When did David Sedaris release a collection of short stories? His essay collections are great, but this list isn't about essays, it's about short fiction.

@Meta or Oblivious, I never heard the term "unfilmable" applied to the book UNTIL they started making the movie, and in the months running up to the release, it's appearing in more and more discussions of the book and pieces that look ahead at the movie. Which is why I'm wondering if people using the term really even…

I remember a few details from that story, but not very much. What about it grabbed you?

Regarding THE ROAD
Yes, THE ROAD is a good book. Yes, THE ROAD is touching. Yes, McCarthy's flashy minimalism, while calling attention to itself, is interesting and often effective. I liked the book. I'd go as far as to say I liked it a lot. But I think it's getting a reputation that doesn't quite line up with…

Would you mind sharing why? I read it, and it didn't grab me, but I know that it's gained a lot of respect from a lot of people. If I give it another shot, what should I look for?

Neuroticmonkey: Yes. Letham's short story collections are stellar, and even if they aren't top-ten-of-the-decade material, they should definitely be required reading, at least for those of us who populate message boards like this one.

Thanks for this. I've been wanting to start exploring contemporary poetry, but I wasn't that sure where to start. In terms of stuff from this decade, I've really only read Maggie Nelson's JANE: A MURDER. I think it's worth picking up, but then, I don't have a very wide sample to judge from.

He's accessibly insightful when discussing a wide range of topics. If you ever get a chance to hear him wax philosophic about the spiritual implications of capitalism, he distills the modern western mindset very, very well.

Honestly, I like Lahiri more in theory and hindsight than in practice. A couple years after reading INTERPRETER, I can still remember and appreciate the tone, the voice, and some really well-selected details (a bathtub full of dirty dishes, anyone?), but I just felt it was good-but-not-outstanding when I was reading…

I've learned not to hold out hope for Gary Lutz to be on lists like this, but, yeah, she seemed like a no-brainer, right?

I read the first half of it or so, then put it down. I can see how you could consider it affecting, but compared to plenty of other collections from the past few years it just wasn't very powerful or original.

Saunders and Hempel
Eminently glad to see something by Saunders on here, but really disappointed that THE DOG OF THE MARRIAGE or THE COLLECTED STORIES by Amy Hempel was left out.

Also, Tudyk didn't seem to place much value on human individuality or intelligence. She was, as far as he was concerned, just another one of a whole bunch of filthy animals penned up for the slaughter.

Sajanas, I'm so relieved that I'm not the only one to make that connection.

Do you mean of the things we eat?

Also on that bandwagon: Historians.

It wasn't just Christians who hated The DaVinci Code, 1234—they were joined in that by Literate People, though for starkly different reasons.

Bad Answer Guy,

@anywhere…

If I may add my voice to the chorus, the strawberry scene is really the first thing that comes to mind whenever I think of the movie, and one of the first things that comes to mind when I think about Bergman overall. The weight of everything else hangs on how you react to that moment, in a way.