Joyride

“Writers on writing” is a big theme this fall, and this memoir about Orlean’s life and work is a standout. Orlean built her career writing books and longform pieces focused on quiet lives that, as she puts it, are nevertheless “shimmering and gorgeous and worth talking about.” She relishes introducing her readers to fascinating stories that are hiding in plain sight, or that will make her readers say, Wow! Who knew? Joyride details the life experiences that spurred her to develop the engaged curiosity necessary to do this kind of writing well, as well as how she researches and writes stories that don’t have flashy subjects but have readers hanging on every word from the first line. Now I’m hungry to read more of her work—and to watch Adaptation.