This two hour recording contains excerpts of three works of fiction, read by their authors in front of a live audience. The venue was a benefit for a disabled actor/ audiobook reader, held in New York City.

It would be hard to imagine a more unpleasant choice of stories and excerpts. The event started with John Grisham reading the beginning of his novel The Summons. In the excerpt, the main character arrives home to visit his aged father -- he finds the man napping in his chair, and eventually he realizes that the man is dead. After that inauspicious beginning comes Peter Straub, reading from Black House. We're treated to an overwritten, ugly image of a wild dog gnawing on the detached foot of what once was a little girl. The foot occupies a tennis shoe, requiring quite an effort by the canine for its extrication. Yes, this vile material was deemed by the author as popular entertainment for an evening on Broadway. The audience is dead silent throughout, and surely were relieved when it was over. Stephen King then regaled the audience with The Revenge of Lardass Hogan, a purposely disgusting story of a pie- eating contest in which all the characters vomit over one another. This one generated nervous laughter from at least some in the audience; others, one presumes, were wishing they'd stayed home. Pat Conroy's subsequent chat about writing had the audience in stiches, perhaps as a cathartic release from what had come before. I found it mildly amusing. Granting the obvious fact that taste differs (and that some have none), I am unable to recommend this small collection, and rather wish I'd not listened to it. ( )