Taking Off

Been reading The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel each morning before work. Her narratives are so simple (often no more than 3 pages each) yet abstract, and you'll read this seemingly spare piece and wonder what you missed, but just the ambiguity of her conclusions - and the way the most complex of human behaviors get revealed with such minimal brush strokes - leaves you feeling like you just experienced something profound, something that takes you a little closer to the infinite mysteries of the world.

"Each story is so tight, so boiled to bare facts, that all you can do is lie on the floor, face down, and praise it." Chuck Palahniuk.