The Vonnegut Project(Unfinished though it was) taught me an appreciation for many things, but especially it reminded me to check in with short fiction from time to time. This is the first time I’ve done so this year, but I’m glad I did.

One More Thing is another long languishing in the TBR pile book, so I figured it would be good to knock out this week, while I was on a bit of a roll. B.J. Novak is a remarkably funny writer, for whom I have always had some affection. (Well, since The Office started so for well over a decade.) (Plus the running joke that he has an ecstasy factory on Crazy Ex Girlfriend is one of the funniest things in the world.)

While it’s hard to fully review a book of short stories with any kind of consistency, as there are strong ones and weak ones in the bunch, I really enjoyed skimming through this book and laughed out loud quite a few times, which isn’t always the case when reading, you know?

My favorites include “Sophia,” about a man who’s sex robot falls in love with him. (Not he with it, which is the funny ironic twist.) “Julie And The Warlord,” about a woman’s first date with a literal African Warlord and any of the stories that are actually just a few line jokes that Novak probably thought were too funny to waste on twitter.

Basically I came away from this book thinking I need to read more short stories, because I always enjoy them, but I know I won’t actually read more short stories because they take some work to seek out sometimes, and I’m pretty lazy when it comes to seeking out new material

Up next is Tropical Attire Encouraged And Other Phrases That Scare Me by Alison Rosen, because when your favorite podcaster’s husband curates a book of her syndicated columns, you read that book because it’s the cutest thing in the world.

Also, we’re upping the goal. I think I can squeeze another six books in. Woo hoo!