SELECTED SHORTS Readers & Writers

The seven stories in this program, recorded live, all focus on reading or writing, a topic of natural interest to the target audience. Tony Roberts brings a waggish sense of fun to Walter Brooks’s “Ed Has His Mind Improved," in which Mr. Ed, the talking horse of the early TV show, learns to read. Isaiah Sheffer (artistic director of Symphony Space, host of “Selected Shorts”) is dynamic and funny as a manic-depressive inventor in Adam Haslett’s "Notes to My Biographer." Rochelle Oliver, however, injects far too much emotion into Ray Bradbury's already sentimental "Exchange." But the worst here is none too bad, and the best, as is usual with “Selected Shorts,” is quite fine. Spontaneous audience reactions enhance the listening experience. W.M. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2008]