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  <id>384077</id>
  <title><![CDATA[Stories in the Worst Way]]></title>
  <isbn><![CDATA[097094280X]]></isbn>
  <isbn13><![CDATA[9780970942807]]></isbn13>
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  <description><![CDATA[Not bad stories, whatever the title.  Rather, Gary Lutz's debut collection shimmers with a spare, elegant prose and a witty sensibility rare for such a young writer.  Each story flashes by so quickly it's difficult to get your bearings before its gone and the next is thrust upon you.  Even the sentences barely pause for breath: &quot;I was a flask shaped man in a velor shirt sitting at long lunchroom tables in business schools, cosmetology schools, junior colleges, community colleges.&quot;]]></description>
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  <original_publication_year type="integer">1996</original_publication_year>
  <original_title>Stories in the Worst Way</original_title>
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  <authors>
    <author>
    <id>218539</id>
        <name><![CDATA[Gary Lutz]]></name>
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    <average_rating>4.10</average_rating>
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      <review>
  <id>18787360</id>
    <user>
    <id>26511</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Montambo]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Portland, OR]]></location>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Stories in the Worst Way]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>4.32</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>225</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Not bad stories, whatever the title.  Rather, Gary Lutz's debut collection shimmers with a spare, elegant prose and a witty sensibility rare for such a young writer.  Each story flashes by so quickly it's difficult to get your bearings before its gone and the next is thrust upon you.  Even the sentences barely pause for breath: &quot;I was a flask shaped man in a velor shirt sitting at long lunchroom tables in business schools, cosmetology schools, junior colleges, community colleges.&quot;]]>
  </description>
  <published>1996</published>
</book>

    <rating>1</rating>
  <votes>5</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="dumm" />
        <shelf name="essays-or-shorts" />
        <shelf name="yuck" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[short story writers, people who appreciate the bleak]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Tue Mar 25 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Mar 27 14:20:11 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Mar 27 14:23:20 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[No, no, no.  This is not what I like.  Crafty, yes, but I could not relate to the voice in these shorts at all.  I started feeling so detached that I didn't even recognize the objects he mentioned.  &quot;Foil-wrapped meat? What's that?&quot;  I put it down even though there was nothing else to read...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/18787360">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/18787360]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/18787360]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>13443247</id>
    <user>
    <id>289383</id>
    <name><![CDATA[April]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Seattle, WA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/289383-april]]></link>
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  <id type="integer">384077</id>
  <isbn>097094280X</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780970942807</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">44</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Stories in the Worst Way]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174345913m/384077.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174345913s/384077.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/384077.Stories_in_the_Worst_Way</link>
  <average_rating>4.30</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>246</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Not bad stories, whatever the title.  Rather, Gary Lutz's debut collection shimmers with a spare, elegant prose and a witty sensibility rare for such a young writer.  Each story flashes by so quickly it's difficult to get your bearings before its gone and the next is thrust upon you.  Even the sentences barely pause for breath: &quot;I was a flask shaped man in a velor shirt sitting at long lunchroom tables in business schools, cosmetology schools, junior colleges, community colleges.&quot;]]>
  </description>
  <published>1996</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>3</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[not just anyone, certainly not the sensitive]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Jan 24 16:15:42 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Jan 24 16:25:14 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[The way this guy writes, the way he crafts with words, changed the way I verbally process the world. I've never said this about an author nor will I say it about another.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/13443247]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/13443247]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>22283771</id>
    <user>
    <id>821190</id>
    <name><![CDATA[heather]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Portland, OR]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/821190-heather]]></link>
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  <isbn>097094280X</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780970942807</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">44</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Stories in the Worst Way]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174345913m/384077.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174345913s/384077.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/384077.Stories_in_the_Worst_Way</link>
  <average_rating>4.30</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>246</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Not bad stories, whatever the title.  Rather, Gary Lutz's debut collection shimmers with a spare, elegant prose and a witty sensibility rare for such a young writer.  Each story flashes by so quickly it's difficult to get your bearings before its gone and the next is thrust upon you.  Even the sentences barely pause for breath: &quot;I was a flask shaped man in a velor shirt sitting at long lunchroom tables in business schools, cosmetology schools, junior colleges, community colleges.&quot;]]>
  </description>
  <published>1996</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>2</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[short fiction enthusiasts, Lydia Davis fans]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[Powell's]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Thu May 15 00:11:48 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu May 15 00:20:09 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I have yet to recover from reading this book, in terms of wanting to rethink some of my own writing in light of how impressed I am by Lutz's prose. In one week, I read it, and gifted another copy as a birthday present (she loved it; she is, like me, a short-form fiction writer). Jesus, though. I fee...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/22283771">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/22283771]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/22283771]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>11731120</id>
    <user>
    <id>373447</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Christopher]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Brooklyn, NY]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/373447-christopher]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-M-111x148.jpg]]></image_url>
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  <isbn13>9780970942807</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">44</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Stories in the Worst Way]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174345913m/384077.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174345913s/384077.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/384077.Stories_in_the_Worst_Way</link>
  <average_rating>4.30</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>246</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Not bad stories, whatever the title.  Rather, Gary Lutz's debut collection shimmers with a spare, elegant prose and a witty sensibility rare for such a young writer.  Each story flashes by so quickly it's difficult to get your bearings before its gone and the next is thrust upon you.  Even the sentences barely pause for breath: &quot;I was a flask shaped man in a velor shirt sitting at long lunchroom tables in business schools, cosmetology schools, junior colleges, community colleges.&quot;]]>
  </description>
  <published>1996</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>2</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="reviewed" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Jan 05 15:03:47 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Jan 05 15:20:45 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Each sentence surprises and, even better, undermines me. Each sentence makes poetry blush, that prose should so outstrip its ability to compress an entire world into a single line. (A reversed world at that.)<br/><br/>&quot;He would enter a room, odor things differently, then come out with whateve...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/11731120">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/11731120]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/11731120]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>42197856</id>
    <user>
    <id>1122151</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Jasmine]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[New York, NY]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1122151-jasmine]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1260775986p3/1122151.jpg]]></image_url>
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  <id type="integer">384077</id>
  <isbn>097094280X</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780970942807</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">44</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Stories in the Worst Way]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174345913m/384077.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174345913s/384077.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/384077.Stories_in_the_Worst_Way</link>
  <average_rating>4.30</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>246</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Not bad stories, whatever the title.  Rather, Gary Lutz's debut collection shimmers with a spare, elegant prose and a witty sensibility rare for such a young writer.  Each story flashes by so quickly it's difficult to get your bearings before its gone and the next is thrust upon you.  Even the sentences barely pause for breath: &quot;I was a flask shaped man in a velor shirt sitting at long lunchroom tables in business schools, cosmetology schools, junior colleges, community colleges.&quot;]]>
  </description>
  <published>1996</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>3</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="2009" />
        <shelf name="fiction" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Wed Jan 14 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Jan 07 04:01:01 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Jan 19 21:35:18 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This is a book about how confused the world is when you leave it to it's own devices. <br/><br/><br/><br/>I would love to leave this review at that, but first it looks lazy and secondly next to a review whining about not being able to tell the gender of the characters is is sadly unconvincing. T...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/42197856">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/42197856]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/42197856]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>32747540</id>
    <user>
    <id>42508</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Greg]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Woodside, NY]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/42508-greg]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1257088905p3/42508.jpg]]></image_url>
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  <id type="integer">384077</id>
  <isbn>097094280X</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780970942807</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">44</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Stories in the Worst Way]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174345913m/384077.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174345913s/384077.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/384077.Stories_in_the_Worst_Way</link>
  <average_rating>4.30</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>246</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Not bad stories, whatever the title.  Rather, Gary Lutz's debut collection shimmers with a spare, elegant prose and a witty sensibility rare for such a young writer.  Each story flashes by so quickly it's difficult to get your bearings before its gone and the next is thrust upon you.  Even the sentences barely pause for breath: &quot;I was a flask shaped man in a velor shirt sitting at long lunchroom tables in business schools, cosmetology schools, junior colleges, community colleges.&quot;]]>
  </description>
  <published>1996</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>2</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="fiction" />
        <shelf name="short-stories" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Fri Sep 12 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Sep 12 20:53:15 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Sep 12 21:02:26 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Some of these stories are really good, and some there is just no point of reference to grab a hold of the story by.  There is something very alienating about even the most welcoming stories here, a lot of times you have no idea of even the gender of the first person narrator, and you feel like you'r...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/32747540">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/32747540]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/32747540]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>48730955</id>
    <user>
    <id>744903</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Jocelyn]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Anchorage, AK]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/744903-jocelyn]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1238904525p3/744903.jpg]]></image_url>
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    <book>
  <id type="integer">384077</id>
  <isbn>097094280X</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780970942807</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">44</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Stories in the Worst Way]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174345913m/384077.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174345913s/384077.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/384077.Stories_in_the_Worst_Way</link>
  <average_rating>4.30</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>246</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Not bad stories, whatever the title.  Rather, Gary Lutz's debut collection shimmers with a spare, elegant prose and a witty sensibility rare for such a young writer.  Each story flashes by so quickly it's difficult to get your bearings before its gone and the next is thrust upon you.  Even the sentences barely pause for breath: &quot;I was a flask shaped man in a velor shirt sitting at long lunchroom tables in business schools, cosmetology schools, junior colleges, community colleges.&quot;]]>
  </description>
  <published>1996</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="fiction" />
        <shelf name="read-in-2009" />
        <shelf name="short-storied-shelf" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[writers, dreamers]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sat Mar 21 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Mar 09 15:16:14 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Mar 21 19:40:23 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[With almost every book I read, I keep short notes on my bookmark. For as long as I've been reading, I've been saving these single bookmarks as physical memory for the books I've read. This is the first time I've ever needed a second bookmark, and it even happened before I was half done. <br/><br/>...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/48730955">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/48730955]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/48730955]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>59144342</id>
    <user>
    <id>230113</id>
    <name><![CDATA[tim]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Portland, OR]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/230113-tim]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1258061416p3/230113.jpg]]></image_url>
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    <book>
  <id type="integer">6351842</id>
  <isbn>0979808073</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780979808074</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">2</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Stories in the Worst Way]]>
  </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/6351842-stories-in-the-worst-way</link>
  <average_rating>3.33</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>6</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Originally released by Knopf in 1996, Lutz's rigorously innovative debut barely made a ripple in the mainstream publishing world, and a paperback edition was never published. Meanwhile, however, the book attained a cult status, and its influence has grown tremendously since its initial publication.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1996</published>
</book>

    <rating>2</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Wed Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Jun 10 08:39:22 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Jul 09 17:56:48 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I must be too sensitive to properly enjoy this.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/59144342]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/59144342]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>23500371</id>
    <user>
    <id>752259</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Ken]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Brooklyn, NY]]></location>
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  <id type="integer">384077</id>
  <isbn>097094280X</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780970942807</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">44</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Stories in the Worst Way]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174345913m/384077.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174345913s/384077.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/384077.Stories_in_the_Worst_Way</link>
  <average_rating>4.30</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>246</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Not bad stories, whatever the title.  Rather, Gary Lutz's debut collection shimmers with a spare, elegant prose and a witty sensibility rare for such a young writer.  Each story flashes by so quickly it's difficult to get your bearings before its gone and the next is thrust upon you.  Even the sentences barely pause for breath: &quot;I was a flask shaped man in a velor shirt sitting at long lunchroom tables in business schools, cosmetology schools, junior colleges, community colleges.&quot;]]>
  </description>
  <published>1996</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Thu May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Jun 02 04:22:52 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Jul 09 10:57:28 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[There is a great bit of wisdom uttered by Lee, the doomed narrator of Boris Vian’s <em>I Spit On Your Graves</em>:<br/><br/>“It costs a lot to put out a book, and all the dressing is for a good purpose — it shows clearly too that most people don’t care about getting good books: what they really wan...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/23500371">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/23500371]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/23500371]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>65618364</id>
    <user>
    <id>2380397</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Ben]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Irvine, CA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2380397-ben-miller]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1257796536p3/2380397.jpg]]></image_url>
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  <id type="integer">6351842</id>
  <isbn>0979808073</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780979808074</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">2</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Stories in the Worst Way]]>
  </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/6351842-stories-in-the-worst-way</link>
  <average_rating>4.30</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>246</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Originally released by Knopf in 1996, Lutz's rigorously innovative debut barely made a ripple in the mainstream publishing world, and a paperback edition was never published. Meanwhile, however, the book attained a cult status, and its influence has grown tremendously since its initial publication.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1996</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Thu Aug 20 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Jul 30 22:05:27 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Aug 20 16:24:28 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Lutz is a magician with verbs; creating new ones, using old ones in unexpected ways, etc.  He tries mightily to do the same with adjectives and adverbs, which I found more often annoying than impressive, but still, there's probably not more than a handful of sentences in this book that you could fin...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/65618364">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/65618364]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/65618364]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>44997297</id>
    <user>
    <id>273109</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Bronwen]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Palo Alto, CA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/273109-bronwen]]></link>
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  <id type="integer">384077</id>
  <isbn>097094280X</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780970942807</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">44</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Stories in the Worst Way]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174345913m/384077.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174345913s/384077.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/384077.Stories_in_the_Worst_Way</link>
  <average_rating>4.30</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>246</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Not bad stories, whatever the title.  Rather, Gary Lutz's debut collection shimmers with a spare, elegant prose and a witty sensibility rare for such a young writer.  Each story flashes by so quickly it's difficult to get your bearings before its gone and the next is thrust upon you.  Even the sentences barely pause for breath: &quot;I was a flask shaped man in a velor shirt sitting at long lunchroom tables in business schools, cosmetology schools, junior colleges, community colleges.&quot;]]>
  </description>
  <published>1996</published>
</book>

    <rating>0</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Jan 31 17:50:17 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Jan 31 17:50:17 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Depressing lives, trapped in bodies, disconnected. Strange details.<br/><br/>No received language. Each word arrives singly and potently: “jinkly bickering music we frittered”<br/><br/>Lines hit home:<br/><br/>“Every song was the worst way I could think of to ask for what I did not yet k...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/44997297">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/44997297]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/44997297]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>55347571</id>
    <user>
    <id>2250428</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Tiah]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2250428-tiah-keever]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1240749294p3/2250428.jpg]]></image_url>
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  <isbn>097094280X</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780970942807</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">44</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Stories in the Worst Way]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174345913m/384077.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174345913s/384077.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/384077.Stories_in_the_Worst_Way</link>
  <average_rating>4.30</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>246</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Not bad stories, whatever the title.  Rather, Gary Lutz's debut collection shimmers with a spare, elegant prose and a witty sensibility rare for such a young writer.  Each story flashes by so quickly it's difficult to get your bearings before its gone and the next is thrust upon you.  Even the sentences barely pause for breath: &quot;I was a flask shaped man in a velor shirt sitting at long lunchroom tables in business schools, cosmetology schools, junior colleges, community colleges.&quot;]]>
  </description>
  <published>1996</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Wed Jun 10 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri May 08 01:22:23 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Jun 10 15:53:43 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I just bough this book randomly today and am in love with it.<br/>Ok I finished it and didn't update this-I read it all in two days.<br/>Beautiful, awkward, inviting, strange. Greatness? I think so. I recommend it to people curious about innovation. If you've ever thought of how not to write stori...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/55347571">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/55347571]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/55347571]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>77968854</id>
    <user>
    <id>1968399</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Jon]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Brooklyn, NY]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1968399-jon-wagner]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-M-111x148.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-M-50x66.jpg]]></small_image_url>
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    <book>
  <id type="integer">384077</id>
  <isbn>097094280X</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780970942807</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">44</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Stories in the Worst Way]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174345913m/384077.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174345913s/384077.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/384077.Stories_in_the_Worst_Way</link>
  <average_rating>4.30</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>246</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Not bad stories, whatever the title.  Rather, Gary Lutz's debut collection shimmers with a spare, elegant prose and a witty sensibility rare for such a young writer.  Each story flashes by so quickly it's difficult to get your bearings before its gone and the next is thrust upon you.  Even the sentences barely pause for breath: &quot;I was a flask shaped man in a velor shirt sitting at long lunchroom tables in business schools, cosmetology schools, junior colleges, community colleges.&quot;]]>
  </description>
  <published>1996</published>
</book>

    <rating>0</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Nov 16 10:08:17 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Nov 16 10:09:02 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Great book, like Ben Marcus, a sentence writer.  Great tone and atmosphere.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77968854]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77968854]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>956464</id>
    <user>
    <id>8503</id>
    <name><![CDATA[k]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Portland, OR]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/8503-k]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1172283560p3/8503.jpg]]></image_url>
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    <book>
  <id type="integer">384077</id>
  <isbn>097094280X</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780970942807</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">44</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Stories in the Worst Way]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174345913m/384077.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174345913s/384077.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/384077.Stories_in_the_Worst_Way</link>
  <average_rating>4.30</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>246</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Not bad stories, whatever the title.  Rather, Gary Lutz's debut collection shimmers with a spare, elegant prose and a witty sensibility rare for such a young writer.  Each story flashes by so quickly it's difficult to get your bearings before its gone and the next is thrust upon you.  Even the sentences barely pause for breath: &quot;I was a flask shaped man in a velor shirt sitting at long lunchroom tables in business schools, cosmetology schools, junior colleges, community colleges.&quot;]]>
  </description>
  <published>1996</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[i don't know, you might not like it]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Wed Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Apr 30 16:47:51 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Apr 30 16:55:38 -0700 2007</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Sometimes I liked his writing a lot. Sometimes it was annoying or unsatisfying. Either way, it was pretty weird. Here's an excerpt!<br/>&quot;In the parking lot, I met a man carrying a basketful of laundry. He explained that he had just washed his clothes but there was something unutterably troubli...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/956464">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/956464]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/956464]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>57049463</id>
    <user>
    <id>739402</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Tara]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Minneapolis, MN]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/739402-tara]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1258674842p3/739402.jpg]]></image_url>
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    <book>
  <id type="integer">384077</id>
  <isbn>097094280X</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780970942807</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">44</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Stories in the Worst Way]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174345913m/384077.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174345913s/384077.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/384077.Stories_in_the_Worst_Way</link>
  <average_rating>4.30</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>246</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Not bad stories, whatever the title.  Rather, Gary Lutz's debut collection shimmers with a spare, elegant prose and a witty sensibility rare for such a young writer.  Each story flashes by so quickly it's difficult to get your bearings before its gone and the next is thrust upon you.  Even the sentences barely pause for breath: &quot;I was a flask shaped man in a velor shirt sitting at long lunchroom tables in business schools, cosmetology schools, junior colleges, community colleges.&quot;]]>
  </description>
  <published>1996</published>
</book>

    <rating>0</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
            <shelf name="to-read" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Sat May 23 07:26:16 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat May 23 07:26:31 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Been meaning to read this for about a year now...catch up!]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/57049463]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/57049463]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>50288767</id>
    <user>
    <id>131364</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Andrew]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Brooklyn, NY]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/131364-andrew]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1245155775p3/131364.jpg]]></image_url>
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    <book>
  <id type="integer">384077</id>
  <isbn>097094280X</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780970942807</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">44</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Stories in the Worst Way]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174345913m/384077.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174345913s/384077.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/384077.Stories_in_the_Worst_Way</link>
  <average_rating>4.30</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>246</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Not bad stories, whatever the title.  Rather, Gary Lutz's debut collection shimmers with a spare, elegant prose and a witty sensibility rare for such a young writer.  Each story flashes by so quickly it's difficult to get your bearings before its gone and the next is thrust upon you.  Even the sentences barely pause for breath: &quot;I was a flask shaped man in a velor shirt sitting at long lunchroom tables in business schools, cosmetology schools, junior colleges, community colleges.&quot;]]>
  </description>
  <published>1996</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Mar 24 09:28:01 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Mar 24 09:28:12 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[The master.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/50288767]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/50288767]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>9979227</id>
    <user>
    <id>395634</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Brent]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Providence, RI]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/395634-brent-legault]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1194719779p3/395634.jpg]]></image_url>
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    <book>
  <id type="integer">384077</id>
  <isbn>097094280X</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780970942807</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">44</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Stories in the Worst Way]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174345913m/384077.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174345913s/384077.jpg</small_image_url>
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  <average_rating>4.30</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>246</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Not bad stories, whatever the title.  Rather, Gary Lutz's debut collection shimmers with a spare, elegant prose and a witty sensibility rare for such a young writer.  Each story flashes by so quickly it's difficult to get your bearings before its gone and the next is thrust upon you.  Even the sentences barely pause for breath: &quot;I was a flask shaped man in a velor shirt sitting at long lunchroom tables in business schools, cosmetology schools, junior colleges, community colleges.&quot;]]>
  </description>
  <published>1996</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[sentence fanciers, word wonderers]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Dec 05 09:00:34 -0800 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Dec 05 09:24:54 -0800 2007</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[The best thing in contemporary fiction, although it is at lest ten years old by now. No one knows the ways of making English syntax into what it's never been like this writer. Nothing else like him in literature, except for the people who try to write like him. And not even those. I don't know how t...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/9979227">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/9979227]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/9979227]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>14756624</id>
    <user>
    <id>848036</id>
    <name><![CDATA[zack]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[San Jose, CA]]></location>
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  <id type="integer">384077</id>
  <isbn>097094280X</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780970942807</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">44</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Stories in the Worst Way]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174345913m/384077.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174345913s/384077.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/384077.Stories_in_the_Worst_Way</link>
  <average_rating>4.30</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>246</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Not bad stories, whatever the title.  Rather, Gary Lutz's debut collection shimmers with a spare, elegant prose and a witty sensibility rare for such a young writer.  Each story flashes by so quickly it's difficult to get your bearings before its gone and the next is thrust upon you.  Even the sentences barely pause for breath: &quot;I was a flask shaped man in a velor shirt sitting at long lunchroom tables in business schools, cosmetology schools, junior colleges, community colleges.&quot;]]>
  </description>
  <published>1996</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Tue Mar 18 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Feb 06 14:20:44 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Feb 06 14:20:44 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Lutz writes stories about nameless characters usually devoid of   definable sexuality or life goals. Relationships, careers, and world views told through tight descriptions of every day minutiae. Obviously the real thrill is the language, which (at my level at least) oscillates between thrillingly n...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/14756624">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/14756624]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/14756624]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>38696173</id>
    <user>
    <id>278711</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Cam]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Sacramento, CA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/278711-cam]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1187121200p3/278711.jpg]]></image_url>
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  <id type="integer">384077</id>
  <isbn>097094280X</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780970942807</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">44</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Stories in the Worst Way]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174345913m/384077.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174345913s/384077.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/384077.Stories_in_the_Worst_Way</link>
  <average_rating>4.30</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>246</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Not bad stories, whatever the title.  Rather, Gary Lutz's debut collection shimmers with a spare, elegant prose and a witty sensibility rare for such a young writer.  Each story flashes by so quickly it's difficult to get your bearings before its gone and the next is thrust upon you.  Even the sentences barely pause for breath: &quot;I was a flask shaped man in a velor shirt sitting at long lunchroom tables in business schools, cosmetology schools, junior colleges, community colleges.&quot;]]>
  </description>
  <published>1996</published>
</book>

    <rating>2</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Tue Dec 09 00:00:00 -0800 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Nov 26 10:08:41 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Dec 09 13:21:19 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[These stories are neither shimmery nor elegant. ]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/38696173]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/38696173]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>4868728</id>
    <user>
    <id>142320</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Kevin]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Portland, OR]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/142320-kevin]]></link>
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  <isbn>097094280X</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780970942807</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">44</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Stories in the Worst Way]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174345913m/384077.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174345913s/384077.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/384077.Stories_in_the_Worst_Way</link>
  <average_rating>4.30</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>246</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Not bad stories, whatever the title.  Rather, Gary Lutz's debut collection shimmers with a spare, elegant prose and a witty sensibility rare for such a young writer.  Each story flashes by so quickly it's difficult to get your bearings before its gone and the next is thrust upon you.  Even the sentences barely pause for breath: &quot;I was a flask shaped man in a velor shirt sitting at long lunchroom tables in business schools, cosmetology schools, junior colleges, community colleges.&quot;]]>
  </description>
  <published>1996</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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        <shelf name="weird-lit" />
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Aug 21 08:58:15 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Dec 17 06:15:26 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[My favorite book ever. Really. No one writes like Lutz. He is the master of the loaded sentence and this book is full of them. Lingering, strange, and sometimes piss-your-pants funny. I kept this book a secret for a long time because I didn't want others to know. When I finally let go of that notion...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4868728">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4868728]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4868728]]></link>
</review>
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