You Think It, I'll Say It: A Reese's Book Club: Stories

The stories and the writing is really good however each story and a little unfinished. I wish there was just one more step that she took, but maybe that was the intention.

I don't read a lot of short stories, not sure why, but I really enjoyed this collection. These stories left me waiting for more which is a good thing, and made me think about them after finishing them, also a good thing.

I just love the way this author writes. I relate to all of her stories and characters in some way. I’m sure it’s not everyone’s cup of tea but it so hits the spot for me. Such great reads for women in their 30s and up.The one I always go back to is “Volunteers are Shining Stars”. The main character’s reaction to her fellow volunteer is fascinating to me.

I liked her other books and this one does not disappoint! Especially like her political insights interspersed in the narrative. Delightful. Honest.

In this series of ten short stories, Curtis Sittenfeld manhandles the human condition. Everyone in these tales is deliciously human — flawed and frightened, insecure and presumptuous, difficult and searching. It’s a fantastic and honest look at what it’s like to be a person in the world, without apology.In “The World Has Many Butterflies,” Julie and Graham, married (to others), and friends for nearly a decade embark on a game called You Think It, I’ll Say It every time they find themselves at a gathering. One will share unfiltered, and generally skewering thoughts on a fellow attendee or situation (usually Julie) and the other knowingly agrees. It is also during this time that Julie imagines that she’s falling in love with Graham — to upsetting results.“A Prairie Wife” is a surprising story of a suburban wife and mother obsessed with an online personality, someone she’d known briefly one summer as counselors at the same camp. Kristen longs to see this woman’s downfall, fantasizing that she will be the one to bring her to her knees only to realize she’s the only one obsessing about it.And, in perhaps my favorite, “Do-Over” is about a reunion after sixteen years of two prep school classmates. Sylvia contacts Clay seemingly out of the blue, asking to meet up when she’s in town. He agrees, assuming incorrectly that it’ll be a lot of “what have you been up to” when it’s a lot more Sylvia’s brutal commentary of both their young adult and current lives. Clay is flummoxed by her angry honestly, as was I. Never before has a conversation between two fictional characters made me more wonderfully uncomfortable.If you loved Romantic Comedy, you won’t be disappointed by this collection that explores, gender, sexuality, relationships, and class. Fantastic.

While it’s possible that this author definitely didn’t write this book with me in mind, I didn’t enjoy most of the stories. There was only one I think I did enjoy and one or two others that were questionable— but the rest (many of the first ones you read) were flat out boring, in my opinion. I’m not convinced that reading anything else by this author would be worthwhile also because the writing style wasn’t particularly interesting, either.The one short story from this collection that I did enjoy: Off the Record.Maybe because that one was the most relatable. Trigger warnings in that one for baby loss, but it was still well done in my opinion and I liked how it drew attention to the ways women can be in relationship with each other.Runners ups: Bad Latch, and The Prairie Wife

Great read, even if you didn't like her novels. She truly excels at writing short stories. Some of the best short fiction I've read. Literary without feeling like it's written for a genius IQ the way some short fiction seems to be trying so hard to come across as. If you dislike short fiction that sounds like the author is throwing in a lot of esoteric words that require a thesaurus in an attempt to impress literary critics or the New York Times book reviwers, you'll love this, even if you greatly prefer novels over short story anthologies.

This was a book I read as part of my bookclub. A collection of short stories in fact, shoved into one novel. At first when I started reading through them, I got a definite undertone of feminism in the writing, and I was like YAS feminism!!! But then as I progressed through the book I found myself… depressed. The stories all seemed to share a common theme of some kind of cheating on partners or a cynicism to love and romance. My poor little heart shrivelled like a prune. Urgent action was required! With my medical degree (I watched all of Grey’s Anatomy ok), I have prescribed myself a dose of sunshine, puppy cuddles, and some actual romance novels to heal me. Maybe a trip to the Bahamas. Read the book, or don’t, I don’t care cause I’m off to the Bahamas (HA! I wish…)If you like this review and want to read more, follow me on Instagram - @girlybook.nerd

Sometimes you need to take a break from full novels, and this did the job for me. I liked 90% of the stories very much. They're all about contemporary relationships (male and female, female to female). Most have a snarky funny bend; some are less so. The title story is particularly good. She's a good novelist and her short stories deliver, too.

I'm a huge Curtis Sittenfeld fan, so I was excited for this. I have to say, I was a bit disappointed in this collection though. I would still recommend it, but there were too many stories I just didn't care for (Vox Clamantis, A Regular Couple, Volunteers are Shining Stars). On the other hand, like Sittenfeld's other work, there are stories and characters you just can't get out of your head! My favorite is "Plausible Deniability." I would read a whole novel about that character. I wish her story from the New Yorker, "Show Don't Tell" were in this collection. That ranks up there with "Prep" as one of her best.

Curtis Sittenfield is a delightful satirist and assured storyteller as well as an underrated political writer. "You Think It" isn't billed as a "Trump book," nor is it, but so many of these stories show the conundrums---social, sexual, professional---of this singular political moment. I could imagine reading this again ten years from now and thinking, "Yes, that's what it was like!"In all of her books, Curtis Sittenfield does such a superb job of capturing the awkward and occasionally exhilarating dance of gender relations, and there's much of the same here, though the subject is often marriage or post-marriage. As a now-married read and longtime fan, it's been a delight to "grow up" with Curtis. I'm roughly the same age as her and read "Prep" when I was just distant enough from high school to be able to laugh at it while also remember it well. I feel lucky to have Curtis Sittenfield bringing the same gimlet-eye to early middle age, its vanities and resentments and small victories. If satire can also be cozy and comforting, this is it.

I usually don't read many short stories. With this being a pick for one of my Goodreads groups a while back,I decided to give this collection a chance. I have taken quite a while to finish,but it was easy to just read one story at a time then go back to books with more pressing deadlines.Each story was a gem. None turned out as I expected. I feel short stories are harder to write as so much has to be captured in less.

Every story is brilliant, evocative and beautifully rendered. I actually STOPPED reading the book for a week or so because it made me so sad to know that the experience of reading it would soon be over. I cannot ever recall NOT reading a book because I loved it so much. Ironically, the final story might have been the best one, so it was worth the wait. For me, it was the most evocative.I also found myself stopping after finishing each story to fully process and experience what I just read. I seldom read two or more stories in the same sitting. I guess the point I am trying to make is that the stories in this book are an absolute joy to read. Seeing someone at the top of their craft is inspiring. Read this book. Be inspired.

I don’t usually do short stories, as I like to get sucked in to a longer narrative and typically don’t like every story in a collection, but I actually loved all of these and felt satisfied at the conclusion of each. I’ve read all of this writer’s work and look forward to more!

I generally do not read short stories because there isn't much of a chance of character development due to the length of the stories. However, I had to read this book because it was written by Curtis Sittenfeld. The stories focus on relationships and people's perceptions and I found them to be very interesting and realistic. For fans of Curtis Sittenfeld, this is a must read.

I decided to read this book because I had a bunch of political nonfiction in the "To Read" pile and wanted something fictional and presumably lighter instead. The beginning and end story feature protagonists who hate Donald Trump and his supporters. The middle ones aren't explicit anti-Trump, but I couldn't get into them either. The characters seemed dry and depressing, like the main character of "Prep" (who I liked despite her many flaws) grown up. So I put the book down halfway and continued my search for appealing, engaging fiction.The list of public figures connected to the arts that I used to eagerly patronize keeps shrinking at the speed of light because the one kind of bigotry that is acceptable in this day and age in liberal circles is anti-Trump and his supporters, and even just screaming, "Expletive Trump" is considered a brave and noble thing to scream. When you get a standing ovation at an awards ceremony for cursing the President, what's the incentive to wonder if maybe it's you that might need to step back and reevaluate your views?I wish them well, but I don't think I'll be subsidizing anyone who openly hates me. There are plenty of other authors who aren't as angry and hateful, or if they are, manage to keep their political views from polluting their fiction. I'll be buying them in the future, not Sittenfeld.

This book is incredible. I have been a fan of Sittenfeld since I read Prep (50 times) and then I went back and read Man of My Dreams and have since pre-ordered every book she's every written. Some of her books have disappointed me (Sisterland and Eligible) but this one was right up there with American Wife and Prep. Every single story ended too soon, I wanted more. I found things I loved and hated (but yet related to) about every character. Every short story was a page turner. I devoured this book. I highly recommend it.

Well -- I almost didn't buy this book after I read some negative reviews -- but I did get it and am so happy I did.I'm not familiar with this author but I really like her style. These stories were, to me, all interesting and I never "drifted off" (that I must admit I have in the past with other books).! I found her stories very credible -- characters drawn like so many people I have known. In addition,the writing is crisp, contemporary, intelligent, and very funny (at times). I was sorry when it ended as I wish it had been longer -- and Idon't say that often. Looking forward to more "stories" from her.

Smart. This is Curtis Sittenfeld’s YOU THINK IT, I’LL SAY IT: STORIES. Every single story is so satisfying to read. How on earth does a writer achieve this level of depth in such a short space? I don’t have the answer, but I can assure you that Ms. Sittenfeld nails it. Many of the wonderfully tortured fictional characters are recognizable. Ok, all of them. Some cringey, some issue-ridden, and some, made me laugh so hard, even when it was inappropriate.Sittenfeld looks at people’s feelings and brings the reader into a privileged space – their minds. We get to see what they are thinking and know what they want. Reading these stories is like loving something so simple, yet so well done, that brings you enormous happiness. This book is a grilled cheese on a rainy day.

All of the stories are mundane daily life things, but they shed a lot of perspective on how women are finding ways to navigate the modern world. Some of the stories are downright haunting. A book that I would love to lend to some of the men I know, if I could ever hope that they would tolerate a book all about middle-aged women—another painful point of the book, I think.