This is doing the rounds in Karachi. My sister-in-law Saima sent it to me:

I was depressed last night so I called Lifeline. Got a call center in Pakistan. I told them I was suicidal. They got all excited and asked if I could drive a truck.

For the readers of this blog in the subcontinent, this week’s NYT Book Review has the following news:

Jhumpa Lahiri, With a Bullet

By Dwight Garner
Unaccustomed Earth

There are not a lot of surprises, week in and week out, at the upper reaches of the Times fiction bestseller list. But occasionally a comet lands and flattens the forest, sending the usual critters running.

That will happen on the April 20 bestseller list - that week’s issue went to press last night - when Jhumpa Lahiri’s second story collection, “Unaccustomed Earth,” debuts in the No. 1 slot.

It’s hard to remember the last genuinely serious, well-written work of fiction — particularly a book of stories — that leapt straight to No. 1; it’s a powerful demonstration of Lahiri’s newfound commercial clout.

This first appeared on the NYT Book Review blog Paper Cuts started by Dwight Gardner.