Sampler Plate for Readers
In any restaurant, any cuisine, I’m always checking the menu for the sampler plate. I like to try something new, to consume just a taste before making a meal-length commitment. I guess the literary equivalent is the anthology or literary collection, a sampling of writing by various authors. Why gobble up a big helping of Denis Johnson or Alice Munro or Julian Barnes when you can start with a tasty hors d’oeuvre and gradually work your way to the big enchilada, a full-length novel? The venerable New Yorker has published many collections of the work of its best contributors; the latest is Secret Ingredients: The New Yorker Book of Food and Drink. If you’re craving a little love, check out My Mistress’s Sparrow Is Dead, featuring great love stories (not all of them so lovely), edited by Jeffrey Eugenides. Look for a wide variety of annual “Best American” anthologies, collections of the best writing of the year in a particular category (i.e. Best American Mystery Stories, Best American Sports Writing). My favorite tidbit of 2007? Jonathan Stern’s “The Lonely Planet Guide to My Apartment” in Best American Travel Writing.