Compiled by Liz Cettina and Emma Raddatz
With summer quickly winding down and your list of books to read lengthening even more quickly, pick up one of these 17 slim books—all under 170 pages—to squeeze in before summer ends.
By Kathleen Radigan
Karaoke
An elevator up to a cruise ship karaoke bar
is a ride to the next universe,
where vacationers chug cocktails
blooming with paper umbrellas
under low-lidded eyes.
[1]
By Juliet Gelfman-Randazzo
This summer, my two best friends told me that they liked me because of my astrological sign; one confessed that everyone she’s ever loved has been a Cancer. My roommate recently mentioned that she hooks up with a lot of Virgos. When I asked her how she knows that, she informed me that she makes sure to find out the birthday of every guy she engages with sexually because she needs to know his star sign. It seems ridiculous to me that my friends think about others in these categories, determined only by date of birth, and use them to formulate ideas about personality and compatibility. But these are all women whose opinions I respect, with whom I generally see eye to eye. I must be missing something.
Sinkhole 