. Appealing to readers of the annual best short story collections, writers, and fans of the stellar list of contributors, <I>This Is My Best</I> is a landmark literary anthology.

About the Author

Retha Powers is executive editor of the Quality Paperback Book Club. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times Magazine , Essence , Ms. , Vibe , and Glamour . She lives in New York City.<br><br>Kathy Kiernan is co-editor of First Fiction: An Anthology of the First Published Stories by Famous Writers . A former fiction editor at Jane magazine and now on the board of the Evergreen Review , she lives in New York City.

Inside This Book (Learn More)

First Sentence
THE HARDEST PART ABOUT picking a best Dilbert comic is that my tastes change over time in a predictable cycle of loving-loathing-loving-loathing. Read the first page

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Concordance

Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover

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Amazon.com: 4.0 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Varied, interesting, and lengthened my to-read list!, July 23 2005

By Debbie the Book Devourer "dletour7" - Published on Amazon.com

This review is from: This Is My Best: Great Writers Share Their Favorite Work (Paperback)

This book contains short works by over 50 authors -- works that for whatever reason, they consider their best. The choice of authors is very varied, from Scott Adams to Scott Turow to Arther Miller to Barbara Kingsolver to Anne Tyler. Some authors I had heard of, others not. The selections ranged from poems to cartoons to short stories to excerpts from novels.

While the quality of the entries was uniformly good, I personally didn't like every selection, but that's only natural, of course. Some favorites: Scott Adams' Dilbert selection, T. Coraghessan Boyle's short story about a couple with acquisition disorders, Laurie Garrett's poignant and fascinating tale of Tay-Sachs disease in Cajun country, and Dan Rhodes' weird paragraph-long stories about fictional former girlfriends.

I liked many of the other stories, too, so much so that the authors who wrote them are now on my to-read list.

Almost as interesting as the selections themselves were the forewords to each selection by the author explaining why he or she selected the piece.

If you don't want to expand your horizons and your to-read list, definitely pass this book up. But if you do, read it and enjoy it as you would a sampler platter at your favorite restaurant. It is truly a collection to be savored.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Enchanting, Jan 20 2009

By Valerie "Career Mom & Wife" - Published on Amazon.com

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This review is from: This Is My Best: Great Writers Share Their Favorite Work (Paperback)

As a busy Mom this book is just what the doctor ordered! I have a bad habit of only reading self help, child developement and non-fiction books. This book introduced me to great authors from way back (& current ones) I've heard of but haven't lately felt right about taking the time away from daily duties to indulge myself. I find myself craving this book for more adventures of the mind and spirit. I've learned things about my world I had no idea existed. I would elaborate and list them but I have yet to finish the book and couldn't just pick even a few. I laugh, I cry, I yearn for more with this amazing book. It's my favorite one ever! What a great gift this book would make for the avid reader. Also, indeed the authors introduction of each piece is just as delicious as the actual story as mentioned in the first review.

5.0 out of 5 stars Takes You Places You'd Never Think to Go, Aug 9 2009

By R. Ohal "odd meter superhero" - Published on Amazon.com

This review is from: This Is My Best: Great Writers Share Their Favorite Work (Paperback)

I am in the middle of this book but like it so much I am compelled to write a review. The anthology is based on the concept of writers choosing their own personal bests, and the intro's to the works alone are worth it. It is so interesting to hear why the writers have chosen pieces and how they were written, but mostly I like reading what they think is their best. I cried after reading Mrs. Dutta Writes a Letter, as it could have been written about my childhood in Maryland after my Indian grandmother came to live with us, and googled Caroline Crachimi after reading A Short Story by Emma Donoghue. When I initially bought the book I too glanced at it and tossed it aside, thinking it perhaps boring, but today after picking it up again realized that it is anything but. It is dense, full of truths, and rich in flavor. It is a book you dive into, knowing that it will open unknown windows inside of you but only if you will give it time and attention. It is the difference between reading John Grisham and John Kennedy O'Toole. One requires little of the reader and the other requires that the reader actively participates in the opening of these worlds.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 4 reviews 4.0 out of 5 stars