"There's Something I Want You to Do," by Charles Baxter.
Ten wise stories inspired by virtues and vices.
"Mothers, Tell Your Daughters," by Bonnie Jo Campbell.
The scrappy characters in these 16 stories face hardship and carry on.
"Thirteen Ways of Looking," by Colum McCann.
A novella and three stories about people in harm's way.
"A Manual for Cleaning Women," by Lucia Berlin.
Forty-three darkly funny and wise stories.
"Voices in the Night," by Steven Millhauser.
Sixteen stories by a master at merging the magical and the everyday.
"The State We're In," by Ann Beattie.
Edgy, funny stories set in the writer's home state of Maine.
"The Tsar of Love and Techno," by Anthony Marra.
Nine linked stories follow a wide cast of characters over 70 years in Russia and Chechnya.