THE BOOK OF (MORE) DELIGHTS
Algonquin
Hardback ($28.00) / Number of pages 304 / Publication date September 19, 2023 / ISBN 9781643753096
Purchase: Algonquin / IndieBound / Bookshop
From the Publisher: The author of the New York Times bestselling The Book of Delights is back with Volume II. In this spirited second collection of short, lyrical, genre-defying essays, again written daily over a year, one of America’s most original and observant voices celebrates the ordinary, helping us see our extraordinary world anew. Delights: Book II is a record of the small wonders we so often overlook in our busy lives. Among Gay’s funny, poetic, philosophical delights: bonding with a pipsqueak of a puppy, observing how his mother bakes 18 kinds of cookies before her grandchildren arrive, the tenderness he feels when he sees an adult wearing braces, or even the acknowledgment that often for him the preamble is more delightful than the thing itself: “putting on your socks and tying up your shoes, and, if you’re the type, filling up your water bottle and doing some light stretching, but skipping the walk entirely.” In essays that can be at once intimate and political, Gay shows us why he has made the subject as Black joy his own. Even as he practices delight, he doesn’t shy away from complexities of racism in America or the ecological and psychic violence of our consumer culture or the loss of those he loves. More than anything else, though, Gay reveals the beauty of the natural world—the garden, the orchard, the flowers emerging from cracks in the sidewalk, the elegant movements of geese tending to their goslings, and the trillion mysteries of this glorious earth.
Praise for The Book of (More) Delights
”Keenly observed and delivered with deftness, these essays are a testament to the artfulness of attention and everyday joy.”
— starred review, Kirkus Reviews
“The perfect book for a time when in it seems like all of the news is bad.”
—TheRoot.com / September 2023 Books by Black Authors We Can’t Wait to Read
“His delightful observations of everyday life are a reminder that joy is all around us, we just have to be willing to look for it.”
—TIME.com / The 36 Most-Anticipated Books of Fall 2023
SEPTEMBER 2023 Indie Next Pick — Praise from Booksellers
“I cannot say this strongly enough: Ross Gay is a treasure that we do not deserve, and he should be protected at all costs. The gift that he gives us, to allow us into his mind as he contemplates his own delight, joy, gratitude, tenderness, grief...ugh, it is priceless. If I were looking for secular scriptures (and in a way I think I always am) I could do far worse than to live with Ross Gay's words as my daily companion. This book makes me grateful, and it makes me want to write my own Book of Delights, with an essay celebrating the source of inspiration.”
-Literati Bookstore (Ann Arbor, MI)
“This newest collection of essayettes by the husband of delight picks right back up where he left us. We are roving through a blooming Indiana and through time to find what binds us together, to our kin and to strangers. This collection will deliver you deftly into the present and show you the bounty of gifts awaiting you at all times.”
-A Room of One’s Own Books (Madison, WI)
“Ross Gay is an ambassador of pure joy—not the sugar-coated, roll-your-eyes kind of happiness, but the subversive, wink-and-nod kind of delectation. Whether he is comparing clusters of harvested sweet potatoes to snuggled bunnies or finding beauty at his aunt’s funeral, Gay’s eye for the oft-overlooked wonders of life is unrivaled, and his conversational, familiar delivery is perfection. Each tiny essay in this beautiful book digresses again and again, which, no surprise, makes it all the more delightful. Do we need a book of more delights? Yes, yes, yes. This book is a ray of sunshine, a juicy peach, a warm hug, a sunflower growing out of a crack in the sidewalk.”
-Avid Bookshop (Athens, GA)
“Ross Gay's 'Book of Delights' sequel will have readers basking beneath the glow of more daily wonders, more intense and complex pleasures, more natural mysteries. Our whole bookstore loves Ross Gay (for good reason). This can't be missed.”
-Third Place Books (Lake Forest Park, WA)
“Ross Gay's writing speaks to my very soul. The Book of (More) Delights is a collection that is to be savored like the most decadent dessert. Let Ross's words swirl around your mind and your heart. You will absolutely want to buy several copies of this book - Ross's writing is meant to be shared.”
-Skylark Bookshop (Columbia, MO)
“As a bookseller it’s a true joy to hand Ross Gay’s Book of Delights to a customer and see the response of delight! So often the request is for a book of happiness, inspiration, ‘not too heavy,’ a book that will dispel worry or gloom….’Yes! This is perfect!’ is, well, a delight to hear. Ross’ poetic follow-up is sure to bring even more joy.”
-Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza (Albany, NY)
“Once again Ross Gay delivers. His delights range from small to monumental and they remind us there is so much to appreciate in this complicated and messy existence. His conversational style and asides make you feel like you are in the company of a good friend.”
-East City Bookshop (Washington, DC)
“A new Ross Gay book is always, yes, I'm going to say it - a delight. Each essay is a little gift - an invitation to join the poet in moments when delight (and I can't say enough how important - how necessary - it is that he generally uses delight as an active word, as a verb) changes his relationship with the world around him - and maybe makes us reconsider our own, too. Man, this dude is a real one, and this book is an earthy, bare hands digging in the dirt kind of balm for alienation. Read it and live better.”
-Boswell Book Company (Milwaukee, WI)
“Another joy from Ross Gay. He buoys you up to a good place. Read the whole book at once or savor it in pieces. Learn to smile with him!”
-Blue Willow Bookshop (Houston, TX)
Highly Recommending
-Schuler Books (Grand Rapids, MI)
“Gay’s writing is pure magic. It is lyrical, conversational, and it just begs you to read it out loud. Since receiving my advanced copy, I’ve started a new morning practice of a cup of coffee and one of his daily observations of delight. His ability to describe what he is doing and seeing draws you into his world and that is where you want to be for a moment. It sets the tone for my day in the most delightful way (you know I had to do it). The hardest part is stopping with one.”
-Bright Side Bookshop (Flagstaff, AZ)
“I have been waiting for Ross Gay to write a second book filled with delightful essays and now here it is - THE BOOK OF (MORE) DELIGHTS… This will be my go-to gift suggestion for the fall and upcoming holiday season - and pretty much forever because I'm still hand-selling THE BOOK OF DELIGHTS like crazy and am certain THE BOOK OF (MORE) DELIGHTS will delight customers in the same way, making this a perfect gift!”
-Content Book Store (Northfield, MN)
"Ross Gay IS the unofficial Poet Laureate of Joy and I love that he is back with these delightful short lyrical essayettes. Now, more than ever, we need Ross to remind us of and inspire us about the everyday delights we so often miss in the world around us."
-Grammercy Books (Bexley, OH)
"A SEQUEL TO ONE OF MY FAVORITE BOOKS!!! I am an absolute 'loss of words' fan of Ross Gay and his Delights! He will continue to wow you with his view of the world and his absolute ability to bring you into that world while getting a hug from the pages of a book."
-Left Bank Books (St. Louis, MO)
“Oh, to have Ross Gay's delights back in my head again! Ross continues to reign over the form of small lists and diversions and scenes to make you chuckle and hmmm and sigh and clutch your little heart to keep it from alighting to the ground under the gravity of joy. No one writes about the dearness of our human frailty with the generosity and good humor of Ross Gay. I can't wait to wear these delights out to the same degree as the first. And hopefully become more present in doing so.”
-Storyhouse Bookpub (Des Moines, IA)
“I will follow Ross Gay to the end of the earth. The Book of (More) Delights once again captures everything it means to be human—the delights, the sorrows, the joy that comes alongside hardship. This book is an exercise in noticing the world around us, and it is a beautiful, dare I say delightful, read!”
-Books are Magic (Brooklyn, NY)
“I didn't think Ross Gay could be (more) delightful. When you keep your head down to stay out of trouble, you wind up also staying out of joy. Ross Gay reminds us to cherish all of it.”
-Brain Lair Books (South Bend, IN)
“Ross Gay's Book of (More) Delights is the book I need right now. What a relief to take my eyes off the swirling news cycle, pick up this book, and look inward with Ross. His essays are a way out of the modern social/political mindset to re-discover wonder in nature, literature, and within.”
-Prairie Lights Books (Iowa City, IA)
““If there was ever a book we needed more of . . . Yet another collection of micro-essay heart and soul. Holding this book in my hands, not to mention reading it, invites the best of rambling thoughts, the gentlest of contemplations, the kindest bits of self, and the most beautiful blooms of our world. Ross Gay makes me want to read another page endlessly and write my own at the same time.”
-Skylark Bookshop (Columbia, MO)
“Hooray! THE BOOK OF (MORE) DELIGHTS is another blissful opportunity to spend time with Ross Gay. Whether Gay is contemplating hiking, music, or a guinea pig named Oreo, these short essays are like a hug of good cheer. Ingest one essay a day, or gorge on the entire collection. Either way, these DELIGHTS are just what the doctor ordered.”
-Valley Bookseller (Stillwater, MN)
“Ross Gay's essays are everything we need these days. Reminders to stop and take in the small moments. It reads like the gratitude journal I would write if only I could write as well as him!”
-Inkwood Books (Haddonfield, NJ)