Day 1: Laird Hunt, "The Face"
This story confused me - at first I couldn't figure out what the heck happened. But as I re-read it and discussed it with someone else it made sense. Story revolves around a 14 yr old boy raking leaves in the country for an elderly couple. The man of the house comes out and tells the boy a story about when he was a sheriff in Tipton County and a strange case he had. Great twist in the story!
Day 2: C. P. Boyko, "Forty-Third C Platoon"
This one was...graphic. And unusual. I'm still not sure if I am in the mindset of reading short stories as opposed to whole novels as yet. Basically it's a story about the 43rd C Platoon and as it progresses it's told from a different person. I had to go back and forth in each section to figure out who each person was. Still this one had a flavor I'm not quite used to and it was a pleasant change.
Day 3: Christopher Boucher, "Lady with Invisible Dog"
So far this was my favorite short story. It’s a little futuristic and a little otherworldly. A bookstore owner files an “apology” with the bureau and meets a lady with an invisible dog. I liked the main character and how the author explains his inward feelings. I really felt connected with him in the small amount of pages.
Day 4: Hasanthika Sirisena, "Kings"
I usually love stories set in foreign lands in and around the 20’s but for some reason this one just didn’t grip me. D.H. Lawrence in his early 30’s escaping his native England to Kandy Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). Apparently, this short story is based on D. H. Lawrence’s poem “Elephant”. The author uses fantastic comparisons and descriptions don’t get me wrong. I think maybe I’ve been reading books too long that the short story thing is throwing me off and that I’m not enjoying them as much as I should be..
OMG I lied. THIS is my favorite story! It was soooooo good. Told in the prose of someone needing funding for something and the posts for it. DUDE!! All around I’m pretty sure this is the best short story I have ever read or will ever read. Yup.
I’m not sure about this one. The story is about a journalist (I think – or a writer at least) and her ex. She jumps down the rabbit hole so to speak when he comes to America and more specifically to her area. I like how the author really captures that feeling of relationships and the things that go through our minds and memories we hold on to. I wasn’t a big fan of the setting. Fighting – whether in a ring or cage – isn’t my thing. However it does lend itself to the volatile part of relationships so….
Day 7: Marie-Helene Bertino “Edna in Rain”
Story about a woman walking to the coffee shop while her ex boyfriends are raining down on the sidewalk. Interesting take and I swear when I finally realized that was what it was about all I heard in my head was It’s Raining Men. It was a nice little walk down memory lane thinking of my old exs and the feelings that envokes.
Day 8: Jim Gavin, "The Copy Chief"
About a young man and his change in life from a gas station bum to a newspaper man. I liked the feel of this one and how we delved into his mind and his thought process behind making the decisions he made. It was well written and a pretty good read.
Day 9: Laura van den Berg, "Aftermath"
A woman, an attic and a boat. I hated this one. First off it was scary which is so not my thing but at one point it was scary you can’t put it down reading to wth does this tintanic-esque moment have to do with an attic and her sister.
Day 10: Daniel Orozco, "Announcements"
7 tiny love stories written in the form of wedding announcements. It was cute, sometimes funny and sometimes you felt like they were not meant to be and their marriage won’t last. It was a cool little take on a short story. I kinda liked it.
Day 11: Brent van Staalduinen, "Skinks"
Story of a little boy at a hospital with his mom and stepdad. This story had the feel of the book Room by Emma Donoghue. I really love that despite the seriousness of the situation and the emotional parts, it’s told completely from the eyes of a young boy. And I really feel like the author gets that and makes the reader believe it. It was very well written.
Day 12: Maggie Shipstead, "Souterrain"
What can I say about this one? For the first time I feel like I read a complete story in 28 pages. The story is about 4 people (more or less) and it interweaves and jumps in time frame. I never felt lost within the story it was that well written. The anguish, highs, beauty of life are so well presented I felt transported like I was watching thru the window like some kind of time traveler observing. I think so far this is my favorite.
Day 13: Danielle McLaughlin, "Secondary Memory"
Think Toy Story but for a computer. A computer that is sentient and has feelings – as much as a com-puter could. I love this one too. It was such a great surprising perspective that I immediately loved the idea. Ironic I had to take my laptop in to be fixed after reading this…
Day 14: Deborah Willis, "Eva"
This one was interesting. The premise is about basically a bearded lady. Except it’s more about her start in life as a little girl and how she got there more or less. I really enjoyed the first part of it, but it is almost inhumane how she was treated. But you have to read it with a grain of salt as that was how things were at that time. I kinda liked it however but I didn’t like the jump from half way to the end – it was…well it didn’t seem very cohesive. It was just a ridiculous jump. This would have been far better as a novel than a short story.
Day 15: Ken Liu, "The Journal"
I related to this one. One day while cleaning the house a wife finds her husbands journal and reads it however in doing so mentally she becomes unable to read anything else. This story is about the communication between people no matter the relationship. Our own inability to see things and relate to others or misinterpret actions or words from others.
This one was interesting. The premise is about basically a bearded lady. Except it’s more about her start in life as a little girl and how she got there more or less. I really enjoyed the first part of it, but it is almost inhumane how she was treated. But you have to read it with a grain of salt as that was how things were at that time. I kinda liked it however but I didn’t like the jump from half way to the end – it was…well it didn’t seem very cohesive. It was just a ridiculous jump. This would have been far better as a novel than a short story.
Day 15: Ken Liu, "The Journal"
I related to this one. One day while cleaning the house a wife finds her husbands journal and reads it however in doing so mentally she becomes unable to read anything else. This story is about the communication between people no matter the relationship. Our own inability to see things and relate to others or misinterpret actions or words from others.
Day 16: Salvatore Scibona, "Tremendous Machine"
The one was interesting…Story of a Polish/Russian woman and her obsessions. She buys a piano and hires a teacher and it comes full circle when the piano tuner and teacher are at odds. It was a longer short story that at moments rambled . Wasn’t my favorite but wasn’t bad.
Day 17: Carleigh Baker, "Last Woman"
This story is about a woman who escapes it all to write in a cabin in the woods and plays a video game about the last woman on earth surviving an apocalypse of some kind. It’s an interesting take on how sometimes our lives mirror a book we are reading, a game we are playing or some event that happens.
Day 18: Martin MacInnes, "Chemistry"
I was not a fan of this story. A couple find themselves in a relationship that isn’t quite working out so they go and have themselves chemically altered to make their relationship more chemistry compatible. Fundamentally speaking I don’t agree with this so had a hard time reading it. This story for me was far too controversial.
Day 19: Lindsay Hatton, "The Friend"
A story about a veteran who works for a company that builds bridges and this mans one story about a bridge in San Francisco. It was an odd little story that was more than a little strange. The writing style is very good but it does jump a little bit.
Day 20: Kelly Link, "The Game of Smash and Recovery"
I really like this one. A story about a big “brother” and a little “sister” on a different world told through the eyes of the “sister”. It’s not what you think how ever. This story reminded me so much of Anne McCaffrey’s The Ship Who Sang (which I love).
Day 21: Rebecca Rosenblum, "The First Day of Winter"
This one was an interesting take on a single father’s day before xmas and shopping with his daughter. They decide to go to a restaurant and grab a bite to eat before catching the bus home and a waiter his on the father but the daughter just doesn’t seem to notice. Oh and he a vegetarian. And gay. I didn’t mind this one at all. Not my favorite in terms of writing style but not the most terrible.
Day 22: Nathaniel Hawthorne, "The Christmas Banquet"
This one was a tough read for me. The story is about a xmas banquet but with a twist. When a rich gentleman died he stipulated in his will that every xmas a dinner would be held but the only guests should be the most pitiful people in life. Not pitiful money wise but people that had experienced tragic things that had altered their outlook on life. The most odd thing about this is that at the head of the table would sit a shrouded skeleton holding a wreath. I found this to be a description heavy short story that had intricately rich characters. Not the kind of read you should do before falling asleep. I like the richness to it but it was more like eating a heavy rich meal then going on a big hike.
Day 23: Rebecca Schiff, "How to Be a Slut"
Literally the title – short paragraphs on a woman from first person perspective telling the reading how to be a slut. Didn’t care of this one from the way it was written and the feel of it.
Day 24: Rachel Lyon, "Tripping Sunny Chaudhry"
This one was good. During one xmas going back home a woman and her husband stay with her mom. The woman goes for a drive to her old haunts as a teenager and runs into old classmates including an ex. Real feeling of nostalgia her and I loved the feeling of being able to be transported back into your own history and remembering high school days.
The one was interesting…Story of a Polish/Russian woman and her obsessions. She buys a piano and hires a teacher and it comes full circle when the piano tuner and teacher are at odds. It was a longer short story that at moments rambled . Wasn’t my favorite but wasn’t bad.
Day 17: Carleigh Baker, "Last Woman"
This story is about a woman who escapes it all to write in a cabin in the woods and plays a video game about the last woman on earth surviving an apocalypse of some kind. It’s an interesting take on how sometimes our lives mirror a book we are reading, a game we are playing or some event that happens.
Day 18: Martin MacInnes, "Chemistry"
I was not a fan of this story. A couple find themselves in a relationship that isn’t quite working out so they go and have themselves chemically altered to make their relationship more chemistry compatible. Fundamentally speaking I don’t agree with this so had a hard time reading it. This story for me was far too controversial.
Day 19: Lindsay Hatton, "The Friend"
A story about a veteran who works for a company that builds bridges and this mans one story about a bridge in San Francisco. It was an odd little story that was more than a little strange. The writing style is very good but it does jump a little bit.
Day 20: Kelly Link, "The Game of Smash and Recovery"
I really like this one. A story about a big “brother” and a little “sister” on a different world told through the eyes of the “sister”. It’s not what you think how ever. This story reminded me so much of Anne McCaffrey’s The Ship Who Sang (which I love).
Day 21: Rebecca Rosenblum, "The First Day of Winter"
This one was an interesting take on a single father’s day before xmas and shopping with his daughter. They decide to go to a restaurant and grab a bite to eat before catching the bus home and a waiter his on the father but the daughter just doesn’t seem to notice. Oh and he a vegetarian. And gay. I didn’t mind this one at all. Not my favorite in terms of writing style but not the most terrible.
Day 22: Nathaniel Hawthorne, "The Christmas Banquet"
This one was a tough read for me. The story is about a xmas banquet but with a twist. When a rich gentleman died he stipulated in his will that every xmas a dinner would be held but the only guests should be the most pitiful people in life. Not pitiful money wise but people that had experienced tragic things that had altered their outlook on life. The most odd thing about this is that at the head of the table would sit a shrouded skeleton holding a wreath. I found this to be a description heavy short story that had intricately rich characters. Not the kind of read you should do before falling asleep. I like the richness to it but it was more like eating a heavy rich meal then going on a big hike.
Day 23: Rebecca Schiff, "How to Be a Slut"
Literally the title – short paragraphs on a woman from first person perspective telling the reading how to be a slut. Didn’t care of this one from the way it was written and the feel of it.
Day 24: Rachel Lyon, "Tripping Sunny Chaudhry"
This one was good. During one xmas going back home a woman and her husband stay with her mom. The woman goes for a drive to her old haunts as a teenager and runs into old classmates including an ex. Real feeling of nostalgia her and I loved the feeling of being able to be transported back into your own history and remembering high school days.
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