An Evening with New York Times bestselling author Ross Gay

EVENT OVERVIEW: Rainy Day Books presents an Evening with New York Times bestselling author of the essay collections The Book of Delights and Inciting Joy, Ross Gay, on Tuesday, October 15, 2024 at 7:00 PM at The Unity Temple on The Plaza, Fillmore Chapel.

ABOUT THE BOOK: The Book of (More) Delights (paperback)

The author of the New York Times bestselling The Book of Delights is back with The Book of (More) Delights.

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. The Book of (More) Delights 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.

Note: we will have copies of The Book of Delights and Insighting Joy available for purchase at the event.

REVIEWS:
"Keenly observed and delivered with deftness, these essays are a testament to the artfulness of attention and everyday joy.” — starred review, Kirkus Reviews

“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.” —

“Ross Gay shows how delight and critical rage can coexist — and we are made better by attempting to hold both.” —

“A refreshing reminder that joy surrounds us everywhere…” —Bookreporter.com

“The reason to get excited about this one is right in the title. The follow-up to Gay’s 2019 The Book of Delights is guaranteed to be enormously delightful. Gay is a master at amplifying the delights all around us in a way that feels both profound and conversational. The Book of Delights had the feel of an intimate letter from your smartest and most optimistic friend, and I simply can’t wait for more.” — Lit Hub Most Anticipated List

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Ross Gay is the New York Times bestselling author of the essay collectionsThe Book of Delights and Inciting Joy and four books of poetry. His Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude won the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award, and was a finalist for the National Book Award; andBe Holding won the 2021 PEN America Jean Stein Book Award. Gay is a founding board member of the Bloomington Community Orchard, a non-profit, free-fruit-for-all food justice and joy project and has received fellowships from Cave Canem, the Bread Loaf Writer’s Conference, and the Guggenheim Foundation. He teaches at Indiana University.

EVENT DATE & TIME: Tuesday, October 15, 2024, at 7:00 PM

EVENT LOCATION: Unity Temple on The Plaza, Fillmore Chapel 707 W. 47th Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64112

ADMISSION PACKAGE: $22.00 (plus Eventbrite Ticket Fee) includes 1 paperback copy of The Book of (More) Delights, 1 Admission Reservation, and 1 Guest Admission Reservation. General Admission Seating.

PLEASE NOTE: Patrons will be able to have their books signed at the event.

DISCLAIMER: All author event sales are final and non-refundable. Eventbrite ticket fees are non-refundable.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Unity Temple on The Plaza, Sanctuary, 707 W 47th Street, Kansas City, United States