Unaccustomed Earth Jhumpa Lahiri’s second collection of short stories after her debut Interpreter of Maladies and then her novel The Namesake, is a return to a form that I believe she is more uncomfortable in. While not as striking as her first volume, the first story is a clear stand-out (very much worth reading) and the final three stories form an extended look into the lives of two consistent characters.

Yes, this book is likely not going to revolutionize the way you think about short stories or Indian-American fiction, it is worth reading for its clean and elegent storytelling.

Amy Hempel is a goddess of short stories. This 2006 volume, now out in paperback (and as of this posting only $7 on amazon so go buy it), simply straps her four short story collections into one handy 400-page book.

I can’t recommend this enough. Hempel is a master of her craft, her stories each hold their own with a dark grace, a straight-forward and overly observant voice. She casts reality in a level and layered light, she brings her own humanity into every story, and you read each bracing for the impact of an abundant dose of humanity.

A sequel to What If?, this book begins to include counter-factual history of all kinds. While generally the non-military essays are interesting some of them just seem to ramble on about remote political possibilities. So while still highly recommended this may not be for you if you really only enjoy military history.

What If is a collection of military counter-historical essays which while at fiction at there core end up being a great history lesson. Each essay has an in-depth introduction of what really happened, so you learn some history before twisting it into fiction. So, if you enjoy military history and want an interesting read it is highly recommended.

Here’s where the Ender saga got tough to get through. Granted Jane (the first artificially intelligent being) is cool and can do a lot, but the Chinese OCD people are a lot annoying and there is too much family drama for my taste. Still it’s Ender and he kicks ass, but this was much more difficult to get through.

This is a collection of a variety of Vonnegut’s writings-his last speech, letters, short stories…all about war and peace. I found the first half of this collection to be more enjoyable and well-written in comparison to the second half. His writings about Dresden are striking; his observations in the final speech he wrote are as sharp as ever. This is not the first work I would give someone who hasn’t read him yet, but great for somebody already familiar.

Oh Susanna Clarke and your dry and academic, magical British fairytales. I cannot get enough. These short stories, issued in collection by a fictional Australian professor of sidhe studies is short, often whimsical re-tellings of the most classic stories of the fairy.

She needs to just keep writing.

After Middlemarch, Jonathan Lethem’s The Disappointment Artist was a much needed change of pace. Through his essays which are mostly autobiographical/memoir, we learn about the incredibly obsessive adolescence of the author. Which is really the best descriptor of what he was, really really obsessive.

The essays lead us through his influences, his influence largely having driven his young life: collecting all of Philip K. Dick’s work (and reading the “irv” twice), seeing Star Wars twenty-one times in a single summer, matching that number with 2001, jumping from author to author, compulsively digesting their style before moving on to the next.

The focus mostly stays on reading and film-viewing, with some nods to music-listening, and a reasonably thorough description of his parents and their nyc-hippie lifestyle. Most interestingly to me though is so clearly being able to state who his influences are, and each with an associated time period. This is something I simply cannot do; I know generally who and what I have read, but never anyone so many times or so completely sit in my mind with a period of my life. I am too scattered for such determined focus.

confusing wonderful weird.

this person really liked this book.

Kinda disturbing funny.

No one.

Short stories are eloquent, but they can also be humorous and heartfelt. I really like Miranda July, and I really like her short stories. She has the new voice, she highlights the absurd and the uniquely beautiful, and so you should all just read this book because it is short and complete and complicated and simple and true.

Then Sue suddenly stepped out of the bathroom holding her robe in one hand, naked. She had discovered she couldn’t put it on because it wasn’t really a robe, it was nothing.

No one belongs here more than you.

Oh Ian McEwan. You will forever be known as the author who gave the February edition of the book group, the book so commonly referred to as “The Child Rape Book”, which I still maintain is a bit of a misnomer since only three of the eight stories deal with children being raped.

Sure, you might say in most collections of short stories rarely would even a single story broach the topic of raping children – but no, not here. (Many a childs’ first love is clearly rape.)

Anyway, I surely enjoyed this book, as did most of the group, even if it was a bit … sick, twisted, haunting, what have you.

I still have not read Toibin’s The Master, his epic portraying Henry James, but after reading his new collection of short stories I have even more motivation to read more of this Irish master’s work. Each of these stories deals with (sometimes loosely) the relationship between a mother and her son(s). Each feels real and true and they are very classically told stories – nothing experimental really, just as if you were listening to him tell the story, as a master would.

I read “Zoanthropy” the third short story in this collection, in the Best American Non-Required Reading … 2004, and I loved it. I think it remains my favorite in this collection though others come very close. Many of the stories are funny and the human aspects feel real.

Many people say that “The Devil Comes To Orekhovo” is the best – and I will say it is good, but not the best. Read “Zoanthropy”, “When the Nines Roll Over”, and “Merde For Luck”.