The Middle Ground

The Middle Ground / Margaret Drabble, 277 p.

Another enjoyable Drabble read, this one the story of Kate Armstrong, a successful London journalist in the middle of her life, complete with teen children, aging parents, ex-spouses, and now, a crisis in the form of a lost unexpected pregnancy.  A careful look at Kate and her many close friends moving through a difficult passage separately and together.  Observant and warm, Drabble as always maps a woman's interior landscape beautifully.

American Housewife: Stories / Helen Ellis, 188 p.

Dear Helen Ellis,

Where have you been all my life?  Let me tell you just a few of the things I love about your book:

You wrote a whole story about tampons, and it was fantastic!  (OK, it was really about some other things, but still...)

Most of the husbands in your stories are nice guys.  So it isn't really about them.

Your story How to Be a Grown-Ass Lady: This is advice I really need!  And I do always talk to cabdrivers.

This collection has a story about bras which is witty and sad and one-of-a-kind.  If it were a painting I would hang it on my wall.  (the story, not the bras)