This is my #1 pick for this year. Like Jean Stafford, whose Collected Stories won the 1970 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, Berlin takes details from her life and turns them into amazing short stories. I knew I’d love this from the very first one, with its lovely, poignant last line. 

Some of my favorites were Point of View, Her First Detox, Tiger Bites, Emergency Room Notebook, 1977, Unmanageable, and Fool to Cry, as well as Carmen and Mijito, which were gut-wrenching but beautiful. 

This also has a great introduction by Lydia Davis, who really gives you an appreciation of the collection before you even get started.

Stunning! Also recommended for fans of Mary Karr.

I haven't been this excited about a short story collection since Courtney Eldridge's Unkempt.

I kept reading this and saying happily to myself, “I think that, too!” Not to be hokey, but it was almost like making a new friend.