These Precious Days
{{Short description|2021 essay collection by Ann Patchett}}
{{Infobox book
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| name = These Precious Days
| image = These_Precious_Days.jpeg
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| author = Ann Patchett
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| cover_artist = Sooki Raphael
| country = United States
| language = English
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| genre = Essays
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| publisher = Harper
| pub_date = November 23, 2021
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| pages = 336
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| isbn = 978-0-06-309278-5
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| preceded_by = This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage
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These Precious Days is a 2021 essay collection by American writer Ann Patchett. It received “rave” reviews and became a New York Times best seller.
Publication
These Precious Days was published on November 23, 2021, by Harper.{{Cite web|title=Nonfiction Book Review: These Precious Days: Essays by Ann Patchett. Harper, $26.99 (336p) ISBN 978-0-06-309278-5|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-06-309278-5|url-status=live|access-date=2021-12-14|website=Publishers Weekly|language=en|archive-date=2021-12-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211214034859/https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-06-309278-5}} The 336-page collection contains 24 essays, some previously published but revised for the collection.
Contents
The essays range in subject, but often consider relationships in Patchett's personal and professional life, including with her father and stepfathers; her decision not to have children; the close friendship she develops in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic with Tom Hanks' assistant Sooki Raphael. Patchett's life as a writer, from her earliest grade school writing, through college and graduate school, magazine writing, novels and ultimately selling books at her Nashville independent bookstore Parnassus, is woven throughout.
Reception
Publishers Weekly gave These Precious Days a starred review, calling it “eloquent” and saying Patchett writes “poignantly—and often with wry humor”. In The New York Times, Alex Witchel called the collection “excellent”, saying “Patchett’s heart, smarts and 40 years of craft create an economy that delivers her perfectly understated stories emotionally whole.”{{cite news |last1=Witchel |first1=Alex |title=Ann Patchett Has Thoughts on a Bunch of Subjects |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/19/books/review/these-precious-days-ann-patchett.html |access-date=14 December 2021 |work=The New York Times |date=19 November 2021 |archive-date=14 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211214033330/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/19/books/review/these-precious-days-ann-patchett.html |url-status=live }} In The Washington Post, Michele Filgate praised Patchett's “welcoming and comforting” prose.{{cite news |last1=Filgate |first1=Michele |title=Review {{!}} Ann Patchett's 'These Precious Days' is a beautiful reminder of what's important |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/ann-patchett-these-precious-days/2021/11/26/1870d420-4d29-11ec-b0b0-766bbbe79347_story.html |access-date=14 December 2021 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=November 26, 2021 |archive-date=27 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211127063007/https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/ann-patchett-these-precious-days/2021/11/26/1870d420-4d29-11ec-b0b0-766bbbe79347_story.html |url-status=live }}
On December 12, 2021, These Precious Days made The New York Times Best Seller list for hardcover non-fiction,{{Cite news|title=Hardcover Nonfiction Books - Best Sellers - Books - Dec. 12, 2021 - The New York Times|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/2021/12/12/hardcover-nonfiction/|access-date=2021-12-26|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=2021-12-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211226042851/https://www.nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/2021/12/12/hardcover-nonfiction/|url-status=live}} and has remained on it through January 2, 2022.{{Cite news|title=Hardcover Nonfiction Books - Best Sellers - Books - The New York Times|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/hardcover-nonfiction/|access-date=2021-12-26|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=2018-05-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180518013352/https://www.nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/hardcover-nonfiction/|url-status=live}} Former US president Barack Obama named it to his list of favorite books he read in 2021.{{Cite web|last=Vakil|first=Caroline|date=2021-12-16|title=Obama shares favorite books, movies of the year|url=https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/in-the-know/586101-obama-shares-favorite-books-of-the-year|access-date=2021-12-26|website=The Hill|language=en|archive-date=2021-12-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211226044453/https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/in-the-know/586101-obama-shares-favorite-books-of-the-year|url-status=live}}
References
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