I am rediscovering a forgotten delight: reading short stories. I am always looking for something to read during quiet times and a short story can easily be read in one sitting. I have been known to nod off while reading a novel, but never while reading a short story. A well written short story moves right along and leads the reader on to a conclusion within an hour or less. Find a good collection of short stories and start reading. If one story is not so great, well, move on to the next. You are bound to find at least one stellar story that will rock your reading world.

I recently read an outstanding collection of short stories written by Elizabeth Berg. It was displayed at Pearl Avenue Branch Library. The cover and title caught my eye: The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted.  Now that title spoke to me. Thoughts of chocolate, donuts, cake, ice cream, lasagna and other assorted high caloric, yummy, fat laden comfort foods swirled through my mind. What a fantasy to ponder! I grabbed the book from the display and checked it out. At first glance I thought the book in my hands was a novel, but I quickly discovered this was not so after finishing the first story: The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted.  I devoured that story faster than a bag of potato chips and smiled and laughed throughout the reading of it. My appetite was whetted and so I moved on to the second story and then the third until a few days later I had read and mentally digested all 13 stories in this delectable collection. 

The full title of Elizabeth Berg’s short story collection is The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted: And Other Small Acts of Liberation. While an element of food is present in most of the stories, there is a touch of rebellion sprinkled throughout.  I would not characterize this collection of stories as “Chick Lit,” but the theme of the collection is  women and their inner lives. Elizabeth Berg has an easy writing style that connects with readers. I often found myself on the verge of laughter or tears while reading a story.  Through her fine storytelling Berg explores the different stages of women’s lives. There are challenges, frustrations, joys, sacrifices and disappointments that season every woman’s life, and Elizabeth Berg has illuminated them brilliantly. So, get yourself a bowl of ice cream, a slice of pie, or some chips and dip and settle in with The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted (book or CD ) for a banquet of delicious stories.