Yes, I know it's supposed to be "paper bag." My point stands.

I read two very good books on the plane ride back to Greensboro today. The first was the much anticipated Magic for Beginners by UNCG's own Kelly Link. Like any short story collection, Link's book has one or two stories that don't quite hit on all cylinders (for me, it was "The Hortlak" and "Stone Animals," the latter of which was inexplicably chosen for The Best American Short Stories 2005) -- but the rest are fantastic. Check out, just for instance, "The Faery Handbag," or "The Great Divorce" from a recent One Story. Truly great book. You can also read Link's first collection, Stranger Things Happen, which is also great, and available for free online.

After Link I turned to Aimee Bender's The Girl with the Flammable Skirt. Yeah, I know, 1998 called, it wants its Book of the Year back. But it was new to me -- and definitely worth reading.