3.5 stars for this collection of previously published Joan Didion columns and essays. Like South and West, this book will be most interesting for Didion-heads who have already read her best work – nothing super memorable here, although I did enjoy the essay about Hemingway toward the end of the book.

Whenever my life feels overwhelming, I reach for a Joan Didion book. Her clear prose, deep observation and singular voice brings clarity and rises above the din. This collection of essays is no exception. Each piece is written in her concise manner, each word chosen specifically for each sentence with care and thought. In a year like this, a book like this brings peace, order and hope to a chaotic mind. My favorite line: "Make a place available to the eyes, and in certain ways it is no longer available to the imagination. Thank you Joan, for one more volume.

I was so thrilled to receive an ARC of this book! You don’t have to ask me twice to read anything by Joan Didion. Let Me Tell You What I Mean is another insightful collection of essays and musings by Didion that range from topics like Hearst Castle to Martha Stewart. While sometimes the flow of the essays felt a little disjointed, Didion proves herself once again to be one of the smartest and most observant writers of our time. Her quick wit and love of the seemingly ordinary moments in life will make you slow dow and think. I highly recommend picking this one up when it is released next year.

Obviously, I love Didion, neoliberal shill though she may be. As usual, she is acerbic, skeptical, and pointed.

A little bit of an uneven collection here: or maybe I just feel that way because the opening essays in the book are so short and each arrive at their point so late that I would've liked a little context for them going in. That said, the later and longer essays are all excellent. I especially liked "Everywoman.com," which was so pitch perfect and a great way to cap off the collection.

I think if you're already a Didion fan this is basically a must-read: even the essays I didn't all the way love had something interesting to recommend them. But if you've never read her before, this probably isn't the place to start.