I Wrote This Book Because I Love You

Essayist and cartoonist Kreider (We Learn Nothing) returns with another incisive and cutting collection of essays, this time loosely focused on the women in his life. Over the course of the book, he recounts a trip with a close friend aboard a circus train bound for Mexico, a whirlwind affair with a sex worker, and the surreal experience of falling in love with a married friend in the weeks following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. This collection is noteworthy not so much for the insights into dating or women, but rather for Kreider’s humane outlook coupled with his often-wry sense of humor: he has rules about which living things he can kill (fruit flies, yes; spiders, no) and makes the dry admission of being a “cat guy.” Kreider’s clever hand and philosophic—rather than solipsistic—viewpoint place him in a different realm than writers like David Sedaris and David Foster Wallace who share his affection for details, uncommon settings, and nuance. [em](Feb.) [/em]