Read It

Title: The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2005
Editor: Dave Eggers
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company
Publication Year: 2005
Rating: A-

A book edited by McSweeney’s editor and author Dave Eggers, with an introduction by Beck, almost guarantees a good time. The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2005 is an anthology of short stories and nonfiction ranging from hilarious to serious to, quite frankly, mundane topics. It is well compiled and covers an excellent range, from discussions of the Iraq war to discussions on the “ladystache.”

Some of the most notable selections are as follows:

A Lynching in Stereoscope from African-American Review
By Stephanie Dickenson

Disturbing and powerful, Stephanie Dickenson tells parallel stories – one of a lynching in years past and the other of a woman hired to take care of two elderly siblings in contemporary America. Both stories include characters wrongly accused, though consequences are different for both. Descriptions used by Dickenson when telling the story of a young man burned and hanged for allegedly molesting a young girl, along with the heartbreak of the boy’s mother as she bears witness to the atrocities, stay with the reader hours, days even, after the story is finished. But the true beauty of this story is how Dickenson’s stories converge in the end, telling an even broader story about our culture then and now.

Heavy Metal Mercenary from Rolling Stone
By Tish Durkin

A story about “corporate soldiers” in Iraq, this eye-opening article is an essential part of the overall Best American anthology. Tish Durkin travels with a group of private military contractors through Baghdad and beyond, learning about their daily lives. Throughout the article, Durkin explains the dangers the “soldiers” face. She explains who they are and why they’re there. The most distressing aspect of the article, and one of many involved in the Iraq occupation, is that these paramilitary purchase their arms on the black market. According to Heavy Metal Mercenary, because it is illegal for non-military to own certain armaments, like rocket launchers, many times they purchase these from the black market, “providing cash to the same arms dealers who supply the Iraqi insurgents who are killing American soldiers…” The irony is that our military sometimes must hire private security because coalition soldiers are inexperienced at protecting convoys. Behind the scenes, our military is helping to fund the same people who are killing them.

Catalogue Sales from New England Review
By Molly McNett

This hilarious short story tells of two sisters who must not only struggle with their parents’ divorce, but also the Filipino mail-order bride their father recently “purchased.” McNett does an incredible job of tapping into the insecurities of young women and the tensions between sisters. There are layers to this story, making it relatable and complex.

These are only a few favorites. The anthology is full of many more great reads, touching on cultural differences and personal idiosyncrasies alike. A must-read for 2006.