The Evil B.B. Chow (2005)

Sa-weet! In his second story collection, The Evil B.B. Chow, the author of last year's nonfiction hit Candyfreak delivers a lively Whitman's Sampler of off-beat tales worth savoring — if you don't devour the entire dozen in one sitting. Steve Almond joyfully darts from a tart sketch of pomo romance (''The Evil B.B. Chow'') to a crushing (quite literally) coming-of-age story (''I Am as I Am'') to a bittersweet weepie (''Summer, as in Love'') without losing his dark, rich wit. There are a few sour patches: A lewdly titled rant about a now-on-trial pop star (''The Idea of Michael Jackson's D---'') is already stale, while a satirical faux-mance between Abe Lincoln and Frederick Douglass (''Lincoln, Arisen'') is just plain tasteless.