Short Story Collections Community Readalong October 2013

Is this a cool dust jacket or what?!

Jeff VanderMeer, one of the more creatively weird SF writers working today, calls Nathan Ballingrud, author of this collection of short stangeness, "one of my favorite short fiction writers."

I see why. I'll put up a review one day soon!

I'm still slowly going through that pile of old magazines in my home office I described a while back. This week I added the June 21 & 28, 1999 edition of The New Yorker to my "between book" reading list. This is the magazine's annual fiction edition for that year, and the subtitle of this edition is: "20 Writers for the 21st Century - The Future of American Fiction."

The stated qualifications for inclusion were writers younger than 40 who had already made a name for themselves and showed potential for staying relevant over the long haul. The roster is impressive; almost all of the writers are still famous and producing quality fiction. However, the first work in the collection, "I Can Speak! TM" by George Saunders, I found to be a clunky and unsuccessful attempt at satire.

I'm looking forward to the rest of the edition, though. Next up is "Asset" by David Foster Wallace.

I finished The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick, Volume 1 today. My first time reading anything by Dick. I liked the collection which varied from humor to creepy to straightforward sci fi.

Now, I am 'rereading' The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by listening to the audiobook I got this summer from SYNC.

Wow, that IS a cool cover! Looking forward to your review, Richard!

I finished The Best New American Voices 2001 and on a whole a VERY strong anthology. No real "duds" but surely some are better than others. But I would say all were at least 3 stars!

I finished and reviewed the exquisite Modern Library collection, Selected Short Stories of Isaac Bashevis Singer.

Picked up two collections today; The Task of this Translator and The Heyday of the Insensitive Bastards as well as The Greatest American Essays 2004 and The Greatest American Non-Required Reading 2002.
Not bad for St. Vinnie's.

I got a review copy of a new collection from Queen's Ferry Press. It's called Where the Body Ends by René LeBlanc.



A little trepidatious, based on the cover....

A little late in the game, but reading Best New American Voices 2008 and wow, it's really good ... so far only one dud in the bunch (mostly, because it's about the Hollywood scene and that always makes me yawn and walk away - I don't find much original there because it is written about far too much). It is always fascinating to see who from 2008 got big, finished novels and who is quietly still writing really good stories.

The story by Lauren Groff - "Surfacing" - is particularly incredible. I loved her book Arcadia (although a bit weird) and did not know she wrote any short stories!

I am finding the "Best New American Voices" series well worth a look (over some of the other "best of" anthologies out there).

Glad you've mentioned Lauren Groff Carolyn as I had previously not heard of her. Arcadia looks interesting to me and I've also just wishlisted her collection Delicate Edible Birds and Other Stories which looks really good.

Polaris~ I have not read Monsters of Templeton as even the description did not appeal to me, but Arcadia was weirdly interesting and hard to put down. In some ways, it reminded me a lot of Drop City by T.C. Boyle, but it was not as dark. I just think I like her style of writing, in ways I'm not sure I can articulate.

I finished and reviewed Best New American Voices 2008 and overall, really enjoyed it. Ups and downs, as will happen with a collection like this, but a few really "great" stories in there.

Sat down and almost read the entire McSweeney's 43 and loved it. Finished it today and will try to pop up a review. Good stories.