I love Ann Patchett's work and this book of essays is no exception. In this book she explores the decision to not have children and the ways in which society and the public make assumptions and unabashedly ask intrusive questions. Patchett also spends time discussing life and death, particularly how she experienced the life and death of a dear friend. She discusses her marriage and relationships with insight and honesty. I found the information and stories from the world of publishing to be especially interesting, She discusses the process of cover art selection for her books (a process about which I knew nothing) and even how Tom Hanks came to be the narrator for the audiobook of The Dutch House. This is a great read for anyone who loves Ann Patchett and especially for those who are interested in the world of writing.

Would you like to get to know Ann? These essays will make you feel like you do. It’s interesting to learn how her life story informs her books.

Another masterly work from one of the most important writers of her generation. This volume is gorgeously written and utterly relatable. Who knew that she learned to write from Snoopy?! I've been reading till the wee hours of the morning enjoying every word. I'll definitely treat myself to a hard copy of this one!

Ann Patchett's "These Precious Days" is a collection of essays she wrote that appeared "in slightly different form" in such publications as the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, the Wall Street Journal, and Harper's Magazine. Among the topics that the author discusses are her mother's three marriages; Patchett's passion for writing; her husband, Karl VanDevender; the friendships she cherishes; and Parnassus, the bookstore she co-owns that is a gathering place for avid readers and celebrities.

When Ann was a little girl, her mother, a great beauty, left her first husband and took her daughters with her. Although these were challenging times, Ann's bond with her grandmother and a nun, Sister Nena—one of her favorite teachers in Catholic school—made her childhood a bit more tolerable. Patchett's prose is crisp, lyrical, unfussy, and dryly humorous. In a straightforward and conversational style enhanced by evocative metaphors, she conveys her thoughts about her profession, personal life, and the people who influenced her. There is a funny and charming chapter in which Ann pays tribute to Snoopy, the indomitable beagle who writes stories about his fantasies and inspired her to dream big dreams.

Two of Patchett's themes are gratitude and the importance of using our allotted time on earth wisely. In some of the book's most moving chapters, Ann describes her relationship with Tom Hanks's kind, good-natured, and talented assistant, Sooki Raphael. While undergoing treatment for cancer, Sooki moved into Karl and Ann's Nashville home and, for the length of her stay, became a treasured member of their household. This intimate, entertaining, and thought-provoking essay collection shows how Patchett's experiences helped shape her perspective on what matters most in life.

THESE PRECIOUS DAYS by Ann Patchett is one more thing for which to be grateful as Thanksgiving approaches. Patchett, award winning author of Bel Canto, has compiled a wonderfully uplifting set of essays full of droll wit and acute observations. An early selection profiles her three fathers: her biological one, the man who raised her, and her mother's later partner. Describing her reaction to advice from one of them, Patchett writes, "I held the phone away from my ear. You are a duck, I would tell myself. This is rain." From there, she moves on to a diverse set of topics, including how Snoopy was such an important influence and all about a year of no shopping ("If you want something, wait a while. Chances are the feeling will pass"). Regarding cleaning out possessions during the pandemic, she says, "I could watch myself grappling with the same themes in my writing and in my life, what I needed, whom I loved, what I could let go, and how much energy the letting go would take." THESE PRECIOUS DAYS received starred reviews from Kirkus, Library Journal and Publishers Weekly – the beautiful reflections on friendship, family and life are definitely worth a read.

I’m a fan of essay collections. My all-time favorite book is a collection of essays, A Thread of Blue Denim by Patricia Leimbach. When I want to read about home, I reread that book. I was three-quarters of the way through Ann Pratchett’s These Precious Days when I ordered a copy. The blurb says she reflects on home, family, friendships and writing. Yes, and she reflects on life and death, and unusual connections. But, I ordered it because of her essays about books and authors and her bookstore, Parnassus Books in Nashville.

There are quotes I want to keep from this book. There is a lengthy one from Robert F. Kennedy. There’s a short section about Snoopy as an influence. Yes, that Snoopy by Charles Schulz. One essay, “Eudora Welty: an Introduction”, moved me because Eudora Welty spoke to my small college Freshman English class of fifteen. To this day, I’m still in awe that I sat at the same table. Ann Patchett understands that when she talks about sitting at a table with John Updike. However, she actually had a conversation with him, and he presented her with an award. But, Eudora Welty!

Like Patricia Leimbach, there are passages in Ann Patchett’s essays that remind me of my own life. The best essays do that, don’t they? They either remind you of life, or they make you think deeper about life in general. This passage made me smile, though, when she said she slept in a guest bedroom, and “watched the constellation of glow-in-the dark planets and stars she’d stuck on the sloping ceiling.” When I sleep in my sister’s guest bedroom, her Irish bedroom, there are glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling.

There was a passage in the essay, “A Talk to the Association of Graduate School Deans in the Humanities”, that reminded me of libraries, and books, and my blog. “I’m pretty much the poster child for how to incorporate the humanities into your life. It is my greatest love, my deepest joy, and all I want to do is share it, to use books and writers to bridge the lonely technological divide we find ourselves stuck in.”

There are so many excellent, moving essays in this collection. Patchett doesn’t hide her life. These Precious Days is as enjoyable as her earlier collection, This is the Story of a Happy Marriage. But, the new book has two sentences that I love. They mean family and library and books to me. “Here’s something they didn’t teach me in graduate school: if you want to save reading, teach children to read. Engage children in reading.”

I loved Patchett's collection of essays "This is the Story of a Happy Marriage" but her new collection of essays surpasses that collection. Reading her essays is like hanging out with a friend who is a wonderful storyteller. The title essay is amazing, takes place during the pandemic, and completely pulled me in. The essay about her father's death really hit home for me as I experienced a similar feeling of joy in my mother's death after watching her deteriorate for several years.

If I could possess the gifts of any writer, I would choose Ann Patchett. She's one of the writers who helped me understand and better appreciate the power of a single sentence; one that I have to highlight because it is so beautiful or profound. Her language is always rich but entirely accessible. In her latest collection, THESE PRECIOUS DAYS, many of the essays are about how we change as we get older and understand our own mortality, but they are not maudlin-- just honest. She writes equally beautifully about losing the three fathers she has known as she does about having Snoopy (yes, THAT Snoopy ) as a role model. She also writes so convincingly that you may find yourself inspired to de-clutter your home or give up shopping for a year. There is truly something for everyone in this collection that is sure to be popular in both libraries and bookstores.

Ann Patchett has long been one of my favorite fiction authors. After reading this collection of her previously published essays she's one of my favorite people.
The collection is broad in scope covering her complicated family, childhood, growth as a writer and people she's met along the journey.
Her love of family shines in her essay about her three fathers. And what a marvelous friend she was to Sookie - giving her a home and support through her cancer treatment.
All the essays have appeared in publications over the years and I still have a yellowed copy of "Finding Joy In My Father's Death."
There are lighthearted insights too into the influence of Snoopy, knitting and the value of children's books.
The essays vary in length and this is a book you can pick up, open to any essay and be assured that you are in the company of a friend who has decided to share herself with you.

THESE PRECIOUS DAYS is a new collection of short stories/essays by author Ann Patchett that feel like a visit from a good friend, one that is having grand adventures with deep thoughts and periodically surfaces to share them with you. Patchett is so good at creating a sense of intimacy and caring with her readers, as she takes them on journeys through her childhood or more recent past. One can’t help but feel special for having read her stories; it’s her gift, really, this ability to single out her readers for this sense of shared experience. The tales themselves range in interest but all are enjoyable and moving. This is a really good collection but best for those readers who have already read a book or two of her work, because she references being an author so often. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

I am a long-time Ann Patchett fan, from her writing to her bookstore, her instrumental role in the Southern Festival of Books, and in general how she chooses to live her life with no apologies concerning what she loves and who she is. With that introduction, no one should be surprised that I jumped at the chance to read her new essay collection These Precious Days. This essay collection treads new ground, in particular, giving the reader insight into how Ann spent her time during the pandemic. This is the first pandemic-centered writing I have encountered and was amazed at the others-focused way Ann spent the months of lockdown due to the pandemic. But this collection is not just about the pandemic. She also delves into her relationship with the three men who married her mother as well as her courtship and marriage to Karl. I appreciate Ann's allowing us a glimpse into her thoughts and into her life. I highly recommend this book.

Accomplished author Ann Patchett, now age 57, veers away from writing novels to offer a series of essays about her life’s experiences. The result is a powerful book that will have anyone reaching for tissues to dry their eyes. The chapters bounce around in no particular time frame giving readers insights to her three fathers (biological plus two stepfathers), how she bummed around Paris as a 19-year-old, and how knitting is so important to her. The climatic story is her relationship with Tom Hanks’ brilliant assistant Sooki Raphael—who has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Ann Patchett can certainly turn a phrase but also knows how to properly mix the right amounts of humor and sadness. This is a must-read-choice for book clubs.

This collection of essays is a treasure. I had read one earlier this year in the New Yorker, and was happy to see this book, with even more wonderful pieces, issued. Ann Patchett is a compassionate writer who values family, friendship, work, and the connections we make among all of them. I look forward to recommending this book to readers, and want to mention that it would make an ideal gift for a dear friend or family member.

I absolutely loved this essay collection. Even better than her first collection, I didn't want it to end. The title essay in indescribably beautiful and the epilogue is heartbreaking.

It's not surprising that I enjoyed this book because everything this author writes is so good. The title essay is especially poignant and endearing. Thank you for a few hours with Ann Patchett.

This collection —a sequel (of sorts) to Patchett's earlier, This is the Story of a Happy Marriage, offers a peek into the author's intimate spaces, fears, and wide-open capacity to love. The essays range from Paris and first Thanksgivings to the unexpected friendship between Patchett and Sooki (an artist and Tom Hank's assistant) during 2020's COVD lockdown. Moving, generous, and, of course, gorgeously written.

Patchett is just always so good. Her essays about her friendship with a woman dying of Pancreatic cancer are just...hooooooo so emotional. Anyway, yes, read this.

Thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for the ARC.

I love Ann Patchett's nonfiction (Truth and Beauty, This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage), so I was thrilled to hear about this upcoming essay collection. As usual, her thoughtful and witty observations on family, friendship, marriage, and career are immensely readable, yet thought-provoking. The title essay and its epilogue are, of course, standouts, and the essay on book covers was an unexpected treat Highly recommended!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review!

I love Ann Patchett, so I enjoyed these essays a lot. They are not exactly related, but read as though you're having a conversation with Ann about whatever is on her mind.

Wonderful essays by powerful writer Ann Patchett. Timeless and endearing I enjoyed each and every one.