In 1906, in an effort to make attractive, inexpensive editions of literary titles available to more readers, London-based publisher Joseph Malaby Dent established the Everyman’s Library Contemporary Classics series. Today, the Library boasts a list of 500 titles, all hardcover editions of classics, all nicely designed and affordably priced, all published in the U.S. by Knopf.
In celebration of the series’ 100th anniversary, several new selections have been released, among them an anthology of Joan Didion’s work, We Tell Ourselves Stories in Order to Live: Collected Nonfiction. Didion’s sensitive first-person narration and world-weary, ironic writing style helped set the tone for contemporary journalism. The new collection features seven of her books, including The White Album, Miami and Salvador, and covers the 1960s through 2003, making it a must-have for nonfiction lovers.
