From the moment her daschund humped his leg on a Soho street, aspiring rock star/subway performer Curtis Birnbaum knew he was a goner. He sensed Camilla was a woman who would equally inspire and terrify him. And, miraculously, his ploys for her affection work. With the addition of Camilla to his life, the only thing he lacks for complete happiness is that elusive record deal (and some health insurance). But then, ominously, Camilla begins to slip away. In this daring East Village love story, Nick Fowler gives us a hero who is completely honest about his heartbreak. We root for Curtis as he bottoms out and blunders his way through a series of hilarious misadventures--from a nude modeling stint, to a regretable steam room incident at Crunch gym, to a destination he has only dreamed of: the top floor of Worldwide Plaza where the record moguls preside. Through it all, Curtis remains determined to win back Camilla. Delightfully quirky and unexpectedly poignant, A Thing (or Two) about Curtis and Camilla conjures a tale about the price of love that is as true as it is hysterical.

So Dad's around lately. That's it. And I want to tell you things, throw fragments your way that I barely understand. Because it's just funny, flat out, the way someone you don't even know can get up in your face, tweak things that should be so ordinary. Or I think it's funny. Maybe you will too. Hailed by The New Yorker as "a fictional report from the strip-mall front lines of Generation Y," Important Things That Don't Matter is a provocative, moving, darkly funny portrait of family and divorce, a boy and his father, the eighties and nineties, and sex and intimacy that raises vital questions about a generation just now reaching adulthood.

A father and son take a road trip along Highway 61--the legendary road of the blues--and through some of the most musically fertile and diverse landscapes in America. 10 photos.

What does he really mean when he says: “It’s not you, it’s me”? Profanity. Egging. Xanax. Oh, the things men (and even some women) will resort to when love’s gone awry. In The Encyclopedia of Exes, some of today’s hippest male writers dig deep into their romantic pasts to present twenty-six inspired pieces of short fiction on heartbreak and failed relationships. Their stories, ranging from the passionate to the cynical to the downright hilarious, address the age-old issue of how and why romance often fails—from a uniquely male perspective. Ever wondered just what men do with their broken hearts, or why they break women’s hearts so often? The Encyclopedia of Exes demystifies the inner workings of the male psyche to the benefit of women everywhere, featuring a broad range of writers. Anthony by Steve Almond • The Breakup Ceremony by Touré • Car by Matthew Sharpe • Devotion by Adam Langer • Egging by Jeff Johnson • Five by Jonathan Lethem • Geography by Michael Schur • Honesty by Ben Greenman • Innocence by Nick Fowler • John by Joshua Braff • Kiss by Anthony Schneider • Last by Richard Rushfield • Murmur by Panio Gianopoulos • Nightlife by Lee Klein • Over by Jack Murnighan • Profanity by Darin Strauss • Quitting by Dan Guterman • Radio by Sebastian Matthews • Sealed-off by Jonathan Ames • Triangle by Gary Shteyngart • Unambiguous by Ben Schrank • Virginity by Neal Pollack • Winston by Lewis Robinson • Xanax by Marc Spitz • Youth by Justin Haythe • Z by Dan Kennedy • and a Preface by John Aboud An encyclopedic approach to our most enduring mystery, The Encyclopedia of Exes offers insight, humor, quality writing, and an unparalleled look inside the male mind.