Olive Kitteridge -- Elizabeth Strout

Ordinarily I don't care much for short stories. However, after hearing my sister rave about Olive Kitteridge, I picked it up when I was at her house. I was instantly drawn in. The structure of the book is short stories -- but one character, Olive Kitteridge, runs through them all. She may be the subject, a secondary character or just a passing thought.
Olive can be abrasive, difficult and outspoken, she can also be funny and caring. The stories take place in a small town in Maine.

Overall, I really enjoyed this. The format suited the type of reading I was looking for -- something I could put down and pick up without feeling like I lost the plot thread. My only pet peeve is why is modern fiction so bleak? Adultery, divorce, suicide, estrangement, eating disorders, etc. Sometimes when I read, I need something happy and upbeat to counter the negative news I'm inundated with on a daily basis.