The Book of Delights

''Pure balm for your soul. Savor one at a time every morning, this summer, or wolf them all down en masse on a gorgeous sunny day.'' CELESTE NG, author of Little Fires Everywhere

A heart-warming and joyful collection of short lyric essays, reminding us of the purpose and pleasure of praising, extolling, and celebrating ordinary wonders.

Among Gay''s funny and philosophical delights: a friend''s unabashed use of air quotes, cradling a tomato seedling aboard an aeroplane, the silent nod of acknowledgement between the only two black people in a room.

Gay never dismisses the complexities, even the terrors, of living in the world as a black man, or the ecological and psychic violence of our consumer culture, or the loss of those we loves. But more than anything, Gay celebrates the beauty of the natural world - his garden, the flowers peeking out of the sidewalk, the hypnotic movements of a praying mantis.

The Book of Delights is about our shared bonds, and the rewards that come from a life closely observed. and serves as a powerful and necessary reminder that we can, and should, stake out a space in our lives for delight.

''These charming, digressive "essayettes" surprise and challenge more than a reader might expect . . . experiences of "delight," recorded daily for a year, vary widely but yield revealing patterns through insights about everything from nature and the body to race and masculinity.'' New Yorker

''The delights he extols here (music, laughter, generosity, poetry, lots of nature) are bulwarks against casual cruelties . . . contagious in their joy'' New York Times

''A reminder of what the personal essay is best at: finding the profound in the mundane . . . His delight is infectious. It''s hard to read Gay and not to be won over.'' Seattle Times