Either I've been very insulated for most of my life or some of the writers I've read in the last few years overly dramatize real life. I can't believe how critical, pessimistic, emotional, bitter and just plain hostile some of these characters are.

Oh well, I finished The Best American non-Required Reading and for the most part it was an enjoyable book. Particularly good were Eric Schlosser's piece on natural and artificial flavors, Why McDonald's Fries Taste So Good from the Atlantic Monthly's January 2001 issue; and Gary Smith's story of a black basketball coach at an all-white Amish high school, Higher Education, originally published in Sports Illustrated.

My pick for next book is Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Sijie Dai. I'm thinking of picking up some poetry, too.