Neil Gaiman Hosts "Selected Shorts"

Neil Gaiman hosts this episode of Selected Shorts, featuring "The Rocking Horse Winner" by D.H. Lawrence and "The Book" by Ben Loory (read by Jane Kaczmarek).  What a great way to discover classic short stories and to hear commentary by your favorite authors and performers.

"The Rocking Horse" is about a young boy who bets on horse races to earn money to help his family, but learns that money is not, after all,  his family's real problem. It has a fantasy element that is a departure from D.H. Lawrence's usual style. The story is read by Fionnula Flanagan.

"The Book," is read by Jane Kaczmarek. A woman buys a book and, once she gets home, discovers that it has no text. After the bookstore manager refuses to let her return it, she rants about it to anyone who will listen. Because of her vociferous objection to the book, it soon appears at the top of the bestseller list. (That's exactly why I love book-banners--they've helped me to discover many of my favorite books!) In the commentary, Gaiman says, "No two people ever read the same book because, as readers, we are the books that we read." Indeed.