It’s one of those weeks, wall-to-wall meetings, all on different subjects so I’m reading the papers on the train on the way there to get my head around things. So for a bit of mental relaxation I’ve been reading a wonderful book recommended to me by Tim Harford. That’s [amazon_link id=”1594482675″ target=”_blank” ]The New Kings of Nonfiction[/amazon_link], edited by Ira Glass , producer of the utterly brilliant This American Life.

As the title suggests, this is a collection of long non-fiction essays. They amount almost to a new genre, one greatly encouraged by the web for reasons I’m not sure I understand. After all, the conventional wisdom is that people only read short items online. Maybe it’s because the scope of the addressable market for this work is so much increased. Maybe it’s the arrival of iPads and other tablets, and this kind of short long-form work is perfect for commuting. The revival of long essays and short books these days is a very welcome phenomenon.

The style is distinctive too. Reportage meets the techniques of good fiction, so the stories are gripping. Anyway, highly commended. And proceeds from the book’s sales go to a Chicago literacy programme.

[amazon_image id=”1594482675″ link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]The New Kings of Nonfiction[/amazon_image]