Pacific Standard May-June 2013 Cover

Memorable Stories of 2008

It was about the third or fourth time I heard the compliment that I noticed the barb. "I was on your Web site this morning and was I surprised. The stories were really good. I mean that — really good." In the proud afterglow that accompanies new parenthood, I only heard the last part at first. Ahhh, "really good." Ain't that sweet? But after a few iterations, the surprise part gained attention. People were surprised that our stories were good —suggesting they expected them to be not good. Which isn't necessarily the same as bad, but in line with a technical description sometimes ... Read More