The Shouts & Murmurs section of the New Yorker is reliably witty, wry, and short. For some, it is the pre-game to reading the magazine, and for others, the best (or only) part of the magazine (second to the cartoons).
Below is a list of what I consider the “Best of” from the past year or so.
But first, my criteria:
– Timelessness; I believe it is good today and will resonate in ten years
– Memorableness; I consider a piece an automatic “in” when I can remember it from eleven months ago
– Hilariousness: I laugh out when it is more or less inappropriate to do so (i.e. at work, on the phone, while being dumped, et al)
– You’re Jack Handey
***
Four Short Crushes, by Paul Simms
The Afterlife: Cutting Back, by David Owen
How Things Even Out, by Jack Handey
How I Want to be Remembered, by Jack Handey
The Symbols on My Flag (and What They Mean), by Jack Handey
Fourteen Passive-Aggressive Appetizers, by Yoni Brenner
Think Hard, It’ll Come Back to You, by Woody Allen
Is There a Problem Here?, by Larry Doyle
Mouse Au Vin, by Noah Baumbach
***
(I loathe to mention this list is gender-unbalanced.)
