Michael Arceneaux Books In Order

Publication Order of Collections

Michael Arceneaux is a successful published American author.

He is a New York Times bestselling author known for writing books such as I Can’t Date Jesus: Love, Sex, Family, Race, and Other Reasons I’ve Put My Faith in Beyoncé, I Don’t Want to Die Poor, and I Finally Bought Some Jordans.

He is also a regular contributor and provides content for places and outlets such as Esquire, Essence, MTV News, Elle, NBC News’ THINK, and more. Additionally, Michael was written pieces for places such as the Washington Post, the New York Times, Complex, the Houston Chronicle, Wired, Teen Vogue, Rolling Stone, BuzzFeed, Time Ideas, The Guardian, them., New York Magazine’s Vulture, the Atlantic, Salon, NPR, Comedy Central Online, and many more.

Previously, readers might have been able to discover Michael in his most natural state on a humor blog known as The Cynical Ones, which was full of commentary about pop culture, politics, and personal anecdotes. He was once named one of the Best Black Bloggers to Know by The Root, and ESSENCE Magazine picked him as one of the top #BlackTwitter voices to follow.

Michael’s work is very respected and it has been referenced in a variety of places, from Jezebel to The Weekly Standard to MSNBC, and has been picked as being required reading for courses students were enrolled in at Harvard University. Michael has been featured on different outlets such as MSNBC, VH1, BET, NPR, CBS News, Viceland, SiriusXM Radio, and in different radio interviews on nationally syndicated programs.

I Don’t Want to Die Poor: Essays is a 2020 collection of essays by Michael Arceneaux. This collection of essays goes over the struggles he has had with private student loans and economic anxiety. It has done well with critics and was picked as one of NPR’s Best Books of 2020. It was also one of Time’s 100 Must-Read Books of 2020.

If you have been looking for something original that is also going to keep you entertained while also broadening your horizons and even make you laugh a bit, this is a great pick. The New York Times bestselling author has penned what Vogue has deemed to be a ‘piece of personal and cultural storytelling that is as fun as it is illuminating’. Here is an essay collection that looks into the cost– both financial and emotional– that can come with chasing your dreams.

Oprah Winfrey told the 2007 graduating class at Howard University that they should not be afraid. But ironically ever since that moment the author found himself being scared to death. He reflects that perhaps it is not the wise thing to do the opposite of what you are told to do by Oprah, but he also is aware of the fact that you can also be terrified of the thought of the consequences of going after your dreams when you don’t have the type of pocket change that she does.

Michael has spoken about the complicated relationship that he has with debt and the way that he has struggled with it before, but he reveals more to the reader in this collection of essays than ever before. He shows the way that it has an impact on every part of his life and has an effect on everything.

It affects how he dates, how he looks for medical care (or chooses not to as he cannot), how he deals with the question of whether he should have selected a path for himself that was more financially secure, and how he dealt with what he thought was his dream turning into a nightmare as he starts to understand that just one decision could take down all that he has earned.

In this collection of essays, Michael delves into what it’s like to have the economic anxiety that he does. The result is a completely unique examination (that is likely relatable to many) about what it can feel and be like to lead a life that so frequently feels out of control. Told in the author’s distinctive voice that can be often just as joyful as shrewd, these essays will make readers laugh at times while also making them feel less on their own out there on this journey.

I Finally Bought Some Jordans is a collection of essays published in 2024 by Michael Arceneaux. The bestselling author has come back to readers and brought along with him a group of his own essays that are all about making your own voice heard in a world that is increasingly chaotic and loud.

In his previous essay collections, he was able to show that he is one of the most interesting and beloved writers to come out of his generation, touching on such issues like class, race, labor, debt, sexuality, and paying homage to the wisdom of Beyoncé. In this collection he is able to look at the places he has been and reflect on just how far he has traveled and how far he still has yet to go in a society that is hetero-normative and patriarchal.

Michael looks into the opportunities that are given to Black creatives and also the doors that frequently stay shut or just ajar. He also looks into the challenges that can be had when it comes to dating during the type of time when social media’s made things more accessible for people while also somehow making them unreliable as well, and goes into the allure that can come from returning home while also pushing yourself to look for opportunities in other places.

This is such a funny book that may occasionally make you laugh out loud and one that is sorely needed in these types of economic times. Michael feels like one of your friends who is venting about the challenges of their own life and is doing it in a particularly lyrical way. Each of these essays is interesting and well worth paying attention to, so give this entertaining collection of essays a try and see what you think!