All titles were published in 2004.

MN—Main Library
DR—Dobson Library
RM—Red Mountain Library

Baca, Jimmy. The Importance of a Piece of Paper. Fiction. MN, RM
In a collection of short stories, a pair of siblings confront a betraying brother and place their community in jeopardy, a long-suffering mother's efforts to reunite her offspring has tragic consequences, and a young orphan cares for a boy whose circumstances are worse than his own.

Barnes, Julian. The Lemon Table. Fiction. MN, RM
A collection of tales featuring aging characters facing the ends of their lives includes "The Silence," in which a famous composer longs for companionship and resists drinking; "Knowing French," in which an octogenarian begins corresponding with an author; and "Appetite," in which a woman reads elaborate recipes to a sick husband.

Barth, John. The Book of Ten Nights and a Night. Fiction. MN, RM
A collection of stories explores a wide variety of narrative approaches, including stories within stories, while also examining the playful power of language in everyday life.

Bezmozgis, David. Natasha and Other Stories. Fiction. MN
A debut collection of short stories renders the life of a Russian-Jewish family living in Toronto in vivid detail, covering twenty-three years in the life of Mark, from arguments with neighbors and humiliating social encounters, to his first sexual encounter with a cousin and the death of his grandfather.

Bradbury, Ray. The Cat’s Pajamas. Fiction. MN, RM
A collection of new short stories by the award-winning science-fiction writer of One More for the Road includes tales of twentieth-century rural life, Halloween terrors, and flights of fancy on Martian shores.

Butler, Robert Olen. Had a Good Time. Fiction. MN, RM
A collection of short fiction inspired by postcards from a bygone era and their messages captures an America of another age in fifteen pieces that include "Carl and I," about a young wife responding to her husband who is dying of TB; "The Ironworkers' Hayride," in which a young man dates a girl with a wooden leg; and "The One in White."

Byatt, A.S. Little Black Book of Stories. Fiction. MN
Touching on more than a little bit of darkness. Booker Prize–winning author Byatt masterfully fuses fantasy with realism in several of these stories, packing a punch with her sometimes witty, sometimes horrifying examinations of faith, art and memory.

Danticat, Edwidge. The Dew Breaker. Fiction. MN, DR, RM
A scarred Brooklyn resident remembers his past life as a Haitian torturer in the 1960s, a period during which he waged personal and political battles before moving to New York, where his past continued to haunt him.

Death Dines In. Mystery Death. MN, RM
An assortment of culinary mystery tales features such works as "License to Koi" by Carole Nelson Douglas, Parnell Hall's "Lethal Luncheon," Lyn Hamilton's "Start Terror at Tea-Time," and other stories by notable mystery writers.

Doctorow, E.L. Sweet Land Stories. Fiction. MN, RM, DR
A compelling assortment of short fiction by the award-winning author of Ragtime ranges across America, from Alaska to the District of Columbia, as its explores the complexities of modern life in such stories as "Jolene: A Life," "A House on the Plains," "Baby Wilson," and "Walter John Harmon."

Engel, Mary. Strangers and Sojourners: Stories from the Lowcountry. Fiction. MN, DR, RM
In a small Southern town, a young Jewish doctor seeks to both do his job, and fit in to an alien culture, in this uniquely told story of village life that demonstrates great compassion for the loners, outcasts, and oddballs one finds in any small town.

Gao, Xingjian. Buying a Fishing Rod for my Grandfather. Fiction. MN, RM
A collection of stories by the Nobel Prize-winning author of One Man's Bible follows the themes of the fragility of love and life and the haunting power of memory and features in the title story a man whose attempts to relieve homesickness result in his becoming overwhelmed by childhood memories.

Lansdale, Joe. Bumper Crop. Fiction. MN, RM
This collection of 26 stories, containing some of Joe R. Lansdale's favorite and most violent dark horror tales, are individually introduced by the author, who explains the humorous, weird, and sometimes sad genesis for each.

Like a Charm: A Novel in Voices. Mystery Like. MN, DR, RM
One bracelet with sixteen charms brings together some of the most prestigious crime writers working today as they each contribute to this unique collection of murder, betrayal, and intrigue stories.

A Moment on the Edge: 100 Years of Crime Stories by Women. Mystery Moment. MN, DR, RM
A collection of twenty-six crime stories, written by top women authors during the past century, includes pieces by Dorothy L. Sayers, Sara Paretsky, Shirley Jackson, Ngaio Marsh, Ruth Rendell, J.A. Jance, and other notables.

Oates, Joyce Carol. I Am No One You Know. Fiction. MN
A collection of nineteen short works includes "Fire," in which a troubled wife has an affair; "Curly Red," in which a girl reveals a family secret; and "Three Girls," in which two students protect Marilyn Monroe.

Peterson, Paula. Women in the Grove. Fiction. MN
Presents a portrait of life with AIDS in a collection of stories about women who discover they are HIV-positive.

Rahman, Imad. I Dream of Microwaves. Fiction. MN, DR, RM
A Pakistani-American actor quits his job playing dark-skinned, vaguely ethnic criminals on America's Most Wanted and hits the road in a wild search for meaning in America, in a debut collection of short fiction that chronicles his adventures across America in search of love, work, and identity.

Seiffert, Rachel. Field Study. Fiction. MN, RM
In a collection of short works that map the terrain of human behavior in a variety of settings, the author follows the stories of parents who underestimate the extent of their children's awareness, a World War II soldier's life-saving desertion, and a man's realization that he will die alone.

Silber, Joan. Ideas of Heaven: a Ring of Stories. Fiction. MN, RM
An anthology of short fiction explores the issue of human longings and how sex and religion have become parallel forms of comfort and dedication, linking each story with the following by a minor element in one tale that becomes a major theme of the next.

Theroux, Paul. The Stranger at the Palazzo d’Oro and Other Stories. Fiction, MN, RM
Stories deal with lust, sensuality, and rites of passage as a sixty-year-old man recalls a long ago affair with a countess, a young boy walks in on a woman and her lover, and a retired lawyer in Hawaii fantasizes about his housekeepers.

Tinti, Hannah. Animal Crackers. Fiction, MN
In an anthology of eleven offbeat stories, different animals become the test of the deepest human fears, in such works as "Miss Waldron's Red Colobus," "Slim's Last Ride," and the title story, in which an elephant keeper courts danger from his charge.

Unger, Douglas. Looking for War. Fiction. MN
This collection of war stories is capped by the novella "Looking for War," where a would-be war correspondent, whose older brother is a shell-shocked Vietnam vet, stumbles upon his own war in a grisly five-minute action in the jungles of Paraguay.

Weinreb, Michael. Girl Boy Etc. Fiction. MN, DR, RM
Providing women with a male perspective on life, romance, and relationships, a collection of stories follows men who make the wrong choices in love for all the right reasons, time and time again.

KG, 10/04; Holdings checked 7/06 KRL