ross gays the book of delights is a genredefying book of essayssome as short as a paragraph some as long as five pagesthat record the small joys that occurred in one year from birthday to birthday and that we often overlook in our busy lives his is a meditation on delight that takes a cleareyed view of the complexities even the terrors in his life including living in america as a black man the ecological and psychic violence of our consumer culture the loss of those he loves among gays funny poetic philosophical delights the way botan rice candy wrappers melt in your mouth the volunteer crossing guard with a pronounced tremor whom he imagines as a kind of boatwoman escorting pedestrians across the river styx a friends unabashed use of air quotes pickup basketball games the silent nod of acknowledgment between black people and more than any other subject gay celebrates the beauty of the natural worldhis garden the flowers in the sidewalk the birds the bees the mushrooms the treesthis is not a book of howto or inspiration though it could be read that way fans of roxane gay maggie nelson and kiese laymon will revel in gays voice and his insights the book of delights is about our connection to the world to each other and the rewards that come from a life closely observed gays pieces serve as a powerful and necessary reminder that we can and should stake out a space in our lives for delight