"Ingrid works on a gargantuan cruise ship where she spends her days reorganizing the gift shop shelves and waiting for long-term guests to drop dead in the aisles. On her days off, she disembarks from the ship, wasting the hours aimlessly following tourists around, drinking the local alcohol, and buying clothes she never intends to wear. It's not a bad life. At least it distracts her from thinking about the other life--the other person--she left behind...

The King, tired of rain, snow, sun, and fog, commands his magicians to make something else come down from the sky, but when oobleck falls, in sticky greenish droplets, Bartholomew Cubbins shames the King and saves the kingdom.

Maude and Uncle Boris discover a cure for their boredom.

Sonja is ready to get on with her life. She's over forty now, and the Swedish crime novels she translates are losing their fascination. She sees a masseuse, tries to reconnect with her sister, and is finally learning to drive. But under the overbearing gaze of her driving instructor, Sonja is unable to shift gears for herself. And her vertigo, which she has always carefully hidden, has begun to manifest at the worst possible moments. Sonja hoped her...

On a lazy afternoon, two bored brothers keep themselves busy by building and flying an airplane.

"The little girl is so bored at home. There's NO-ONE to play with! That is until she decides to play the name game with the nature and animals around her, inventing fantastic names and personalities for all of them! Soon she is describing a fun imaginary world that she can play in by herself"--Publisher's description.