Generally speaking, what you read is based on Bestsellers lists and pursuing the work of acclaimed authors. Magazines like Harper's Magazine and The New Yorker try to aid in bringing lesser-known authors to light by publishing shorts and essays for general consumption. But for the average American, these diamonds in the rough hover just above or below our literary radar-just within our reach, but completely out of sight.The Best American series has long been dedicated to featuring the best and brightest works in a range of categories, from The Best American Recipes and The Best American Travel Writing to The Best American Science Writing and The Best American Magazine Writing. But this series' most popular publication just might be The Best American Non-Required Reading book published every year, edited by acclaimed author Dave Eggers. Including everything from comics to satires to investigative reporting, The Best American Non-Required Reading 2003 is quite possibly the best book published in the last twelve months.

Any reader can be satisfied by this compilation. If the narrow-minded view of literature consisting solely of novel or short story form frustrates you, Eggers provides the reader with an exceptional comic by Lynda Barry called "Common Scents" taken from a publication called One! Hundred! Demons! If traditional short fiction frustrates you, take a peek at Amanda Holzer's "Love and Other Catastrophes: A Mix Tape," a short story following the rise and fall of a relationship using only songs and musicians in a mix tape format. If you're not really a fiction fan at all, check out any of the incredible reporting pieces, including a classic article from "The Onion" entitled, "I'll Try Anything with a Detached Air of Superiority."

But the longer pieces of fiction, essays and reporting are what really make this volume shine. Lisa Gabriele's "The Guide to Being a Groupie" and celebrated essayist David Sedaris' "Rooster at the Hitchin' Post" are unflinching essays about real life and real people. Gabriele's narration is both hilarious and biting, and Sedaris is so honest and heartfelt as he describes his family that you almost wish he was your brother as well.

On the fiction front, David Drury's "Things We Knew When The House Caught Fire" is a stunning account of a gated community shaken and stirred by unconventional neighbors. J.T. Leroy's "Stuff" is a harrowing tale of drug addiction and homelessness made painful and personal by focusing not on the cold, hard details but instead on the confusion and helplessness of a mind sucked into a world that he alternately likes and hates. Jonathan Safran Foer will make you weep with the unflinching and heartbreaking "A Primer for the Punctuation of Heart Disease." But the largest gem in all the fiction included is Judy Budnitz's "Visiting Hours," an intricately woven, twisting and turning account of a family in shambles and a little brother in the hospital. Budnitz keeps the veil over the reader's eyes until the final sentence, and even then it is only lifted enough for you to wonder if what you're thinking is right. Her prose is touching and terrifying at the same time, and the plot is completely enthralling.

Eggers obviously saved the most time and care for the investigative reporting. The articles included in The Best American Non-Required Reading 2003 are not only great informative pieces, but also incredible reads as well. Chuck Klosterman's "The Pretenders" is a inspiring article about cover bands-more specifically a Guns 'N Roses cover band called "Paradise City"-and the life of a true music worshiper. George Packer's "How Susie Bayer's T-Shirt Ended Up On Yusuf Mama's Back" is a dense piece following the flight of one T-shirt donated to a thrift shop, from that shop to the street markets of Uganda and finally to the African secondhand clothing industry. Packer's honesty and objectivity are refreshing, as he doesn't really seek to demonize or sanctify one side. Instead, he allows his own sense of wonder from discovering this mostly-unknown industry to shine through, making a piece that could have become preachy and annoying into an eye-opening narrative.
But the best piece of writing-investigative reporting or otherwise-comes in the form of Mark Bowden's unprecedented "Tales of the Tyrant." Published in Atlantic Monthly, Bowden chose to explore Saddam Hussein and his Iraq not through his press or his policies, but instead through his life, interests, personality and actions. Hussein is introduced to his readers through four different viewpoints: "Shakhsuh (His Person)," "Tumooh (Ambition)," "Hadafuh (His Goal)" and "Qaswah (Cruelty)." Each section includes chronology, observation and interviews with people who once worked for or knew the man himself. The piece is enthralling-once you start reading it is very difficult to put it down for any reason. While it doesn't try to spare or "go light" on Hussein in any way, it is also remarkably understanding in its approach.

The bottom line is that The Best American Non-Required Reading 2003 is a collection of the 25 best pieces of writing published in the last year that have slipped past the public consciousness. Every piece is innovative and remarkable in its creativity. The authors here will be-if they haven't already been- featured at the top of a Bestsellers list one day. This kind of talent cannot remain unnoticed for long.