Getting Even

This is a book of short pieces by Woody Allen. Yes, it's that Woody Allen. I like a lot of his movies so when I found out that he had a few books I was curious. His books are somewhat similar to his movies, I suppose, but I think they are also different in several ways. They tend to be sillier and less focused on relationships, although his interest in history and religion are still apparent.
Like his older movies, his short stories are funny stuff. Most of the pieces here were written in what may be considered Allen's best 'funny' period, the late 60's and 70's. Like his older movies, one can expect slapstick humor and lots of non-sequitir jokes. As may also be expected, Allen proves in his short pieces that he is the king of the one-liner. There are a lot of them I like in this book, one example being: "Helmholtz spends most his time writing, and is currently revising his autobiography to include himself."
The stories typically have ridiculous concepts such as the memoirs of Hitler's barber or a chess game played out by two people through letters, each of whom seem to playing a different game. Another story explores the way the inventor of the sandwich, The Earl of Sandwich, slowly researched and developed his idea into what we now call the sandwich. His failed attempts include mistakes like putting the meat outside of the bread or stacking three slices of bread on top of each other.
Allen does this a lot. He takes a funny idea and stretches it out to get as many laughs as he can. When I read these older stories sometimes it surprises me that Allen was this funny in his younger years. Although he was a stand-up comedian so I guess this makes sense.
The stories in the book are short and you can read a few in one sitting. Sometimes I like to read a few before I go to bed because they make me laugh and take my mind off things.
So whether or not you're a fan of Allen's movies, you may still like these funny short pieces. He has two other similar books titled Without Feathers and Side Effects.

Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?

I discovered Raymond Carver in a literature class I had last year. We read one of his short stories titled "Cathedral." I loved the story and immediately went to the library to check out more of his work. Within a few weeks I had read all of his short story collections. Unfortunately, this is not too large a number because Carver died in 1988 at the age of 50.
Carver has been called a modern Ernest Hemingway and I think this is a fair comparison. Like Hemingway, Carver uses simple, realistic language to paint pictures and show his character's deepest feelings and thoughts. This, in my opinion, is one of the hardest things to do in writing. Thus, I admire Carver's talent for being so provocative in so few words.
His stories focus mainly on common people, especially suburbanites. He tends to like to uncover the private lives of those that appear normal, revealing unexpected passions and desires. Through all of it, Carver maintains a love for those he writes about.
Sometimes when I finish his stories I need to stop and think if I understood it all. They have a tendency to end abruptly and sometimes, somewhat mysteriously. He leaves it up to the reader to fill in the details that are lacking in the words he puts on the page.
This particular collection, like all his others, is pretty solid. One standout is the story "Why, Honey?," which is one of the creepiest stories I've ever read. It's not your traditional scary story by any means, nor do I know if it was even intended to be scary. You may just have to read it to see what I mean.
There are a lot of other good stories in here both funny and serious.