Here is a pearl of reading wisdom for you: when trying to get into a new author, read their shortest book first. This will often give you an idea of whether or not you enjoy their work in the most efficient way possible. This method saved me probably months of struggle with Thomas Pynchon, because I had the wisdom to read The Crying of Lot 49 (maybe 100 pages total), instead of one of his doorstop books. I realized I hated Thomas Pynchon, and had only wasted an hour of my life.

This principle guided my decision to read Who Will Run the Frog Hospital, although in all honesty I very much expect to enjoy Lorrie Moore and read more of her books. There is something very satisfying though, about discovering and experiencing a new writer in the course of an afternoon. She is another author on my #ReadWomen2014 list, someone whose work I hoped to become familiar with over the course of the year, so it's also helpful to have a very slim novel to read in these final weeks of 2014.