Best American Non-Required Reading 2008

I got this book from Amanda for Christmas and loved it. I love collections like this because you can read it out of order, more than once, and skip entire entries if you want. I do have to admit, though, that my favorite part of this entire collection was the interview with Judy Blume. I have a soft spot in my heart for Judy Blume, as Amanda and I both grew up with her books, and she just seems like a really smart, down-to-earth, cool person.
On another interesting note, the editor of this collection is Dave Eggers, who happens to be the author of another book I blogged about in '08 called "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius." And while I thought the book was good in its own right, "The Best American Nonrequired Reading" was much more enjoyable, so kudos to Mr. Eggers!
The long and short of it is this: the book is part of a series that comes out each year and compiles various fiction, nonfiction, essays, journalism, comics, and humor, and in no particular order. I hope this anthology becomes a tradition (hint hint, Amanda) because I've found myself going back to it over the last few months and re-reading various stories or noticing a story that I skipped previously. So, this is something that I would actually suggest to anyone, because I think it'd be hard for each of you to not find at least a few entries you found inspired or just plain funny. Thanks, Amanda, this is definitely a keeper in my collection!