From the new girl

As you may have noticed, this is a really good time for short stories. Jhumpa Lahiri just shot to the top of the NY Times' Bestseller List with her latest collection, Unaccustomed Earth. Michael Chabon serialized his last book, Gentlemen of the Road. People like to read in little bites! How lovely. I feel so lucky to join Avery at this moment in time, when stories seem exciting all over again. As a recent (very recent-- I deposited my thesis this morning) MFA graduate, I'm used to being surrounded by people who love short fiction, but it feels like the woozy ether is spreading. Go team go.

Being the new girl in town, I feel like I should identify myself. Not by attaching embarrassing personal details or photos-- after all, why cost you the fun of a Google search-- but by introducing some of my literary predilections. Luckily, I can sum up my favorite stories in two words: funny/sad. I love the funny/sad. Who fits this description? Lorrie Moore is a master of it. Miranda July is just getting warmed up. Tom Perrotta proves that boys can do it too. Funny/sad stories make you laugh out loud, often at inappropriate times, like when you're riding the public bus, or eating a taco. Then they make out want to call your mother, or your friend, just to make sure they haven't been abducted by aliens or hit by a buggy or something. "In the Cemetery Where Al Jolson is Buried" is funny/sad. You get the picture.

That said, I also like plain funny and plain sad. It was recently my birthday, and as usual, almost all of my presents (literally all except one, which was a vase in the shape of a bird) came in a very familiar rectangular shape. Now that I'm done with school, I am fully ready to embrace my self-imposed summer reading list. Right now I'm reading Lauren Groff's novel, The Monsters of Templeton, and Tobias Wolff's new story collection is on deck. Anyone else have a particularly good summer reading list to share? I'm very open to suggestion.

Anyway, dear readers, it's a pleasure to address you on this snazzy internet device, and am looking forward to hearing more from the Avery universe. Do be in touch. ---Emma