Michael Cart

The story from which the title of this collection comes is by David Levithan. It took me apart. Entirely. I think Levithan writes from the same place L'Engle wrote from- that calm and sure center where love lives, that place of hope untainted by delusion. He's rapidly becoming one of my favorites. I suspect this particular piece resonated so strongly with me because I can remember so clearly the time when all the beautiful boys were dying and we were powerless and afraid and fairly certain show more we were all in the path of that particular tornado. The sense of having dodged that bullet never leaves me, nor the sense of loss- and to hear those voices again, or Levithan's imagining of what those voices would say, was- oh, hell, I'm crying again just typing this. So, yeah. Best story of the collection, by a mile.

There were some other stand-out stories from some of the usual suspects as well as some unusual suspects (like Gregory Maguire, who turned in a very strong piece about what we leave behind). Margo Lanagan, whose [b:Tender Morsels|2662169|Tender Morsels|Margo Lanagan|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1235445952s/2662169.jpg|2687395] was exquisite, gives us a haunting re-imagining of the old poem The Highwayman. Julie Ann Peters takes us inside the heads of two young women having their first sexual experience- told in dual columns with just a little overlap, it was a very effective format.

Four stars because Levithan's story is so strong. Without that, I think it would be a solid three stars for me. show less

I've had this book on my shelves for years, saving it up for some reason. Turns out I should have just read it years ago so that it could go back out the door again. Very uneven anthology of short stories, each having some connection to libraries, however vague that may be. There are some excellent pieces in here, but as a volume it just doesn't hang together well. Go read M.R. James and Saki short stories, you'll have more fun.

IN THE STACKS was a great buy for a buck, full of fascinating short stories about librarians, libraries, or both. Hard to pick a favorite, but I especially loved the stories from Alice Munro, Francine Prose, John Cheever, Lorrie Moore, Joanne Greenberg, Gina Berriault, Lisa Koger, Sue Kaufman, and, and … ah, hell, I liked almost all of them. There's even a story by Walter Brooks about Wilbur and Mister Ed. Yeah that TV horse and his guy, that's the one. There were only a few, the older show more mystery-type chestnuts that didn't appeal. Overall though, a really charming and absorbing collection of very good stories. Thanks to the editor, former Beverly Hills librarian, Michael Cart, for putting them all together here. Highly recommended.

- Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER show less

This short story anthology had a profound impact on me when I first read it as a young teenager. This book let me know there were so many ways to...be, and it was so important. Decades later, I wanted to read it again to see if it held up or stirred any emotion.
I am not a teenager anymore, is the thought that kept screaming in my head. I'm so glad for that. I couldn't relate to these kids at all. The writing styles were diverse and played upon different skills of each author. I remembered show more reading different works as a result of these books, and I was glad of the nostalgia in that regard. The ideas and perceptions that these kids in this anthology have now are...just so outdated. And that's a really good thing. Shows how far society has progressed and will hopefully continue to do so.
I wouldn't really recommend this to anyone. I'm glad I read it as an adult so I know what I think of it now. show less