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  <name><![CDATA[Katrina Kenison]]></name>
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  <id type="integer">91601</id>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Leaving Cold Sassy: The Unfinished Sequel to Cold Sassy Tree]]>
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    <![CDATA[Fifteen chapters of an unfinished sequel to the best-selling   novel <em>Cold Sassy Tree</em> are drawn to a conclusion by Burns's   editor who also reflects on the inspiring life of Olive Ann Burns.   75,000 first printing.]]>
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    <author>
    <id>52627</id>
        <name><![CDATA[Olive Ann Burns]]></name>
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    <average_rating>3.76</average_rating>
    <ratings_count>8870</ratings_count>
    <text_reviews_count>1261</text_reviews_count>
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    <author>
    <id>14012</id>
        <name><![CDATA[Katrina Kenison]]></name>
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    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14012.Katrina_Kenison]]></link>
    <average_rating>3.69</average_rating>
    <ratings_count>3577</ratings_count>
    <text_reviews_count>484</text_reviews_count>
  </author>
  </authors>  <published>1992</published>
</book>

        <book>
  <id type="integer">24928</id>
  <isbn>0618427058</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780618427055</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">40</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Best American Short Stories 2005 (The Best American Series (TM))]]>
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  <average_rating>3.83</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>419</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[&lt;DIV&gt;&lt;DIV&gt;The Best American Series First, Best, and Best-Selling<br/><br/>The Best American series has been the premier annual showcase for the country's finest short fiction and nonfiction since 1915. Each volume's series editor selects notable works from hundreds of periodicals. A special guest editor, a leading writer in the field, then chooses the very best twenty or so pieces to publish. This unique system has made the Best American series the most respected -- and most popular -- of its kind. <br/><br/>The Best American Short Stories 2005 includes<br/><br/>Dennis Lehane • Tom Perrotta • Alice Munro • Edward P. Jones • Joy Williams • Joyce Carol Oates • Thomas McGuane • Kelly Link • Charles D'Ambrosio • Cory Doctorow • George Saunders • and others<br/><br/>Michael Chabon, guest editor, is the best-selling author of The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, Wonder Boys, A Model World, and, most recently, The Final Solution. His novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay won the Pulitzer Prize in 2000. &lt;/DIV&gt;]]>
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    <id>2715</id>
        <name><![CDATA[Michael Chabon]]></name>
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    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2715.Michael_Chabon]]></link>
    <average_rating>3.86</average_rating>
    <ratings_count>70912</ratings_count>
    <text_reviews_count>9819</text_reviews_count>
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    <author>
    <id>14012</id>
        <name><![CDATA[Katrina Kenison]]></name>
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    <average_rating>3.69</average_rating>
    <ratings_count>3577</ratings_count>
    <text_reviews_count>484</text_reviews_count>
  </author>
  </authors>  <published>2005</published>
</book>

        <book>
  <id type="integer">27260</id>
  <isbn>061854352X</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780618543526</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">44</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Best American Short Stories 2006]]>
  </title>
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  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27260.The_Best_American_Short_Stories_2006</link>
  <average_rating>3.68</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>357</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[&lt;DIV&gt;&lt;DIV&gt;“While a single short story may have a difficult time raising enough noise on its own to be heard over the din of civilization, short stories in bulk can have the effect of swarming bees, blocking out sound and sun and becoming the only thing you can think about,” writes Ann Patchett in her introduction to The Best American Short Stories 2006. <br/><br/>This vibrant, varied sampler of the American literary scene revels in life’s little absurdities, captures timely personal and cultural challenges, and ultimately shares subtle insight and compassion. In “The View from Castle Rock,” the short story master Alice Munro imagines a fictional account of her Scottish ancestors’ emigration to Canada in 1818. Nathan Englander’s cast of young characters in “How We Avenged the Blums” confronts a bully dubbed “The Anti-Semite” to both comic and tragic ends. In “Refresh, Refresh,” Benjamin Percy gives a forceful, heart-wrenching look at a young man’s choices when his father -- along with most of the men in his small town -- is deployed to Iraq. Yiyun Li’s “After a Life” reveals secrets, hidden shame, and cultural change in modern China. And in “Tatooizm,” Kevin Moffett weaves a story full of humor and humanity about a young couple’s relationship that has run its course.<br/><br/>Ann Patchett “brought unprecedented enthusiasm and judiciousness [to The Best American Short Stories 2006],” writes Katrina Kenison in her foreword, “and she is, surely, every story writer’s ideal reader, eager to love, slow to fault, exquisitely attentive to the text and all that lies beneath it.”&lt;/DIV&gt;]]>
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    <author>
    <id>2531</id>
        <name><![CDATA[Ann Patchett]]></name>
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    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2531.Ann_Patchett]]></link>
    <average_rating>3.73</average_rating>
    <ratings_count>47157</ratings_count>
    <text_reviews_count>7599</text_reviews_count>
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    <author>
    <id>14012</id>
        <name><![CDATA[Katrina Kenison]]></name>
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    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14012.Katrina_Kenison]]></link>
    <average_rating>3.69</average_rating>
    <ratings_count>3577</ratings_count>
    <text_reviews_count>484</text_reviews_count>
  </author>
  </authors>  <published>2006</published>
</book>

        <book>
  <id type="integer">48642</id>
  <isbn>0395926882</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780395926888</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">17</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Best American Short Stories 2001]]>
  </title>
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  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48642.The_Best_American_Short_Stories_2001</link>
  <average_rating>3.72</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>320</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[This year&quot;s Best American Short Stories is edited by the critically acclaimed and best-selling author Barbara Kingsolver, whose latest book is Prodigal Summer. Kingsolver&quot;s selections for The Best American Short Stories 2001 showcase a wide variety of new voices and masters, such as Alice Munro, Rick Moody, Dorothy West, and John Updike. &quot;Reading these stories was both a distraction from and an anchor to the complexities of my life — my pleasure, my companionship, my salvation. I hope they will be yours.&quot; — Barbara Kingsolver]]>
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    <author>
    <id>3541</id>
        <name><![CDATA[Barbara Kingsolver]]></name>
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    <average_rating>3.95</average_rating>
    <ratings_count>191107</ratings_count>
    <text_reviews_count>18888</text_reviews_count>
  </author>
    <author>
    <id>14012</id>
        <name><![CDATA[Katrina Kenison]]></name>
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    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1257870540p2/14012.jpg]]></small_image_url>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14012.Katrina_Kenison]]></link>
    <average_rating>3.69</average_rating>
    <ratings_count>3577</ratings_count>
    <text_reviews_count>484</text_reviews_count>
  </author>
  </authors>  <published>2001</published>
</book>

        <book>
  <id type="integer">53281</id>
  <isbn>0618197354</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780618197354</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">19</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Best American Short Stories 2004 (The Best American Series (TM))]]>
  </title>
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  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53281.The_Best_American_Short_Stories_2004</link>
  <average_rating>3.80</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>288</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[&lt;DIV&gt;&lt;DIV&gt;Since its inception in 1915, the Best American series has become the premier annual showcase for the country's finest short fiction and nonfiction. For each volume, a series editor reads pieces from hundreds of periodicals, then selects between fifty and a hundred outstanding works. That selection is pared down to twenty or so very best pieces by a guest editor who is widely recognized as a leading writer in his or her field. This unique system has helped make the Best American series the most respected -- and most popular -- of its kind.<br/>   Lorrie Moore brings her keen eye for wit and surprise to the volume, and The Best American Short Stories 2004 is an eclectic and enthralling gathering of well-known voices and talented up-and-comers. Here are stories that probe the biggest issues: ambition, gender, romance, war. Here are funny and touching and striking tales of a Spokane Indian, the estranged wife of an Iranian immigrant, an American tutor in Bombay. In her introduction Lorrie Moore writes, &quot;The stories collected here impressed me with their depth of knowledge and feeling of character, setting, and situation . . . They spoke with amused intelligence, compassion, and dispassion.&quot;&lt;/DIV&gt;]]>
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    <author>
    <id>11746</id>
        <name><![CDATA[Lorrie Moore]]></name>
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    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/11746.Lorrie_Moore]]></link>
    <average_rating>4.00</average_rating>
    <ratings_count>9245</ratings_count>
    <text_reviews_count>1435</text_reviews_count>
  </author>
    <author>
    <id>14012</id>
        <name><![CDATA[Katrina Kenison]]></name>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1257870540p5/14012.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1257870540p2/14012.jpg]]></small_image_url>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14012.Katrina_Kenison]]></link>
    <average_rating>3.69</average_rating>
    <ratings_count>3577</ratings_count>
    <text_reviews_count>484</text_reviews_count>
  </author>
  </authors>  <published>2004</published>
</book>

        <book>
  <id type="integer">344719</id>
  <isbn>0446676934</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780446676939</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">78</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Mitten Strings for God: Reflections for Mothers in a Hurry]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173916552m/344719.jpg</image_url>
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  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/344719.Mitten_Strings_for_God_Reflections_for_Mothers_in_a_Hurry</link>
  <average_rating>4.24</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>215</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In an age when &quot;keeping up with the Joneses&quot; refers not only to material riches but also to a whirlwind of activities, author Katrina Kenison humbly asks, &quot;Just whose standards am I living by, anyway?&quot; Kenison, mother of two sons and former annual editor of <em>The Best American Short Stories</em> anthology since 1990, understands the hectic agendas, short tempers, and full-time careers today's families endure. But she has also learned to limit the chaos. The title comes from Kenison's youngest son, Jack, cuddled up with mom one quiet afternoon as she crochets mitten strings. He holds up a long piece of yarn and proclaims, &quot;I'm knitting a mitten string for God&quot;--a sweet phrase, but a bit misleading. Despite a sprinkling of minor religious references, the larger focus of Kenison's beautifully written first book lies in living with care and awareness. Chapters with titles like &quot;Grace,&quot; &quot;Healing,&quot; &quot;Spirit,&quot; and &quot;Breathing&quot; offer soothing pictures of a family life that honors patience, imagination, and Sundays without plans.  Kenison weaves together personal stories and wisdom from such philosophers as Thoreau and Anne Morrow Lindbergh; the graceful resulting tapestry shows how peace and simplicity can be savored in a world hell-bent on pushing people to accomplish more, own more, and do it all as quickly as possible.  <em>--Liane Thomas</em> ]]>
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<authors>
    <author>
    <id>14012</id>
        <name><![CDATA[Katrina Kenison]]></name>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1257870540p5/14012.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1257870540p2/14012.jpg]]></small_image_url>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14012.Katrina_Kenison]]></link>
    <average_rating>3.69</average_rating>
    <ratings_count>3577</ratings_count>
    <text_reviews_count>484</text_reviews_count>
  </author>
  </authors>  <published>2000</published>
</book>

        <book>
  <id type="integer">35964</id>
  <isbn>039592684X</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780395926840</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">16</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Best American Short Stories 1999 (The Best American Series)]]>
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  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35964.The_Best_American_Short_Stories_1999</link>
  <average_rating>3.91</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>198</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[A great story gets its hooks into you right from the start; you know  you're in the hands of a good writer when the very first sentence transports you wholly into another world. &quot;Mother preferred Zulu servants.&quot; &quot;It must be, Ruth thought, that she was going to die in the spring.&quot; &quot;Who would have thought that a war of such proportions would bother to turn in its fury against the fools of Chelm?&quot;<p>  The 21 fictions featured in <em>The Best American Short Stories 1999</em> have very little in common--but whether they're about ranchers or commuters, romantic seekers or New Age pilgrims, what they do share is a sense of <em>urgency</em>. In each of them, there's a kind of voice that announces its need to be heard. &quot;I'm not a bad guy,&quot; pleads the narrator of &quot;The Sun, the Moon, the Stars,&quot; and even though he cheats on his girlfriend, by the end of Junot Díaz's story you might be tempted to  agree anyway. (Especially considering the charming way he turns Melville's Bartleby the Scrivener into a verb--as in, &quot;A lot of the time she Bartlebys me, says, 'No, I'd rather not.'&quot;) &quot;Real Estate,&quot; by that master of bittersweet comedy Lorrie Moore, starts by repeating &quot;Ha! Ha! Ha!&quot; for two solid pages but becomes a rueful take on marriage, house-hunting, and even death: &quot;The body, hauling sadnesses, pursued the soul, hobbled after. The body was like a sweet dim dog trotting lamely toward the gate as you tried slowly to drive off, out the long driveway. <em>Take me, take me too</em>, barked the dog.&quot; <p>  Other standouts in this collection include Alice Munro's &quot;Save the Reaper,&quot; a kind of &quot;A Good Man Is Hard to Find&quot; where no one is killed <em>or</em> saved; Rick Bass's haunting evocation of winter in the north country, &quot;The Hermit's Story&quot;; and Tim Gautreax's &quot;The Piano Tuner,&quot; about a manic-depressive  Creole princess playing cocktail piano in a motel lounge. (This is one tale that truly does end with a bang, not a whimper.) Taken together, they are ample evidence that the American short story is alive, well, and eminently able to--in the words of guest editor Amy Tan--&quot;help us live interesting lives.&quot; <em>--Chloe Byrne</em></p></p>]]>
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<authors>
    <author>
    <id>5246</id>
        <name><![CDATA[Amy Tan]]></name>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1202437936p5/5246.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1202437936p2/5246.jpg]]></small_image_url>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5246.Amy_Tan]]></link>
    <average_rating>3.78</average_rating>
    <ratings_count>115322</ratings_count>
    <text_reviews_count>5247</text_reviews_count>
  </author>
    <author>
    <id>14012</id>
        <name><![CDATA[Katrina Kenison]]></name>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1257870540p5/14012.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1257870540p2/14012.jpg]]></small_image_url>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14012.Katrina_Kenison]]></link>
    <average_rating>3.69</average_rating>
    <ratings_count>3577</ratings_count>
    <text_reviews_count>484</text_reviews_count>
  </author>
  </authors>  <published>1999</published>
</book>

        <book>
  <id type="integer">141939</id>
  <isbn>0618197338</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780618197330</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">11</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Best American Short Stories 2003 (The Best American Series)]]>
  </title>
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  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172132130s/141939.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/141939.The_Best_American_Short_Stories_2003</link>
  <average_rating>3.86</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>155</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Since its inception in 1915, the Best American series has become the premier annual showcase for the country's finest short fiction and nonfiction.  For each volume, a series editor reads pieces from hundreds of periodicals, then selects between fifty and a hundred outstanding works.  That selection is pared down to twenty or so very best pieces by a guest editor who is widely recognized as a leading writer in his or her field.  This unique system has helped make the Best American series the most respected -- and most popular -- of its kind. 	Lending a fresh perspective to a perennial favorite, Walter Mosley has chosen unforgettable short stories by both renowned writers and exciting newcomers.  The Best American Short Stories 2003 features poignant tales that explore the nuances of family life and love, birth and death.  Here are stories that will, as Mosley writes in his introduction, &quot;live with the reader long after the words have been translated into ideas and dreams.  That's because a good short story crosses the borders of our nations and our prejudices and our beliefs.&quot; Dorothy Allison Edwidge Danticat E.  L.  Doctorow Louise Erdrich Adam Haslett ZZ Packer Mona Simpson Mary Yukari Waters]]>
  </description>
<authors>
    <author>
    <id>20850</id>
        <name><![CDATA[Walter Mosley]]></name>
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    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20850.Walter_Mosley]]></link>
    <average_rating>3.77</average_rating>
    <ratings_count>10603</ratings_count>
    <text_reviews_count>1230</text_reviews_count>
  </author>
    <author>
    <id>14012</id>
        <name><![CDATA[Katrina Kenison]]></name>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1257870540p5/14012.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1257870540p2/14012.jpg]]></small_image_url>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14012.Katrina_Kenison]]></link>
    <average_rating>3.69</average_rating>
    <ratings_count>3577</ratings_count>
    <text_reviews_count>484</text_reviews_count>
  </author>
  </authors>  <published>2003</published>
</book>

        <book>
  <id type="integer">295016</id>
  <isbn>0385721544</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780385721547</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">30</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Meditations from the Mat: Daily Reflections on the Path of Yoga]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173475589m/295016.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173475589s/295016.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/295016.Meditations_from_the_Mat_Daily_Reflections_on_the_Path_of_Yoga</link>
  <average_rating>4.19</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>140</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[<strong>AN ANCHOR BOOKS ORIGINAL<br/></strong><br/>As more and more people in the West pursue yoga in its various forms, whether at traditional centers, in the high-powered atmosphere of sports clubs, or on their own, they begin to realize that far from being just another exercise routine, yoga is a discipline of the body <em>and</em> the mind. <br/><br/>The 365 meditations incluided in this book offer a way to integrate the mindfulness that yoga teaches into everyday life. Whether used in the morning to set the tone for the day, during yoga exercise itself, or at the end of the day, during evening reflection, <strong>Meditations from the Mat</strong>  will support and enhance anyone’s yoga journey.]]>
  </description>
<authors>
    <author>
    <id>170306</id>
        <name><![CDATA[Rolf Gates]]></name>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-U-200x266.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66.jpg]]></small_image_url>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/170306.Rolf_Gates]]></link>
    <average_rating>4.19</average_rating>
    <ratings_count>140</ratings_count>
    <text_reviews_count>30</text_reviews_count>
  </author>
    <author>
    <id>14012</id>
        <name><![CDATA[Katrina Kenison]]></name>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1257870540p5/14012.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1257870540p2/14012.jpg]]></small_image_url>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14012.Katrina_Kenison]]></link>
    <average_rating>3.69</average_rating>
    <ratings_count>3577</ratings_count>
    <text_reviews_count>484</text_reviews_count>
  </author>
  </authors>  <published>2002</published>
</book>

        <book>
  <id type="integer">141940</id>
  <isbn>0618131736</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780618131730</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">16</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Best American Short Stories 2002 (The Best American Series)]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172132130m/141940.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172132130s/141940.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/141940.The_Best_American_Short_Stories_2002</link>
  <average_rating>3.81</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>135</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In her opening remarks to <em>The Best American Short Stories 2002</em>, guest editor Sue Miller notes the difficulty of reading fiction produced during 2001, the year of the September 11 terrorist attacks. She also remarks that by the time she had finalized her 20 selections, this act of reading had restored her faith both in fiction's significance and its ability to tap into timeless themes. The 2002 anthology includes stories best described as realist fiction or traditional fiction, many set in contemporary times. The tales range from E.L. Doctorow's &quot;A House on the Plains,&quot; a murder set at the turn of the century, to pieces with more recent settings, like &quot;Puppy&quot; by Richard Ford, which shows how a New Orleans couple deals--or doesn't deal--with the appearance of a stray dog. Both Jhumpa Lahiri's &quot;Nobody's Business&quot; and Edwidge Danticat's &quot;Seven&quot; deftly portray the disconnection a semi-assimilated Indian American and Haitian American couple experience both as partners and as U.S. citizens. Leonard Michael's &quot;Nachman from Los Angeles,&quot; in contrast, adds some levity to the mix. Miller adds in her preface that maybe next year the tales will depart further from tradition, but judging from this volume no departure is necessary: the selections take the reader on a delightful journey through some of America's best contemporary writers. <em>--Jane Hodges</em>]]>
  </description>
<authors>
    <author>
    <id>3517</id>
        <name><![CDATA[Sue Miller]]></name>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1205346191p5/3517.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1205346191p2/3517.jpg]]></small_image_url>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3517.Sue_Miller]]></link>
    <average_rating>3.33</average_rating>
    <ratings_count>10342</ratings_count>
    <text_reviews_count>1432</text_reviews_count>
  </author>
    <author>
    <id>14012</id>
        <name><![CDATA[Katrina Kenison]]></name>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1257870540p5/14012.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1257870540p2/14012.jpg]]></small_image_url>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14012.Katrina_Kenison]]></link>
    <average_rating>3.69</average_rating>
    <ratings_count>3577</ratings_count>
    <text_reviews_count>484</text_reviews_count>
  </author>
  </authors>  <published>2002</published>
</book>

        <book>
  <id type="integer">29591</id>
  <isbn>0395926866</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780395926864</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">7</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Best American Short Stories 2000]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1168033625m/29591.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1168033625s/29591.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29591.The_Best_American_Short_Stories_2000</link>
  <average_rating>3.90</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>100</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[When a great annual collection comes out, it's hard to know the reason  why. Was there a bumper crop of high-quality stories, or was this year's guest  editor especially gifted at winnowing out the good ones? Either way, the 2000  edition of <em>The Best American Short Stories</em> is a standout in a series that  can be uneven. Its editor, E.L. Doctorow, seems to have a fondness for the &quot;what  if?&quot; story, the kind of tale that posits an imagination-prodding question and  then attempts to answer it. Nathan Englander's &quot;The Gilgul of Park Avenue&quot; asks:  What if a WASPy financial analyst, riding in a cab one day, discovers to his  surprise that he is irrevocably Jewish? In &quot;The Ordinary Son,&quot; Ron Carlson asks:  What if you are the only average person in a family of certifiable geniuses? And  Allan Gurganus's &quot;He's at the Office&quot; asks: What if the quintessential postwar  American working man were forced to retire? This last story is narrated by the  man's grown son, who at the story's opening takes his dad for a walk. Though  it's the present day, the father is still dressed in his full 1950s businessman  regalia, including camel-hair overcoat and felt hat. The two walk by a teenager.  &quot;The boy smiled. 'Way bad look on you, guy.'&quot;  <blockquote>My father, seeking interpretation, stared at me. I simply shook my  head no. I could not explain Dad to himself in terms of tidal fashion trends.  All I said was &quot;I think he likes you.&quot; </blockquote>  The exchange typifies the writing showcased in this anthology: in these stories,  again and again, we find a breakdown of human communication that is sprightly,  humorous, and devastatingly complete. A few more of the terrific stories  featured herein: Amy Bloom's &quot;The Story,&quot; a goofy metafiction about a villainous  divorcee; Geoffrey Becker's &quot;Black Elvis,&quot; which tells of, well, a black Elvis;  and Jhumpa Lahiri's &quot;The Third and Final Continent,&quot; a story of an Indian man  who moves to Cambridge, Massachusetts. Like the collection itself, Lahiri's  story amasses a lovely, funny mood as it goes along. <em>--Claire Dederer</em>]]>
  </description>
<authors>
    <author>
    <id>12584</id>
        <name><![CDATA[E.L. Doctorow]]></name>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1235983484p5/12584.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1235983484p2/12584.jpg]]></small_image_url>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/12584.E_L_Doctorow]]></link>
    <average_rating>3.73</average_rating>
    <ratings_count>10163</ratings_count>
    <text_reviews_count>1267</text_reviews_count>
  </author>
    <author>
    <id>14012</id>
        <name><![CDATA[Katrina Kenison]]></name>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1257870540p5/14012.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1257870540p2/14012.jpg]]></small_image_url>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14012.Katrina_Kenison]]></link>
    <average_rating>3.69</average_rating>
    <ratings_count>3577</ratings_count>
    <text_reviews_count>484</text_reviews_count>
  </author>
  </authors>  <published>2000</published>
</book>

        <book>
  <id type="integer">141941</id>
  <isbn>0395875145</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780395875148</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">11</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Best American Short Stories 1998 (The Best American Series)]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172132131m/141941.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172132131s/141941.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/141941.The_Best_American_Short_Stories_1998</link>
  <average_rating>3.80</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>91</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[&quot;Each of these twenty stories surprised and delighted me. Each is a story I'd gladly read out loud to anyone who wanted to be read to,&quot; writes guest editor Garrison Keillor in his introduction to <em>The Best American Short Stories 1998</em>. We should be so lucky! Read out loud or not, this is still one of the liveliest, most varied volumes in this venerable series. One pleasant surprise is that it isn't as <em>New Yorker</em>-centric as it has been in years past. Readers will find stories by both long-established voices (John Updike, Annie Proulx) and exhilarating new talent (Poe Ballantine, Maxine Swann), first published in magazines that range from regional to slick. The subject matter is no less diverse: a couple in their 40s desperate to have a baby; Walt Whitman ministering to wounded Union soldiers; the vengeful ghost of a half-skinned bull. And then there's what was perhaps the year's most stunning piece of short fiction, Lorrie Moore's &quot;People Like That Are the Only People Here&quot; (published in her 1998 collection, <em>Birds of America</em> ),  a gut-wrenching, unsentimental, and yes, <em>funny</em> account of a mother whose baby is diagnosed with liver cancer. From its opening image of blood in a diaper (&quot;like a tiny mouse heart packed in snow&quot;) to its bitterly self-conscious conclusion (&quot;There are the notes. Now, where is the money?&quot;), this is storytelling at its most visceral and affecting. Moore's piece alone makes <em>Best American</em> worth the price of admission; combined with the 19 other tales here, it makes a convincing case for the continuing health of the American short story.]]>
  </description>
<authors>
    <author>
    <id>2014</id>
        <name><![CDATA[Garrison Keillor]]></name>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1259697704p5/2014.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1259697704p2/2014.jpg]]></small_image_url>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2014.Garrison_Keillor]]></link>
    <average_rating>3.67</average_rating>
    <ratings_count>6943</ratings_count>
    <text_reviews_count>1107</text_reviews_count>
  </author>
    <author>
    <id>14012</id>
        <name><![CDATA[Katrina Kenison]]></name>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1257870540p5/14012.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1257870540p2/14012.jpg]]></small_image_url>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14012.Katrina_Kenison]]></link>
    <average_rating>3.69</average_rating>
    <ratings_count>3577</ratings_count>
    <text_reviews_count>484</text_reviews_count>
  </author>
  </authors>  <published>1998</published>
</book>

        <book>
  <id type="integer">386099</id>
  <isbn>0395798655</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780395798652</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">6</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Best American Short Stories 1997]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174355615m/386099.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174355615s/386099.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/386099.The_Best_American_Short_Stories_1997</link>
  <average_rating>3.84</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>82</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[The preeminent short fiction series since 1915, The Best American Short Stories is the only annual that offers the finest works chosen by a distinguished best-selling guest editor. This year, E. Annie Proulx's selection includes dazzling stories by Tobias Wolff, Donald Hall, Cynthia Ozick, Robert Stone, Junot D'az, and T. C. Boyle as well as an array of stunning new talent. In her introduction, Proulx writes that beyond their strength and vigor, these stories achieve &quot;a certain intangible feel for the depth of human experience, not uncommonly expressed through a kind of dry humor.&quot; As ever, this year's volume surprises and rewards.]]>
  </description>
<authors>
    <author>
    <id>1262010</id>
        <name><![CDATA[Annie Proulx]]></name>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1219720509p5/1262010.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1219720509p2/1262010.jpg]]></small_image_url>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1262010.Annie_Proulx]]></link>
    <average_rating>3.71</average_rating>
    <ratings_count>24402</ratings_count>
    <text_reviews_count>2532</text_reviews_count>
  </author>
    <author>
    <id>14012</id>
        <name><![CDATA[Katrina Kenison]]></name>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1257870540p5/14012.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1257870540p2/14012.jpg]]></small_image_url>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14012.Katrina_Kenison]]></link>
    <average_rating>3.69</average_rating>
    <ratings_count>3577</ratings_count>
    <text_reviews_count>484</text_reviews_count>
  </author>
  </authors>  <published>1997</published>
</book>

        <book>
  <id type="integer">6452805</id>
  <isbn>0446409480</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780446409483</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">28</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Gift of an Ordinary Day: A Mother's Memoir]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1256131422m/6452805.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1256131422s/6452805.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6452805-the-gift-of-an-ordinary-day</link>
  <average_rating>3.96</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>51</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[<em>The Gift of an Ordinary Day</em> is an intimate memoir of a family in transition-boys becoming teenagers, careers ending and new ones opening up, an attempt to find a deeper sense of place, and a slower pace, in a small New England town.  It is a story of mid-life longings and discoveries, of lessons learned in the search for home and a new sense of purpose, and the bittersweet intensity of life with teenagers--holding on, letting go. <br/><br/>Poised on the threshold between family life as she's always known it and her older son's departure for college, Kenison is surprised to find that the times she treasures most  are the ordinary, unremarkable moments of everyday life, the very moments that she once took for granted, or rushed right through without noticing at all.<br/><br/>The relationships, hopes, and dreams that Kenison illuminates will touch women's hearts, and her words will inspire mothers everywhere as they try to make peace with the inevitable changes in store.]]>
  </description>
<authors>
    <author>
    <id>14012</id>
        <name><![CDATA[Katrina Kenison]]></name>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1257870540p5/14012.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1257870540p2/14012.jpg]]></small_image_url>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14012.Katrina_Kenison]]></link>
    <average_rating>3.69</average_rating>
    <ratings_count>3577</ratings_count>
    <text_reviews_count>484</text_reviews_count>
  </author>
  </authors>  <published>2009</published>
</book>

        <book>
  <id type="integer">241481</id>
  <isbn>0395711797</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780395711798</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">5</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Best American Short Stories 1995]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173043598m/241481.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173043598s/241481.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/241481.The_Best_American_Short_Stories_1995</link>
  <average_rating>3.78</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>50</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Every autumn, readers of short stories eagerly look forward to the chance to discover their favorite writers and new talents in The Best American Short Stories. Last year's collection marched on to bestseller lists across the country and met with acclaim from critics who declared it &quot;a brilliant work of art.&quot; Marking the eightieth anniversary of the series, the 1995 volume portrays the stunning range of American life in all its various colors, styles, regions, and concerns. This year's guest editor, Jane Smiley, selected stories without knowing their authors' identities. Drawn to tales with &quot;a sharp taste,&quot; she gathered a piquant sampling of new voices as well as rich works by such masters as Don DeLillo, Ellen Gilchrist, Thom Jones, Joy Williams, Stephen Dobyns, Kate Braverman, and Jamaica Kincaid. Smiley was attracted to &quot;an element of the exotic&quot; in the tapestry of ordinary lives, and the stories in this collection reveal the powerful dramas constantly unfolding beneath the surface]]>
  </description>
<authors>
    <author>
    <id>1339</id>
        <name><![CDATA[Jane Smiley]]></name>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1245100250p5/1339.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1245100250p2/1339.jpg]]></small_image_url>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1339.Jane_Smiley]]></link>
    <average_rating>3.49</average_rating>
    <ratings_count>12081</ratings_count>
    <text_reviews_count>1626</text_reviews_count>
  </author>
    <author>
    <id>14012</id>
        <name><![CDATA[Katrina Kenison]]></name>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1257870540p5/14012.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1257870540p2/14012.jpg]]></small_image_url>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14012.Katrina_Kenison]]></link>
    <average_rating>3.69</average_rating>
    <ratings_count>3577</ratings_count>
    <text_reviews_count>484</text_reviews_count>
  </author>
  </authors>  <published>1995</published>
</book>

        <book>
  <id type="integer">50328</id>
  <isbn>0395681022</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780395681022</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">4</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Best American Short Stories 1994]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1211072655m/50328.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1211072655s/50328.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50328.Best_American_Short_Stories_1994</link>
  <average_rating>3.88</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>48</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[The annual tribute to the short fiction form is especially   strong for 1994 with a new generation of voices, including Christopher   Tilghman, Thom Jones, and Carol Anshaw, with impressive debuts by Lan   Samantha Chang and Carolyn Ferrell. ]]>
  </description>
<authors>
    <author>
    <id>7371</id>
        <name><![CDATA[Tobias Wolff]]></name>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1212762477p5/7371.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1212762477p2/7371.jpg]]></small_image_url>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7371.Tobias_Wolff]]></link>
    <average_rating>3.94</average_rating>
    <ratings_count>8061</ratings_count>
    <text_reviews_count>1039</text_reviews_count>
  </author>
    <author>
    <id>14012</id>
        <name><![CDATA[Katrina Kenison]]></name>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1257870540p5/14012.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1257870540p2/14012.jpg]]></small_image_url>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14012.Katrina_Kenison]]></link>
    <average_rating>3.69</average_rating>
    <ratings_count>3577</ratings_count>
    <text_reviews_count>484</text_reviews_count>
  </author>
  </authors>  <published>1994</published>
</book>

        <book>
  <id type="integer">141945</id>
  <isbn>0395636272</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780395636275</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">5</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Best American Short Stories 1993]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1211072823m/141945.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1211072823s/141945.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/141945.The_Best_American_Short_Stories_1993</link>
  <average_rating>3.83</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>42</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[The preeminent annual collection of short fiction features the   writing of John Updike, Alice Munro, Wendell Berry, Diane Johnson,   Lorrie Moore, Stephen Dixon, and Mary Gaitskill.  75,000   first printing.]]>
  </description>
<authors>
    <author>
    <id>9388</id>
        <name><![CDATA[Louise Erdrich]]></name>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1211001346p5/9388.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1211001346p2/9388.jpg]]></small_image_url>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/9388.Louise_Erdrich]]></link>
    <average_rating>3.88</average_rating>
    <ratings_count>17871</ratings_count>
    <text_reviews_count>2469</text_reviews_count>
  </author>
    <author>
    <id>14012</id>
        <name><![CDATA[Katrina Kenison]]></name>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1257870540p5/14012.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1257870540p2/14012.jpg]]></small_image_url>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14012.Katrina_Kenison]]></link>
    <average_rating>3.69</average_rating>
    <ratings_count>3577</ratings_count>
    <text_reviews_count>484</text_reviews_count>
  </author>
  </authors>  <published>1993</published>
</book>

        <book>
  <id type="integer">226375</id>
  <isbn>0395752914</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780395752913</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">4</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Best American Short Stories 1996: Selected from U.S. and Canadian Magazines]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172870519m/226375.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172870519s/226375.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/226375.The_Best_American_Short_Stories_1996_Selected_from_U_S_and_Canadian_Magazines</link>
  <average_rating>4.11</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>27</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[When a great annual collection comes out, it's hard to know the reason  why. Was there a bumper crop of high-quality stories, or was this year's guest  editor especially gifted at winnowing out the good ones? Either way, the 2000  edition of <em>The Best American Short Stories</em> is a standout in a series that  can be uneven. Its editor, E.L. Doctorow, seems to have a fondness for the &quot;what  if?&quot; story, the kind of tale that posits an imagination-prodding question and  then attempts to answer it. Nathan Englander's &quot;The Gilgul of Park Avenue&quot; asks:  What if a WASPy financial analyst, riding in a cab one day, discovers to his  surprise that he is irrevocably Jewish? In &quot;The Ordinary Son,&quot; Ron Carlson asks:  What if you are the only average person in a family of certifiable geniuses? And  Allan Gurganus's &quot;He's at the Office&quot; asks: What if the quintessential postwar  American working man were forced to retire? This last story is narrated by the  man's grown son, who at the story's opening takes his dad for a walk. Though  it's the present day, the father is still dressed in his full 1950s businessman  regalia, including camel-hair overcoat and felt hat. The two walk by a teenager.  &quot;The boy smiled. 'Way bad look on you, guy.'&quot;  <blockquote>My father, seeking interpretation, stared at me. I simply shook my  head no. I could not explain Dad to himself in terms of tidal fashion trends.  All I said was &quot;I think he likes you.&quot; </blockquote>  The exchange typifies the writing showcased in this anthology: in these stories,  again and again, we find a breakdown of human communication that is sprightly,  humorous, and devastatingly complete. A few more of the terrific stories  featured herein: Amy Bloom's &quot;The Story,&quot; a goofy metafiction about a villainous  divorcee; Geoffrey Becker's &quot;Black Elvis,&quot; which tells of, well, a black Elvis;  and Jhumpa Lahiri's &quot;The Third and Final Continent,&quot; a story of an Indian man  who moves to Cambridge, Massachusetts. Like the collection itself, Lahiri's  story amasses a lovely, funny mood as it goes along. <em>--Claire Dederer</em>]]>
  </description>
<authors>
    <author>
    <id>20703</id>
        <name><![CDATA[John Edgar Wideman]]></name>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-U-200x266.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66.jpg]]></small_image_url>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20703.John_Edgar_Wideman]]></link>
    <average_rating>3.79</average_rating>
    <ratings_count>703</ratings_count>
    <text_reviews_count>95</text_reviews_count>
  </author>
    <author>
    <id>14012</id>
        <name><![CDATA[Katrina Kenison]]></name>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1257870540p5/14012.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1257870540p2/14012.jpg]]></small_image_url>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14012.Katrina_Kenison]]></link>
    <average_rating>3.69</average_rating>
    <ratings_count>3577</ratings_count>
    <text_reviews_count>484</text_reviews_count>
  </author>
  </authors>  <published>1996</published>
</book>

        <book>
  <id type="integer">167321</id>
  <isbn>0395593530</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780395593530</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">2</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Best American Short Stories 1992]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1211072912m/167321.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1211072912s/167321.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/167321.Best_American_Short_Stories_1992</link>
  <average_rating>3.69</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>26</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In the 1992 installment in the best-selling series, twenty of   the year's finest short stories from magazines large and small display   the talents of Joyce Carol Oates, Denis Johnson, Alice Munro, and   others.  75,000 first printing.]]>
  </description>
<authors>
    <author>
    <id>41938</id>
        <name><![CDATA[Robert Stone]]></name>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-U-200x266.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66.jpg]]></small_image_url>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/41938.Robert_Stone]]></link>
    <average_rating>3.65</average_rating>
    <ratings_count>211</ratings_count>
    <text_reviews_count>28</text_reviews_count>
  </author>
    <author>
    <id>14012</id>
        <name><![CDATA[Katrina Kenison]]></name>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1257870540p5/14012.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1257870540p2/14012.jpg]]></small_image_url>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14012.Katrina_Kenison]]></link>
    <average_rating>3.69</average_rating>
    <ratings_count>3577</ratings_count>
    <text_reviews_count>484</text_reviews_count>
  </author>
  </authors>  <published>1992</published>
</book>

        <book>
  <id type="integer">3610385</id>
  <isbn>061819732X</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780618197323</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">1</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Best American Short Stories 2003 (The Best American Series (TM))]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3610385.The_Best_American_Short_Stories_2003</link>
  <average_rating>3.22</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>9</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[These twenty short stories boldly and insightfully explore the extremes of human emotions. In her story &quot;Night Talkers,&quot; Edwidge Danticat reunites a young man and the elderly aunt who raised him in Haiti. Anthony Doerr brings readers a naturalist who discovers the surprising healing powers of a deadly cone snail. Louise Erdrich writes of an Ojibwa fiddler whose music brings him deep and mysterious joy. Here are diverse and intriguing characters -- a kidnapper, an immigrant nanny, an amputee blues musician -- who are as surprised as the reader is at what brings them happiness.<br/>	In his introduction, Walter Mosley explores the definition of a good short story, and writes, &quot;The writers represented in this collection have told stories that suggest much larger ideas. I found myself presented with the challenge of simple human love contrasted against structures as large as religion and death. The desire to be loved or to be seen, represented on a canvas so broad that it would take years to explain all the roots that bring us to the resolution.&quot; Each of these stories bravely evokes worlds brimming with desire and loss, humanity and possibility.<br/><br/>Since its inception in 1915, the Best American series has become the premier annual showcase for the country's finest short fiction and nonfiction. For each volume, a series editor reads pieces from hundreds of periodicals, then selects between fifty and a hundred outstanding works. That selection is pared down to twenty or so very best pieces by a guest editor who is widely recognized as a leading writer in his or her field. This unique system has helped make the Best American series the most respected -- and most popular -- of its kind.<br/>	Lending a fresh perspective to a perennial favorite, Walter Mosley has chosen unforgettable short stories by both renowned writers and exciting newcomers. The Best American Short Stories 2003 features poignant tales that explore the nuances of family life and love, birth and death. Here are stories that will, as Mosley writes in his introduction, &quot;live with the reader long after the words have been translated into ideas and dreams. That's because a good short story crosses the borders of our nations and our prejudices and our beliefs.&quot;<br/><br/>Dorothy Allison<br/>Edwidge Danticat<br/>E. L. Doctorow<br/>Louise Erdrich<br/>Adam Haslett<br/>ZZ Packer<br/>Mona Simpson<br/>Mary Yukari Waters]]>
  </description>
<authors>
    <author>
    <id>14012</id>
        <name><![CDATA[Katrina Kenison]]></name>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1257870540p5/14012.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1257870540p2/14012.jpg]]></small_image_url>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14012.Katrina_Kenison]]></link>
    <average_rating>3.69</average_rating>
    <ratings_count>3577</ratings_count>
    <text_reviews_count>484</text_reviews_count>
  </author>
  </authors>  <published>2002</published>
</book>

        <book>
  <id type="integer">2483100</id>
  <isbn>0618065970</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780618065974</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">0</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Best American Short Stories of the Century - Prepack (9)]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2483100.Best_American_Short_Stories_of_the_Century_Prepack</link>
  <average_rating>4.50</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>2</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[]]>
  </description>
<authors>
    <author>
    <id>14012</id>
        <name><![CDATA[Katrina Kenison]]></name>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1257870540p5/14012.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1257870540p2/14012.jpg]]></small_image_url>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14012.Katrina_Kenison]]></link>
    <average_rating>3.69</average_rating>
    <ratings_count>3577</ratings_count>
    <text_reviews_count>484</text_reviews_count>
  </author>
    <author>
    <id>6878</id>
        <name><![CDATA[John Updike]]></name>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1233239686p5/6878.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1233239686p2/6878.jpg]]></small_image_url>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6878.John_Updike]]></link>
    <average_rating>3.60</average_rating>
    <ratings_count>23058</ratings_count>
    <text_reviews_count>2678</text_reviews_count>
  </author>
  </authors>  <published>2000</published>
</book>

        <book>
  <id type="integer">2448565</id>
  <isbn>0613925238</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780613925235</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">0</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Best American Short Stories 2002]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2448565.Best_American_Short_Stories_2002</link>
  <average_rating>3.00</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>1</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In her opening remarks to <em>The Best American Short Stories 2002</em>, guest editor Sue Miller notes the difficulty of reading fiction produced during 2001, the year of the September 11 terrorist attacks. She also remarks that by the time she had finalized her 20 selections, this act of reading had restored her faith both in fiction's significance and its ability to tap into timeless themes. The 2002 anthology includes stories best described as realist fiction or traditional fiction, many set in contemporary times. The tales range from E.L. Doctorow's &quot;A House on the Plains,&quot; a murder set at the turn of the century, to pieces with more recent settings, like &quot;Puppy&quot; by Richard Ford, which shows how a New Orleans couple deals--or doesn't deal--with the appearance of a stray dog. Both Jhumpa Lahiri's &quot;Nobody's Business&quot; and Edwidge Danticat's &quot;Seven&quot; deftly portray the disconnection a semi-assimilated Indian American and Haitian American couple experience both as partners and as U.S. citizens. Leonard Michael's &quot;Nachman from Los Angeles,&quot; in contrast, adds some levity to the mix. Miller adds in her preface that maybe next year the tales will depart further from tradition, but judging from this volume no departure is necessary: the selections take the reader on a delightful journey through some of America's best contemporary writers. <em>--Jane Hodges</em>]]>
  </description>
<authors>
    <author>
    <id>14012</id>
        <name><![CDATA[Katrina Kenison]]></name>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1257870540p5/14012.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1257870540p2/14012.jpg]]></small_image_url>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14012.Katrina_Kenison]]></link>
    <average_rating>3.69</average_rating>
    <ratings_count>3577</ratings_count>
    <text_reviews_count>484</text_reviews_count>
  </author>
  </authors>  <published>2002</published>
</book>

        <book>
  <id type="integer">306088</id>
  <isbn>0930745140</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780930745141</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">0</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Beginning Statistics]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/306088.Beginning_Statistics</link>
  <average_rating>0.0</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>0</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[]]>
  </description>
<authors>
    <author>
    <id>14012</id>
        <name><![CDATA[Katrina Kenison]]></name>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1257870540p5/14012.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1257870540p2/14012.jpg]]></small_image_url>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14012.Katrina_Kenison]]></link>
    <average_rating>3.69</average_rating>
    <ratings_count>3577</ratings_count>
    <text_reviews_count>484</text_reviews_count>
  </author>
  </authors>  <published>1987</published>
</book>

        <book>
  <id type="integer">2382537</id>
  <isbn>0374959714</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780374959715</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">0</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Mothers Counter Card: Twenty Stories of Contemporary Motherhood]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2382537.Mothers_Counter_Card_Twenty_Stories_of_Contemporary_Motherhood</link>
  <average_rating>0.0</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>0</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[]]>
  </description>
<authors>
    <author>
    <id>14012</id>
        <name><![CDATA[Katrina Kenison]]></name>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1257870540p5/14012.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1257870540p2/14012.jpg]]></small_image_url>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14012.Katrina_Kenison]]></link>
    <average_rating>3.69</average_rating>
    <ratings_count>3577</ratings_count>
    <text_reviews_count>484</text_reviews_count>
  </author>
  </authors>  <published>1996</published>
</book>

        <book>
  <id type="integer">7124592</id>
  <isbn>0446558095</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780446558099</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">0</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Gift Of An Ordinary Day]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7124592-the-gift-of-an-ordinary-day</link>
  <average_rating>0.0</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>0</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[]]>
  </description>
<authors>
    <author>
    <id>14012</id>
        <name><![CDATA[Katrina Kenison]]></name>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1257870540p5/14012.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1257870540p2/14012.jpg]]></small_image_url>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14012.Katrina_Kenison]]></link>
    <average_rating>3.69</average_rating>
    <ratings_count>3577</ratings_count>
    <text_reviews_count>484</text_reviews_count>
  </author>
  </authors>  <published>2009</published>
</book>

        <book>
  <id type="integer">7124591</id>
  <isbn>1600247334</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781600247330</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">0</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Gift Of An Ordinary Day]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7124591-the-gift-of-an-ordinary-day</link>
  <average_rating>0.0</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>0</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[]]>
  </description>
<authors>
    <author>
    <id>14012</id>
        <name><![CDATA[Katrina Kenison]]></name>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1257870540p5/14012.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1257870540p2/14012.jpg]]></small_image_url>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14012.Katrina_Kenison]]></link>
    <average_rating>3.69</average_rating>
    <ratings_count>3577</ratings_count>
    <text_reviews_count>484</text_reviews_count>
  </author>
  </authors>  <published>2009</published>
</book>

        <book>
  <id type="integer">7237617</id>
  <isbn>0395939534</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780395939536</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">0</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Best American Short Stories 1998]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7237617-the-best-american-short-stories-1998</link>
  <average_rating>0.0</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>0</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[The preeminent short fiction series since 1915, The Best American Short Stories continues to dazzle and delight with its rich collection of talent, chosen each year by a distinguished master of the form. Marking the series' debut in audio with nine selected stories and an introduction by guest editor Garrison Keillor, this volume showcases a new generation of writers already distinguished by their confidence and power. Their works appear here alongside new stories by such well-known authors as John Updike and Annie Proulx.]]>
  </description>
<authors>
    <author>
    <id>2014</id>
        <name><![CDATA[Garrison Keillor]]></name>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1259697704p5/2014.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1259697704p2/2014.jpg]]></small_image_url>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2014.Garrison_Keillor]]></link>
    <average_rating>3.67</average_rating>
    <ratings_count>6943</ratings_count>
    <text_reviews_count>1107</text_reviews_count>
  </author>
    <author>
    <id>14012</id>
        <name><![CDATA[Katrina Kenison]]></name>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1257870540p5/14012.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1257870540p2/14012.jpg]]></small_image_url>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14012.Katrina_Kenison]]></link>
    <average_rating>3.69</average_rating>
    <ratings_count>3577</ratings_count>
    <text_reviews_count>484</text_reviews_count>
  </author>
  </authors>  <published>1998</published>
</book>

      </books>
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</GoodreadsResponse>