As a fan of the comedy series Man Seeking Woman, one of the most wildly inventive TV shows ever, I looked forward to Simon Rich’s new story collection, Hits and Misses (Little, Brown and Company). Rich is the writer and showrunner for MSW, which is adapted from his previously published stories. This collection starts with “The Baby,” in which Ben, a novelist, and Sue, his wife, are expecting. An ultrasound reveals it’s a boy, according to Dr. Kowalski, the Polish ob-gyn. Ben asks about another shape in the image. “Is pencil,” says the doc. “It means you have writer.” And soon there’s a typewriter in the womb. It takes some chutzpa to title a story collection Hits and Misses; and these tales are not all gems. (The title is referenced in “The Great Jester,” about a court jester who admits his jokes “haven’t always landed.”) Mostly, Rich hits the mark. — Mordecai Specktor
