Just finished The Girl in the Flammable Skirt, a short story collection by Aimee Bender, one of my favorite writers.  She mostly writes surrealist, magic realist, and just plain weird stories, but due to the mysteries of bookstore shelving you can usually find her under (plain old) fiction instead of fantasy & science fiction.   Among her many talents is her knack for … More Brilliant First Lines from Aimee Bender