Book Series To Conclude With Two Short Stories

BETHEL — On Tuesday, August 15, from 7:30 to 8:45 pm, Bethel Public Library will conclude its summer book discussion series “Are These the Best American Short Stories?” All stories for the series have been selected from the anthology The Best American Short Stories of the Century, edited by John Updike and Katrina Kenison.

The August selections, which focus on the final third of the century, are John Updike’s own Gesturing, originally published in 1980, and Lorrie Moore’s You’re Ugly, Too, published in 1990.

John Updike has the distinction of being the only author who has had stories published in the annual Best American Short Story anthology series in each of the last five decades. In Gesturing, a man gets what he wants – he thinks – when his wife decides to kick him out.

In You’re Ugly, Too, Lorrie Moore, the noted short story stylist whose works have been previously collected in acclaimed volumes such as Who Will Save the Frog Hospital?, covers the gender frustrations of a discontented female academic at a costume party who has been pushed just about to the edge.

Will these final two stories prove to be more successful at being “the best” than the earlier stories of the series? Join the discussion to decide for yourself.

The discussion will be moderated by the library’s own Lauren Baratz-Logsted, who is also a book reviewer for Publishers Weekly, a freelance editor and writer. The event will take place in the Seelye Room of the library, with refreshments provided by The Friends of the Bethel Public Library. Copies of the anthology are available for borrowing from the library and it is also available for purchase in paperback at most local book stores.

For additional information, the library can be reached at 794-8756. Bethel Public Library is at 189 Greenwood Avenue.