The following review was contributed by CAROLYN HOWARD- JOHNSON

Displeasures of the Table by Martha Ronk is a sort of mingling of peanut butter sandwiches and nostalgia. It is often a sort of examination of how a train of thought moves along a fragmented track, how one image connects us to another event. Reading Ms. Ronk is like discovering we have found a kindred spirit when we notice she can follow us when we go off on a tangent in mid-conversation and she can figure out what the hell we're talking about.

Unlike my husband who says: ""What do you mean by 'it'?""

After I've said: ""It was made of blue floral chintz.""

After he's been talking about his mothers couch-the one he doesn't want to inherit.

And, even if he understood what I meant the couch was blue floral chintz, he'd be wrong. No. The couch made me think about the periwinkle and sky-colored chintz bedspread in the attic, and, frankly, I have trouble understanding why he can't see the connection. I mean, the couch wasn't chintz so how could he make that mistake?

This slim booklet is not easily categorized. What you'll find there is neither quite essay or prose poetry or flash fiction. It is just to be enjoyed for what it is. Enjoy the quotes and the language; savor what you find there. It's like a plate of spaghetti, all tangled and impossible to keep any single strand whole. It's very tasty nonetheless.

This book is for those who love what is original, for those who like memory or analytical games, for those who love detail and connecting dots. Those people will love Displeasures of the Table. I did.

PS. My favorite piece is ""Corn"" on page 26. My daughter is going to love ""Brussels sprouts"" on page 19. She had trouble swallowing them, too. (Carolyn Howard-Johnson's first novel, This is the Place, has won eight awards. Harkening, also a collection of stories, has won three. She is working on a book of poetry called Skyscapes and her poetry has been Published in a variety of magazines and review journals. Learn more at: http://carolynhowardjohnson.com.)