A friend with a secular background is now becoming more connected with Judaism (yay!), and has told me she finds the aggadic stories that fill in the gaps in the torah to be particularly helpful. (She's already participating in a torah-study group with basic commentaries.) I'd like to find a suitable collection of aggadah for her -- in English and not written for children. Options I know about:
Tz'enah Ur'enah, which I previously asked a question about. (I'm looking for a sourced edition, but she probably doesn't care about that yet.) I've seen this book once but don't own it yet, so have only a vague sense of its contents.
The comments on that question mention MeAm Lo'ez, a source I don't know.
Sefer ha-Aggadah: while this is where I started, I think it may be a little overwhelming (I was also taking a talmud class; she's not). A lot of its contents aren't exactly stories anyway but summaries of other rabbinic discussions, and the story-telling is somewhat abbreviated (understandable; it's a huge book as it is!).
What is a good first aggadah collection for an adult learner?