Where to Start Reading Barbara Holland
For readers new to Barbara Holland's sharp wit and defense of life's simple pleasures, the absolute best starting point is her signature essay collection, Endangered Pleasures: In Defense of Naps, Bacon, Martinis, Profanity, and Other Indulgences (1995). It serves as the perfect introduction to her breezy, conversational, and fiercely independent writing style.
If you prefer a narrative format, start with her nostalgic memoir, When All the World Was Young (2005), which looks back at her childhood in postwar Washington, D.C., and Chevy Chase, Maryland. Both books can be read completely as standalones and require no background knowledge, though reading them in sequence helps you appreciate how her early years shaped her rebellious worldview.
Publication Order of Non-Fiction & Essay Collections
Barbara Holland's non-fiction works do not follow a continuous storyline and can be read in any order. However, reading them in publication order allows you to experience the evolution of her social critiques and her shift from urban copywriter to a rural village resident. Here is the chronological publication list of her genuine non-fiction works:
- Mother's Day or the View from in Here (1980)
- Secrets of the Cat / The Name of the Cat (1988) - Later updated and revised.
- Hail to the Chiefs: Presidential Mischief, Morals, and Malarkey from George W. to George W. (1990)
- Caring for Planet Earth: The World Around Us (1990) - A green-living guide co-authored with Hazel Lucas.
- One's Company: Reflections On Living Alone (1992)
- Endangered Pleasures: In Defense of Naps, Bacon, Martinis, Profanity, and Other Indulgences (1995)
- Bingo Night at the Fire Hall: Rediscovering Life in an American Village (1997)
- In Private Life (1997)
- Wasn't the Grass Greener?: Thirty-three Reasons Why Life Isn't as Good as It Used to Be (1999)
- Brief Heroes and Histories (2000)
- They Went Whistling: Women Wayfarers, Warriors, Runaways, and Renegades (2001)
- Gentlemen's Blood: A History of Dueling from Swords at Dawn to Pistols at Dusk (2003)
- When All the World Was Young: A Memoir (2005)
- The Joy of Drinking (2007)
Publication Order of Children's Books
Early in her writing career, Holland followed in the footsteps of her mother, Marion Holland, by publishing books for younger readers. These are independent stories that can be enjoyed in any sequence:
- The Pony Problem (1977)
- Run For Your Life (1979)
- Prisoners at the Kitchen Table (1979)
- Creepy-Mouse Coming to Get You (1988)
Caveats and Misattributed Works to Avoid
Due to shared names, several books in online databases are frequently misattributed to the American essayist Barbara Holland (1933–2010). When looking for her books, keep the following distinctions in mind:
- Soviet Sisterhood: British Feminists on Women in the USSR (1985) was edited by a British academic and editor named Barbara Holland, not the American essayist.
- Lord, I Give You My Heart (2013) is a Christian spiritual memoir written by an Australian author named Barbara Holland. It was published three years after the American essayist's death.
- Emerging Trends and Impacts of the Internet of Things in Libraries (2020) is a library science textbook edited by a senior librarian named Barbara Holland from the Brooklyn Public Library.