Why read Too Much and Not the Mood?

Book cover of Too Much and Not the Mood: Essays

Book description

Named a best book of 2017 by NPR, The Guardian, Slate, NYLON and The Globe and Mail (Canada)

From Durga Chew-Bose, “one of our most gifted, insightful essayists and critics” (Nylon), comes "a warmly considered meld of criticism and memoir" (New Yorker), a lyrical and piercingly insightful debut collection of…

Explore

Topics

Genres

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked Too Much and Not the Mood as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Simon Wu

Author

In the rhapsodic, 90-page first essay, Heart Museum of Chew-Bose’s collection, she gushes in the most eloquent way possible about simply…being alive.

This book is a trojan horse, considering topics like race, identity, and creativity without branding itself as such. Instead, Chew-Bose seeks to render her object—emotions—in as acute detail as possible. I relate to and aspire to her sensibility. Like Chew-Bose, I want to be “a critic who prefers the term “enthusiast,” and an essayist who worries [he’s] really a poet.”

From Simon's list on overthink and cry at the club with.