I didn't want to break the order, so I went through all the stories before I started to sequel of "Prep". I was in high school prep, when I read that book. One of my classmates was reading it in most private school kid manner possible, and all the girls in the class ended up reading it. It was giving the same vibes as our school especially us newly starting there.

Lee deserved to find her place in that school. It might have taken 30 years post graduation for her to feel that way, but she was there. She was a student. She went through everything those paying students went through. I liked that how she even had that experience with the pop star on the roof. I was glad to see her found her fall back friends at Ault.

Other stories in the book were interesting too. They were touching upon many current events, so they kept me engaged all the way. Definitely good selection of characters and storylines

Short story collections have always been a little hit or miss for me. But after loving Romantic Comedy, I was curious to see what Curtis Sittenfeld had up her sleeve when writing in a more short form style. What I love about this work, but all of Sittenfelds work more broadly as well, is it showcases the multi-faceted experience of women in the middle of their lives. There is so much literary fiction out there about 20-something ennui, but it's less common for books to showcase the ugliness and the complexities of growing older as a woman (in ways that don't indulge in body horror or genre fiction). While not all of the stories in this collection worked for me, those that did showcase womanhood in a way that really resonated, writing even truly unlikeable, vile women in a compelling way. Another success for Ms. Sittenfeld!

Curtis Sittenfeld's second collection of short stories, "Show Don't Tell," showcases twelve stories with the author's signature ability to create real and rounded characters, even in abbreviated formats. I particularly connect with Sittenfeld's ability to create flawed but relatable characters that remind me of the people in my life and, many times, myself.

I appreciate Sittenfeld's unflinching ability to connect with readers through funny, thought-provoking, and honest depictions of characters in their mid-life eras, with many stories featuring characters looking back at their lives and pondering "What if?" questions. Her stories often find a way of turning a mirror on the reader, and she manages to accomplish so much in terms of character development and emotional connection within this collection, touching on topics such as marriage and infidelity, adult friendships, race, privilege, gender, parenthood, career, integrity, and personal identity.

I've always enjoyed Sittenfeld's writing style, as it feels like reading letters or a journal from a friend- very relaxed, conversational, and introspective. This collection again showcases that style without sacrificing individual voices for the narrators and characters, who all felt distinct, unique, and authentic. I also found most of the stories' titles to be poignant and thought-provoking, as they often connected to a double meaning or subtext by the end, which left me reflecting on the stories well after I'd finished them and considering the surface-level elements' connection to the deeper themes.

Fans of Sittenfeld's first novel "Prep" will appreciate "Lost But Not Forgotten," the final story in the collection, which revisits Lee Fiora as she attends a reunion many years after the events of the novel. It's worth noting that it looks like the audiobook story has a different narrator than "Prep," for those who prefer audiobooks and look for consistency.

I found this collection to have nice variety but a cohesive feel and a nice flow from beginning to end. A few of the stories took me a couple of tries to get into, including "Follow-Up" and "Giraffe and Flamingo," so it wasn't a collection that had me at every story, but fans of Curtis Sittenfeld will likely enjoy this collection as a whole.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced read.

Wonderful, insightful, clever, and true. This author is always an instant read for me and I loved the quiet yet pithy energy behind each and every short story.

***In Curtis Sittenfeld's wonderful second short-story collection, we meet imperfect characters, often fortysomething women, in moments large and small that push them to determine what they're made of as they consider friendship, betrayal, fear of failure, the power of memory, art, parenthood, and more.***

<blockquote>How did I think for so long that the tidbits my mother shared didn't contain lessons? I see in retrospect that they were nothing but lessons.
As you make your way through the world, you will feel bewildered, appalled, and charmed by other people.</blockquote>
In Curtis Sittenfeld's first short-story collection, You Think It, I'll Say It, she offered ten stories of fully realized, fascinating characters that stuck with me. I loved it and rated the collection five stars.

In her second fantastic short-story collection, Show Don't Tell, Curtis Sittenfeld explores middle age, fame, friendship, artistry--and "Lost but Not Forgotten" is a story featuring Lee Fiora, a character from Sittenfeld's novel Prep, in which Lee attends an alumni event at her boarding school.

My favorite writing often turns expectations on their heads, and In Show Don't Tell, Sittenfeld draws us into crucial stages of faulted characters' lives, in which they figure out what they're made of.

In "A for Alone," a married artist seeks to disprove the "Mike Pence Rule" (which actually did not originate with him; it asserts that married men should not meet with women alone, even in a work setting) by meeting with male acquaintances, friends, and coworkers from various points in her life and documenting the experience. The project shifts her thinking in unanticipated ways.

In another story, a white woman makes racial assumptions, is caught on camera, and faces the consequences. Throughout the book, other characters, often middle-aged women, consider art, expression, love, respect, friendship, and limitations as they live their fascinatingly imperfect lives. This is more excellent Curtis Sittenfeld; I'm a forever fan.

I received a prepublication version of this book courtesy of Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this novel. Unfortunately, I could not get into the short stories so I did not finish.

Show Don't Tell is a collection of short stories so well crafted that after finishing one you don't experience that unmoored sensation normally found after a short story just ends. The stories are relatable (who didn't have a conversation during COVID about navigating company?) and by highlighting the seemingly mundane aspects of our lives, Sittenfeld tells us our experiences are not only seen but valuable.

Many reviews talk about revisiting characters from Prep in the last story, and those who have not read it will have no issues following along.

Excellent collection for a reader's first experience with short stories.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for this advanced reader copy, all opinions are my own.

I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this collection of short stories--not to slight the author (as I love her novels) but this genre was one I was very fond of in high school, not so much my adult life. However, as Curtis Sittenfeld's books are among the ones I most recommend, I knew I needed to give it a try.

I loved how all her female characters were around my age, and I found myself relating intimately to all of them on one level or another. I was complely charmed by how complete her stories were and how much intricate detail went into crafting each one. I always know a book is terrific when I'm genuinely sad when I come to the end and that's definitely the case here.

Highly recommend.

After spending two-thirds of her life in various Midwestern cities — Cincinnati, Iowa City, St. Louis and now Minneapolis — the New York Times-bestselling author Curtis Sittenfeld wanted to write a book about “grouchy, liberal Midwestern women.”

Still, she says, her new story collection “Show Don’t Tell,” published Feb. 25 by Random House, is not autobiographical.

“Some have details borrowed from my life or the lives of people I know,” she said. “But none are a confession.”

On March 12, Sittenfeld will talk about “Show Don’t Tell” with Susanna Daniel, a Madison novelist and co-founder of the Madison Writers’ Studio. The Wisconsin Book Festival hosts the talk at the Central Library at 7 p.m.

Sittenfeld is the author of nine books, including her debut novel “Prep,” the politically edged “Rodham,” “Eligible” (a contemporary update of “Pride and Prejudice”), “American Wife” and “Sisterland.” Her latest novel, “Romantic Comedy,” was published in 2023, and her previous story collection “You Think It, I’ll Say It” came out in 2018.

Over Zoom, Sittenfeld talked about her latest book, and how her stories change as she does. Read the interview here: https://captimes.com/entertainment/books/curtis-sittenfeld-writes-about-grouchy-liberal-midwestern-women/article_c1c3a416-f943-11ef-b87b-9ba432ace7d5.html

📖 I always say I’m not a short story gal and then I read a collection of short stories and thoroughly enjoy myself. So basically, you can’t believe a word I say. Thank you to @randomhouse for gifting me with this one. It’s out now.

📖 TBH, I saw Curtis Sittenfeld and requested this immediately before realizing it was a short story collection. But of course it was wonderful and brilliant like everything else she writes. Those stories explore what it means to be a woman and a mother and their impacts on the exploration of success in art. I truly enjoyed each one which somehow offered a completely unique perspective.

📖 If you enjoy short stories, or even if you think you don’t but enjoy reading about the topics mentioned above, check this one out. The audio was also fantastic and I loved that there was a different narrator for each one so I didn’t get confused.

I’ve decided that Curtis Sittenfeld is the queen of short stories. First, there was “You Think It, I’ll Say It,” and now we have this collection, “Show Don’t Tell.” When I learned she revisits Lee Fiora from her iconic novel “Prep,” I was all in. It’s the last story in the book, and I was eager to read it, but I tried to absorb each story. Each one had a lesson. I loved them all. “I felt like I was a trash can that he was dumping words into.”

Thank you to Random House for a free copy in exchange for my review.

3.5 stars

Show Don't Tell is a collection of short stories by Curtis Sittenfeld, some of which were published previously on other platforms.

Sittenfeld's writing is rich, without a doubt. Her storytelling breathes life into each character while maintaining the boundary of not being too whiny or cliché. Each story features a unique plot line, featuring normal characters who are dealing with the more nuanced circumstances of life.

My only complaint has to do with the anticlimactic endings. Understandably, real life does not have satisfying conclusions, so I can see how this could be what the author is going for. However, quite a few endings feel more like the end of a chapter rather than the end of the story.

Regardless, Sittenfeld's writing is beautiful and she tells good stories, so for lovers of short stories or those who have book commitment issues, this is a great choice for you.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Random House for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Show Don't Tell is available wherever books are sold.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of Show Don't Tell by Curtis Sittenfeld.

I don't always enjoy short stories, I think it takes the right kind of author to make them really strike the right balance of telling a full story in such a concentrated length.

These stories totally hit! Every single one of them had me thinking, smiling, cringing, or laughing. I think at this point it's pretty fair to call me a fan of Curtis Sittenfeld.

I often find that I like short story collections, but I rarely love them, and this is no exception. I like Curtis Sittenfeld's writing and was very much enjoying these stories at first, but it quickly turned into a slog to get through. So many of the stories barely held my attention, and I honestly could not recall most of them only a couple of days after finishing this.

My biggest issue though is that a lot of these stories were hard to separate from the lens of a middle aged cis white woman. I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with that, but a handful of these stories did have to do with race, politics, and sexuality. Sittenfeld obviously has the right opinions about a lot of what she wrote about (meaning that I align with her politically and she's clearly trying to be progressive), but I just didn't really care about these stories from the characters' point of view from which they were told. If I'm reading about a group of Black characters who get kicked out of a birthday party because they stand out as obviously not being part of the party, I'd rather read that from their point of view and from a different author. If I'm reading about a Black woman who is discovering her sexuality for the first time in her life, I want to read her story from her, not from her white best friend who is giving her advice.

I loved Romantic Comedy, and there were a couple of these stories that did work well for me, but as a whole, this was not my favorite.

This immersive and sharp short story captures power, privilege, and social maneuvering in an elite MFA program. It reveals the protagonist’s quiet desperation to belong while exposing hierarchies within academic and literary circles. I felt the strength was in its ability to balance humor and critique, making me cringe and sympathize with the main character’s anxieties. It’s a compelling!! And layered with Sittenfeld's wit.

As a fan of Curtis Sittenfeld's novels, I was eager to dive into this collection of her short stories. Like her well known books, this collection draws the reader into relatable characters who are simultaneously deep and uncomplicated, flawed yet endearing. Most of the stories center on women in the midst of their lives (I don't like to call it middle age) and their self-discoveries as they explore their next chapter, risking new relationships and revisiting old ones. The final story, "Lost But Not Forgotten" gives readers who loved Prep a 30-year fast forward to an older, wiser Lee Fiora attending her prep school reunion. I also really enjoyed "The Marriage Clock" about the simplicity and absurdity of a self-help guru and the self-awareness that evolves in the female media executive trying to convince him to let go of his homophobia while crushing on him at the same time. Each story within Show Don't Tell left me thinking; the endings were both open for interpretation but also perfectly satisfying. Truly an enjoyable collection of stories centered on human behavior - the magical sweet spot between frailty and strength that keeps us moving forward in a mostly positive direction, day after day. Thank you Random House and NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I love a short story collection and Curtis Sittenfeld's writing. So this is the perfect combination for me. There are some standouts in this collection but really I enjoyed them all and can't recommend highly enough for any Sittenfeld fan.

"Show Don't Tell" by Curtis Sittenfeld is a short story collection. I am a huge fan of Curtis Sittenfeld’s writing, and really enjoyed this collection of short stories.
This was beautifully written, I couldn't put it down. Highly recommended.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC copy.

Like any short story collection, readers will enjoy some and not others. Each is told from a middle-aged Midwestern woman’s day in the life perspective on a multitude of topics. It is refreshing to have protagonists that are relatable (read imperfect), but each story almost felt like the same character giving us a snapshot of different points in her life. I understand Sittenfeld is writing what she knows, but I would have preferred more diverse point of views for the collection and more diverse themes.

Sittenfeld is obviously a talented writer, but most of these stories were depressing musings leaving me discouraged as this is the age I’m headed into. And many readers might find the stories preachy as ironically several tell rather than show in the end.

This collection had a few stories I enjoyed, but most felt repetitive commonly reflecting on unhappy marriages and missed opportunities. I much prefer Romantic Comedy, which the main character also reflects on society’s control of human expectations, but in a more upbeat manner and with killer dialogue.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing, and of course the author Curtis Sittenfeld for the advanced copy of the book. Show Don’t Tell is out now. All opinions are my own.

“Show Don’t Tell” is a great collection of short stories! The stories are full of realistic plots and characters, Curtis Sittenfield captures such authentic people in just a few pages, 3.5 stars