By Lorrie Moore
163 pages; New American Library

I've gone back to one of the stories in this collection, "How," several times. It describes the conflict between being comfortable in a relationship and knowing deep down that this person is not your match. At times I've read the story and thought, That's how I feel. And it's helped me to see that I, too, am in denial about wanting to leave someone. What's so interesting is that the man in the story isn't vilified. He's described as having many beautiful parts, which is true about a lot of the people we love but aren't meant to be with.

— Amanda Peet