Hey, it's NPR's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbong. The word empathy gets overused a lot.

That's not my opinion, even though I think I agree with it. That's the opinion of writer Roxanne Gay,

who has spent the last decade writing essays on all sorts of topics where she is, you know,

arguing a point. She's got a collection out of said essays.

It's fittingly just titled Opinions, and she talked to Emperor Aisha Roscoe about what makes

a good opinion piece. And what I like most reading about collections like these is that you can

see a writer change and grow over time, but also see what stays steady through their writing career,

you know, what phrasing or rhetorical devices they rely on.

In a minute, listen to Roxanne Gaye talking about seeing her career as a whole

and how she might try to change it up in the future.

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These days, it seems like everyone has an opinion on everything.

But what makes an opinion worth considering?

Writer Roxanne Gay has an idea.

Is the opinion well articulated?

Is the argument well supported?

Does the author of the opinion have something that draws your attention to their work? Roxanne Gay has written for the New York

Times, The Guardian, and other outlets. She's published a new collection of essays called Opinions.

She told me it took a journey to find her voice.

...