SELECTED SHORTS Pets!

Recorded live at New York City's Symphony Space and broadcast on many NPR stations before these CDs were packaged, this production pairs actors with writers whose work is both accessible and memorable. While the highly dramatized performances could easily deteriorate into melodrama if these were longer works, the half-hour stories, each read by a different actor, create a harmonious montage and a welcome change from most audiobooks. Although just about every fiction writer has a few reasonably commonplace stories about pets, there's absolutely nothing ordinary here--from Gail Godwin's pearl-eating dragon to T.C. Boyle's hilarious spoof on Lassie. This is one of Selected Shorts' best offerings. R.R. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine [Published: DEC 07/ JAN 08]