Description
Book SynopsisPart memoir, part travelogue, The Enjoy Agenda takes readers from Rick Bailey's one-stoplight town in Michigan farm country to Stratford, England, to the French Concession in Shanghai, the Adriatic coast of Italy, and to a small village in the Republic of San Marino.
Trade Review“Rick Bailey re-creates for us what Virginia Woolf calls
moments of being, those bright bursts of beauty, loss, communion, and bewilderment that constitute a life. I defy you to read one of these deliciously addictive essays without gulping down the entire book.”—Eileen Pollack, author of
The Only Woman in the Room“Rick Bailey’s essays overflow with warmth, humor, truth. . . .
The Enjoy Agenda offers keen observations, nuggets of wisdom, stories of the heart.”—Christine Rhein, poet and the author of
Wild Flight“It’s not often I read a book of essays and fall in love with the writer and the characters in his life. But that’s what happened reading Richard Bailey’s
The Enjoy Agenda. . . . It is a lovely antidote to the despair and chaos in today’s world.”—David James, author of
My Torn Dance Card “Full of food and music, longing, and curiosity,
The Enjoy Agenda is a collection of brief illuminations where each essay arrives like a good friend with a story to tell. With generosity and sincerity, Rick Bailey is a writer who wants to share the world with you, and his book is one of discoveries, small marvels, and celebrations.”—Matthew Olzmann, author of
Contradictions in Design“Knowledgeable, funny, and utterly curious, Bailey comes off as everyone’s favorite uncle, who returns from far-flung reaches to share wise tales and good wine. And though this book teems with quirky asides, curious tangents, and plenty of self-deprecating humor, what comes through strongest is a decades-long romance that is worthy of study and emulation.”—Joey Franklin, author of
My Wife Wants You to Know I’m Happily Married“Clearing out the parental home, finding the best gelato in an Italian village, using photos to purchase (sans language) a screwdriver in Shanghai: Rick Bailey’s reminiscences are enhanced by research, literary references, and the simple pleasure he takes in the world around us. This is engaging, thoughtful work.”—Terry Blackhawk, Kresge Arts in Detroit Literary Fellow
“Hooray for miscellany, for odds and ends gathered between covers, designed to charm and surprise! Rick Bailey launches right into his quirky thoughts on myriad subjects (music, art, food, travel, health, language, etc.) and doesn’t let up for the duration of this wonderfully original, unpredictable book.
The Enjoy Agenda subtly and insistently suggests that life is a gift to be enjoyed, a goal the book itself fulfills for readers.”—Patrick Madden, author of
Quotidiana and
Sublime PhysickTable of Contents1. Inner Music
2. Shorty
3. Bridge
4. Call It a Dance
5. Tilt
6. Bring Your Horn
7. Mindful, Bodyful
8. Tied
9. The Birds and the Beatles
10. Cookies and What?
11. GelatiAmo
12. Beheading
13. Idaho
14. Good Bad
15. Critters
16. iSmell
17. Alarm
18. Up a Creak
19. At Least It’s Not Terrible
20. Wreckage
21. About Your Stuff
22. Try a Little BLT
23. And Then You Eat It
24. Buddy, Can You Spare a Mao?
25. The Dope with the Camera
26. ATM, Wontons, Lizard
27. Fang Xin
28. The Fifteenth Floor
29. Chalant
30. Just Call
31. Say What?
32. Cowboys and Vespers
33. Planticide Now
34. The Cheese of Forgiveness
35. Please, After You
36. When Bacco Smiles
37. Have I Got a Ragu for You
38. Bite Down
39. Difficult Worm
40. The Enjoy Agenda
