By Barbara Davilman, Liz Dubelman
480 pages; Riverhead

Oh, the stories women could tell. And 58 of them do in What Was I Thinking? 58 Bad Boyfriend Stories, edited by Barbara Davilman and Liz Dubelman. Most contributors are writers working in Los Angeles and New York. They're funny. They're smart. But, boy, are they slo-o-ow when it comes to knowing a relationship is dead. Sometimes it takes years in breakup "Crazytown." But usually, despite countless clues, it's an epiphany: Mr. Right invites you to have dinner with his married girlfriend so you can all be pals. He thinks deploying faux dog excrement at a party is hilarious. He uses "invertebrate" when he really means "inveterate" or comes home one day proudly flashing a cubic zirconia nipple ring. Try to top this heartbreaker: At the altar, he tells you he can't stand the embroidery on your wedding dress, would you mind wearing it backward. So many red flags wave in these witty, woeful tales, you'll think you're in China. A must-read for lovers of Schadenfreude.

— Patricia Volk