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<book id="739509">
  <title><![CDATA[The Best American Essays 2007]]></title>
  <isbn><![CDATA[0618709274]]></isbn>
  <isbn13><![CDATA[9780618709274]]></isbn13>
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  <best_book_id type="integer">739509</best_book_id>
  <books_count type="integer">2</books_count>
  <default_description>&quot;The Best American Essays 2007&quot; offers up the best pieces of the year selected and introduced by David Foster Wallace.</default_description>
  <id type="integer">725681</id>
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  <original_publication_day type="integer">10</original_publication_day>
  <original_publication_month type="integer">10</original_publication_month>
  <original_publication_year type="integer">2007</original_publication_year>
  <original_title>The Best American Essays 2007</original_title>
  <rating_dist>total:401|5:66|4:193|3:117|2:22|1:3|</rating_dist>
  <ratings_count type="integer">401</ratings_count>
  <ratings_sum type="integer">1500</ratings_sum>
  <reviews_count type="integer">681</reviews_count>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">96</text_reviews_count>
</work>

  <average_rating><![CDATA[3.74]]></average_rating>
  <ratings_count><![CDATA[398]]></ratings_count>
  <text_reviews_count><![CDATA[95]]></text_reviews_count>
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/739509.The_Best_American_Essays_2007]]></url>
  <authors>
        <author id="21886">
      <name><![CDATA[Robert Atwan]]></name>
      <role><![CDATA[Editor]]></role>
      <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21886.Robert_Atwan]]></url>
      <average_rating><![CDATA[3.82]]></average_rating>
      <ratings_count><![CDATA[1359]]></ratings_count>
      <text_reviews_count><![CDATA[250]]></text_reviews_count>
    </author>
        <author id="4339">
      <name><![CDATA[David Foster Wallace]]></name>
      <role><![CDATA[Editor]]></role>
      <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4339.David_Foster_Wallace]]></url>
      <average_rating><![CDATA[4.01]]></average_rating>
      <ratings_count><![CDATA[21571]]></ratings_count>
      <text_reviews_count><![CDATA[3550]]></text_reviews_count>
    </author>
      </authors>
    <reviews start="1" end="20" total="681">
    <review id="12797668">
    <user id="126374">
    <name><![CDATA[Joshua]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Elmhurst, NY]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/126374-joshua]]></url>
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      <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>2</votes>
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        <shelf name="anthologies" />
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[Anyone wants to understand the current world]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007</read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Jan 17 18:01:23 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Jan 17 18:01:23 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I was reticent to pick up this anthology. While I generally buy whatever comes out in the <strong> The Best American Series </strong> each year, this years editor of the American Essays, David Wallace Foster, is a writer I don't particularly care for. Truthfully, I think his writing is on a different level than most...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/12797668">more...</a>]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/12797668]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="12917806">
    <user id="246177">
    <name><![CDATA[Rob]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Marblehead, MA]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/246177-rob]]></url>
  </user>
      <rating>2</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Jan 19 14:10:13 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Feb 06 13:15:31 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[holy disappointment.  i love DFW, so i picked this up.  i read his introduction and 9 of the 22 &quot;essays&quot;.  his intro was vintage DFW.  the best thing in the book.  great.  hilarious, insightful, perceptive, informative.  so imagine how excited i was to read 22 essays that this master essay...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/12917806">more...</a>]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/12917806]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="12474216">
    <user id="150284">
    <name><![CDATA[Kate]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Saint Paul, MN]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/150284-kate]]></url>
  </user>
      <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
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  <shelves>
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[Ye civic-minded citizens of the U.S.A.]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Fri Apr 25 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Jan 14 08:03:02 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat May 03 08:26:50 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I'm about halfway through David Foster Wallace's 2007 essay selections. Sometimes I feel as if I'm reading the Sunday paper--opinion pieces about torture and war, pedophilia and dog hypnosis. My mind reels and it's a slow journey. An afternoon of WWII bombings sent me on a week-long hiatus, for exam...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/12474216">more...</a>]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/12474216]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="37881028">
    <user id="823707">
    <name><![CDATA[Joseph]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Berwyn, IL]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/823707-joseph]]></url>
  </user>
      <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Thu Nov 20 00:00:00 -0800 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Nov 16 13:19:23 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Nov 21 08:06:53 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count>1</read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Best of the <u>Best</u><br/><br/>David Foster Wallace's introduction is even more poignant and reflective about our culture after his passing earlier this year.<br/><br/>Danner's essay on the Iraq war is a complex, nuanced, insightful look at the reasons for going to war and the reasons the public was ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/37881028">more...</a>]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/37881028]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="53382639">
    <user id="1856047">
    <name><![CDATA[Jonna]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Cedar Rapids, IA]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1856047-jonna]]></url>
  </user>
      <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Apr 20 14:28:53 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Apr 20 14:31:34 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Of course, the intro essay was fantastic and, in spite of his self-deprecating comments to the contrary, one of the best parts of the book.  It makes me even madder at DFW for killing himself.  Such a loss to all of us.  He talks about how the best essays help us make sense of the glut of informatio...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/53382639">more...</a>]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/53382639]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="39379900">
    <user id="91373">
    <name><![CDATA[Chris]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Crofton, MD]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/91373-chris]]></url>
  </user>
      <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <sell_flag>false</sell_flag>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Fri Jan 02 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Dec 05 11:39:44 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Jan 04 19:22:21 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I thought the first half of the book (the 11 essays ending with Louis Menand's) was mediocre and probably worthy of 2 stars.  I thought the second half of the book (the 11 essays beginning with Daniel Orozco's) was excellent and probably worthy of 4 stars.  So, as a result, this book gets 3 stars fr...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/39379900">more...</a>]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/39379900]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="44831354">
    <user id="82964">
    <name><![CDATA[Adria]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/82964-adria-tingey]]></url>
  </user>
      <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <sell_flag>false</sell_flag>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Jan 30 00:14:36 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Jan 30 00:17:33 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Many did not interest me (I read almost all of them, even those) but the best were, &quot;What the dog saw,&quot; &quot;What should a millionaire give, and what should you?&quot; &quot;Rules of Engagement,&quot; and &quot;Afternoon of the sex children,&quot; (which I thought of today when I saw a po...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/44831354">more...</a>]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/44831354]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="34091735">
    <user id="208541">
    <name><![CDATA[Mary Jo]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[San Francisco, CA]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/208541-mary-jo]]></url>
  </user>
      <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <sell_flag>false</sell_flag>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Mon Nov 03 16:29:03 -0800 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Sep 28 21:01:41 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Nov 03 16:29:03 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[i did not initially like the foreword by David Foster Wallace, it reminded me a little of Dave Eggers at his most egotistical, but i might go back and try to read it all the way through seeing that David Foster Wallace so recently passed.  I have skipped some of the essays I am not into - you know t...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/34091735">more...</a>]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/34091735]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="32793871">
    <user id="766765">
    <name><![CDATA[Chris]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Los Angeles, CA]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/766765-chris]]></url>
  </user>
      <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <sell_flag>false</sell_flag>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sun Nov 09 00:00:00 -0800 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Sep 13 15:13:14 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Jun 08 09:26:32 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[In lieu of a traditional composition reader, I decided to trust my students to know what to take from these essays to improve their academic writing and what to leave. I started reading the collection in preparation for the class on September 3. On September 12, when I was about halfway through gues...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/32793871">more...</a>]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/32793871]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="25804607">
    <user id="1254063">
    <name><![CDATA[Nick]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Portland, OR]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1254063-nick-fagerlund]]></url>
  </user>
      <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <sell_flag>false</sell_flag>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[essay eaters]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Tue Jun 10 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Jun 28 23:45:00 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Jun 28 23:46:40 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Every once in a while, I get a powerful urge to read a _whole bunch_ of really good essays. The form fascinates me, and I love that the blogging revolution has kicked off a new golden age for it. But the thing about blogs, even the best ones, is that they're more or less uncurated, and the best trea...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/25804607">more...</a>]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/25804607]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="17238505">
    <user id="713607">
    <name><![CDATA[Tiffoknee the 3rd]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/713607-tiffoknee-the-3rd-conner]]></url>
  </user>
      <rating>0</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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        <shelf name="to-read" />
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[Essay lovers . . . where you at?]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Mar 07 09:56:51 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Feb 19 11:15:02 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I'm addicted to this series.  While the writing is not always nearly as ambitious as I would like it to be, there is usually an essay or two which stops me dead in my tracks and leaves me wanting.  I find it's a nice way to discovery new, emerging essayists, and go out and read more of their work. ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/17238505">more...</a>]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/17238505]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="13245380">
    <user id="166376">
    <name><![CDATA[David]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[San Francisco, CA]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/166376-david]]></url>
  </user>
      <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <sell_flag>false</sell_flag>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sat Jan 26 00:00:00 -0800 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Jan 23 04:13:27 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Jan 29 02:47:00 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[A typical anthology in this series has about two dozen essays and merits a 3-star rating. This book is no exception. With essays by Ian Buruma, Malcolm Gladwell, Cynthia Ozick, Marilynne Robinson, Richard Rodriguez, Elaine Scarry, Louis Menand, John Lahr, Peter Singer, Edward O. Wilson, and an intro...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/13245380">more...</a>]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/13245380]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="12917958">
    <user id="241983">
    <name><![CDATA[Elizabeth]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[San Francisco, CA]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/241983-elizabeth]]></url>
  </user>
      <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <sell_flag>false</sell_flag>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="2008" />
        <shelf name="anthologies" />
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sat Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Jan 19 14:12:28 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Mar 20 11:16:44 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I'm loving this so far...some years of these collections are stronger than others, depending on the editor, their approach and their agendas. David Foster Wallace's introduction is a pleasure to read in itself, and one of the best, if not the best, intros to this series I have read. <br/><br/>Some...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/12917958">more...</a>]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/12917958]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="12215096">
    <user id="230898">
    <name><![CDATA[Frank]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Saint Louis, MO]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/230898-frank]]></url>
  </user>
      <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sun Jan 13 13:28:25 -0800 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Jan 10 20:57:56 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Jan 13 13:27:48 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[In his editor's introduction, David Foster Wallace notes that most people he knows treat these anthologies like Whitman Samplers. It's an apt comparison, and this volume offers a particularly tasty and substantive collection of treats. <br/><br/>Wallace believes that the U.S. is in a state of emer...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/12215096">more...</a>]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/12215096]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="66861189">
    <user id="2613900">
    <name><![CDATA[Jeannie]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Seattle, WA]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2613900-jeannie-bazelon]]></url>
  </user>
      <rating>2</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Aug 10 12:06:08 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Aug 10 12:08:08 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I like David Foster Wallace, and this collection would be better if he had written the essays. The ones he picked, though, were often full of abstract thought, which is something his often are, but without the vigorous language and cramming-full-with-life quality that his often are. The result is a ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/66861189">more...</a>]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/66861189]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="62258870">
    <user id="31879">
    <name><![CDATA[Koz]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Yonkers, NY]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31879-koz]]></url>
  </user>
      <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Wed Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Jul 05 17:08:48 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Jul 21 20:46:49 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Lots of good stuff in here, but my favorites: &quot;Werner&quot; (Jo Ann Beard), &quot;Iraq: The War of the Imagination&quot; (Mark Danner), &quot;What the Dog Saw&quot; (Malcolm Gladwell), &quot;Onward Christian Liberals&quot; (Marilynne Robinson), &quot;Disappointment&quot; (Richard Rodriguez), &quot;...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/62258870">more...</a>]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/62258870]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="51858532">
    <user id="20506">
    <name><![CDATA[Jim]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Lombard, IL]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/20506-jim]]></url>
  </user>
      <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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  <read_at>Tue Feb 17 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Apr 07 15:54:32 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Apr 07 15:56:46 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[A bit too Iraq-War centric for me, but there are other essays in the collection well worth the read, especially the opening selection, which is one of the best descriptions of a tragedy that I have ever read.  Wallace's intro is intriguing, though I have to admit that I probably would never have pic...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/51858532">more...</a>]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/51858532]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="46900470">
    <user id="1336049">
    <name><![CDATA[Craig]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1336049-craig]]></url>
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      <rating>4</rating>
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  <read_at>Thu Mar 12 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Feb 19 16:17:29 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Mar 12 16:54:42 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I did not enjoy all of the essays in this collection, but did find several that moved me, brought me a little further along the path of experience and understanding.  Werner, a revealing scene of desperation and confusion resulting in a better than expected outcome.  DFW's intro is classic and is on...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/46900470">more...</a>]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/46900470]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="11305077">
    <user id="217774">
    <name><![CDATA[Christy]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Cleveland, OH]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/217774-christy]]></url>
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      <rating>3</rating>
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  <read_at>Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Dec 30 18:16:42 -0800 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Feb 24 09:21:25 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I picked this up because I [heart] David Foster Wallace.  However, I think that after attempting to read both the 2006 and 2007 editions of this series, I must conclude the the series editor is to blame for the overall bland feeling of this collection.  I read about three quarters of the essays, and...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/11305077">more...</a>]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/11305077]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="15971599">
    <user id="928651">
    <name><![CDATA[Michele]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/928651-michele-pollock]]></url>
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      <rating>4</rating>
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  <read_at>Fri Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Feb 21 03:34:35 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Feb 21 03:41:07 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[These &quot;Best American&quot; books are usually good reads, and this one is no exception.  A broad range of essays this year, some literary, some political, some personal.<br/><br/>As always, the selection is slanted toward the bias of this year's editor, David Foster Wallace.  But in his (reall...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/15971599">more...</a>]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/15971599]]></url>
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