First, the cover is by Maurice Sendak.
This edition, 2010, includes an intro by David Sedaris, and pieces by Sherman Alexie and Stephen Colbert.
There's beautiful graphic illustration pieces.
There's a story about a young boy who believes he has esp, a talking goldfish story, an account of bringing born again Jesus to children in the ghettos, and a review of the current class structure in India.
A little poetry, and some authors I can't wait to explore. ( )

Good front section again, but little memorable from the main selection. Kind of a miss this year. ( )

Here's my approach to this whole "reviewing books" thing. I got started doing these reviews because I found that time had a nasty habit of taking the memories of recently read books and, aside from some that jumped out and refused to be thrown into the dustbin of my personal history, hid those memories away in some dusty crevasse to be forgotten. I found that the details (in fact, in some instances even the general concepts) for books I remembered fondly – that I remembered enjoying as I read – were unrecallable. This great forgetfulness struck me most profoundly a few years ago when the gentleman next to me on a plane flight asked what I was reading. It told him it was Murakami's The Windup Bird Chronicle and I went on to explain that I was reading the book because I had thoroughly enjoyed Kafka on the Shore. As we talked, I was chagrined to realize that I could remember nothing of substance regarding Kafka – just that I had greatly enjoyed it.

Shortly after that event I vowed to complete reviews for every book I read – not so much for those who would read the reviews (although, it is always nice to get a thumbs up or a comment that someone has enjoyed and found useful the review), but more to help etch that book just a little more strongly in my memory. And, if the memory fails, then I go back to the review to nudge that reticent memory along.

Further, to help that memory – to capture it while fresh – my intent is to complete the review as soon after reading the book as possible. Well, time, tide, and procrastination wait for no man, and best intentions pave many a road beyond the one leading to hell. So, I am currently sitting with a stack of eight books begging for review – books I finished as recently as yesterday and as long as a month ago.

That means the memory is not as fresh as I might prefer. To combat that problem I have also learned that I can often thumb through the book to get a feel/remembrance of what I read. (I do my best to refrain from looking things up on the internet – plot-points, characters, etc. – because I do not want my review tainted by the reviews of others.) Sometimes it works; sometimes not so much.

I provide this background because it has been at least one month since I finished the 2010 edition of The Best American Nonrequired Reading. The series is one of my absolute favorites and, except for one instance, I have found reading the series a joy of discovery and wonder. And yet, I looked at the cover of this edition, and I had...nothing. I couldn't remember what I had read, I couldn't remember if I liked it, I couldn't remember a single moment of the time I had spent with the book. (We will, at this point, ignore any comments anyone would like to make about the impact of age on the memory – they will not be appreciated. At least, as far as I remember, they will not be appreciated.)

So, in the method I have previously described, I began thumbing through the entries. First, Sherman Alexie's War Dances - a strangely structured slice of Alexie's life as he came to grips with a personal situation and remembrances of his Native American father. Second, Rachel Aviv's article "Like I was Jesus" about Christian missionaries reaching out to the youth of inner cities that tells as much about the young people involved as it does about the outreach program. Next, Nora Bonner's "Buying Jeremy Green", a twisted tale of children's play around the death of a child. Next, Lille Carre's illustrated tale (graphic novel doesn't seem to work in this context) "The Carnival" – as much fantasy as reality – which begins with a flooded house and eventually works the protagonist to a carnival where he meets a young lady and a plot that really defies description. And next, Rana Dasgupta's "Capital Gains" about India and finances. And next, Tamas Dabozy's "The Encirclement" about one man's involvement in the war. And next. And next. And next. Und so weiter.



Look, I could keep going on with descriptions – words that do unfair justice to the quality and caliber of the items contained in this collection. As I looked at each one I remembered what had struck me, what had impressed me, what had entertained me, what had changed me. Because, in case it isn't clear yet, there are few, if any, clunkers in this collection.

This has all been a very long, complicated, rambling way of stating that this is one of the best collections – nonrequired or otherwise – that I have ever read. No, I didn't remember them when I looked at the book; yes, I remembered almost each and every one vividly and with an electric impact of pleasure when I went back.

Read all of the above as one of the strongest recommendations I can give. ( )

Opening section was funny, but not as funny as previous years. About 20 short works, some really great short stories. Loved "War Dances", "Vanish", and "Like I was Jesus". As with previous years, I could do without the graphic novels/comics. Still, a great read. ( )

This annual series is one of the few that collects such a consistently high-quality and eclectic body of American non-fiction. Dave Eggers edits and the selection committee consists of high-school students from California and Michigan. From quick humorous lists (Best American New Band Names) to comics, essays, poetry, online content (Best American Tweets) and longer excerpts, there is much here to keep most readers interested. Reluctant high-school readers might be drawn in by their peers' involvement in the selection process. David Sedaris, Sherman Alexie, and Kurt Vonnegut are represented. Highlights include "Gentlemen, Start Your Engines" by Andrew Sean Greer- a humorous account of a NASCAR vacation. Nora Bonner's "Burying Jeremy Green" will stay with readers for a long time. ( )