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Copy/paste the text below into your blog. <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19631.Birds_of_America_Stories?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=blog_review" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="Birds of America: Stories" border="0" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/photo.goodreads.com/books/1167271890m/19631.gif" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19631.Birds_of_America_Stories?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">Birds of America: Stories</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/11746.Lorrie_Moore">Lorrie Moore</a><br/><br/> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6490942?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review"><h3>My review</h3></a> rating: 5 of 5 stars<br/>Maybe the most perfect short story collection I've read (that wasn't a "collected works" or "best of"). I understand the criticisms of "same-y" characters and too-witty dialogue, but frankly I don't care. Lorrie Moore can wrap me around her little finger any time. Kakutani's back blurb calls the book: "sad, funny, lyrical, and prickly" and that's probably the best way to describe her. She is awash in those kinds of contradictions, but it's what makes her stories a joy to read. You always end up where you least expected to go but somehow in her absurd little world, it makes sense. There were times I laughed aloud: "He doesn't believe in shouting 'Fire' in a crowded movie theater, but he does believe in shouting 'Fie!' and has done it twice himself - both times at Forrest Gump" (132) and there were times I wept, and there were times her prose got something so right that I just sat there dumbfounded: "She knew she was saying good-bye to something important, which was not that bad, in a way, because it meant that at least you had said hello to it to begin with" (80). I'm sure I'll start imitating her now. Sigh. <br/>I have a habit of highlighting my favorite stories in the contents as I go along. They were: "Which is More Than I Can Say About Some People", "Dance in America", "Charades", "What You Want to Do Fine", "People Like That Are the Only People Here" (probably the very best, if you only read one, read this), and "Terrific Mother". All the stories are well done and worth reading, though. <br/>And psst, Ms. Moore, it's been almost ten years since this book came out. I demand more! (he he, sorry, had to) <br/><br/><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/334035?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">View all my reviews.</a>