The Last Girlfriend on Earth

Title: The Last Girlfriend on Earth

Author: Simon Rich

Genres: Short stories, humor, books on TV

I checked out this book after watching an episode of ManSeeking Woman. It’s a show where modern dating rules, anxieties,  and conundrums are mixed with the absurd. For example, in the episode I watched, one of the main characters dates Santa Claus. This is not seen as ridiculous because everyone believes in Santa Claus, he is a real person but it is scandalous- Santa is married, after all. Other short stories were about a man who is engaged to Mother Teresa, a Jewish man whose ex-girlfriend is dating Adolf Hitler, and the title story about a man who is dating the last woman alive on Earth. 

                                                          

 I normally don’t read short stories because a lot of short stories leave a lot to be desired in my opinion or they end on a cliffhanger. The short stories in The Last Girlfriend on Earth are mostly satisfying, snarky, and funny. There were a few that left me with a Huh? feeling but I enjoyed most of the stories within the book. I will be adding Simon Rich's other works to my "to-be-read" pile. 

Title: The Rhino with Glue-on Shoes and Other Surprising True Stories of Zoo Vets and Their Patients
Author(s): Lucy H. Spelman and Ted Y. Mashima (editors)
Genre: essays, story collection, non-fiction, animals

A quirky and eye-catching title of essays/non-fiction short stories from zoo vets around the world. The vets that submitted these stories literally had to "Macgyver" a treatment plan for their patients: MRI for an octopus, fish puree for an orphaned-yet-too-young-to-wean dolphin, orthopedic cast for a giraffe, root canal on a hippo, poison antidote for a tiger, and the "glue-on shoes" for a rhino (inspired by horseshoes). A quick, educational and entertaining read; not all the stories have a happy ending but no story turns sappy. This book shows you how improvisation and inspiration helped vets propel zoo vet technology forward.