Miranda July

"Here is Cheryl, a tightly-wound, vulnerable woman who lives alone, with a perpetual lump in her throat. She is haunted by a baby boy she met when she was six, who sometimes recurs as other people's babies. Cheryl is also obsessed with Phillip, a philandering board member at the women's self-defense nonprofit where she works. She believes they've been making love for many lifetimes, though they have yet to consummate in this one. When Cheryl's bosses...

Two con artists have spent 26 years training their only daughter to swindle, scam, and steal at every turn. During a desperate and hastily conceived heist, they charm a stranger into joining them, only to have their entire world turned upside down.

A lonely shoe salesman and an eccentric performance artist struggle to connect in this unique take on contemporary life.

The hurt locker: US Army Staff Sergeant Will James, Sergeant J.T. Sanborn and Specialist Owen Eldridge comprise the Bravo Company's bomb disposal unit stationed in Baghdad. With only thirty-nine days left on their current deployment, members of Bravo Company will have to face their own internal issues as they work, always aware that anyone they encounter may be bombers themselves. Lost in translation: A middle-aged actor and the wife of a workaholic...

From silly chuckles to rueful ironic glee to deep cosmic laughter, this new volume of humorous tales samples the best of recent seasons of the popular public radio series Selected Shorts.

T. Coraghessan Boyle's's

The Lie

performed by Stephen Colbert

Jonathan Lethem'ss

The Spray

performed by Robert Sean Leonard

Miranda July's

The Swim Team

performed by Parker Posey

Saki'

The

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