please to welcome

I just discovered The Happy Booker, writer Wendi Kaufman's new blog. It's witty and full of good recommendations. And I may steal this little idea from a recent entry:

Latest Recommendations from my Well-Read Friends:

Nicole, my extraordinary editor, recommends: Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood, by Alexandra Fuller . "You must read it immediately."

Robyn, my sister-in-arms, strongly, enthusiastically, vehemently and often recommends:Waiting for Snow in Havana:Confessions of a Cuban Boy, by Carlos Eire. So moved by the book, Robyn was prompted to write her first letter to an author (not including the note to Sherman Alexie, which was more like a thank you note for including her brilliant story in his anthology).

Since the two recommendations that came in were for memoirs, I will add a plug for Collected Stories, by Carol Shields. Released this month in hardcover, this book contains ALL of Carol Shields's short stories in one volume, including the previously unpublished story "Segue," her last work. Shields is an amazing short story writer and a powerhouse novelist: "Unless" is one of my favorites — though many in my circle would argue for "Stone Diaries," the Pulitzer-winner. She will be missed.

"We are always looking for the book it is necessary to read next. " —Saul Bellow

Also, it looks like her husband is a miraculous cook (but then mine is too, so ha!).

Check her out.