Speaking of short stories and parenthesis: I'm currently reading the Murderbot series (they're novellas, so a bit longer than short stories, but still short enough I can read in 1-2 days), and the parenthesis usage is HEAVY and it's my happy place. I LOVE parenthesis and exclamation points and emojis and any sort of novelty, "bad writing" things! I'm not a writer, I'm a reader, so! There you have it. Readers who are not jerks don't care! Martha Wells is KILLING it (no pun intended) with her murderbot parenthesis! Anyway. I love short stories and would be game for this except I did the thing other people do and committed to this 1200 page book which is the whole life story of an enslaved woman in northeast Brazil during the 19th century that is an absolute brilliant brilliant brilliant book (not translated to english yet, unfortunately, but if you by some reason want a Brazilian author short story recommendation to your list —im aware you didnt ask1 lol — Machado de Assis is great and has several translated) so I'm focusing on reading one chapter a day of that one. But if short stories summer makes a comeback in 2025 for a sequel... why not? I love a challenge.
I saw a friend reviewing those books saying they had so much heart. I'm finding a lot of comfort cozy reading lately in sci fi. Which seems very odd. Murderbot is a foul mouthed, parenthesis loving, bot, but he's the absolute most wholesome guy.
This inspired me to read one of my favorites, "Yours" by Mary Robison! It's only 2 or so pages long, but I think about it all the time, probably more than a lot of novels I've read. (The second-to-last paragraph, my god.)
I love short stories and you reminded me of all the reasons why!! It also brings me back to my days of being a student/teacher, and honestly I love school!! My brain is FRIED this summer and maybe reading short stories is actually what I need, so maybe I will join you in a very gentle, low-stakes kind of way. Also, is this the right place for us to bond again over George Saunders' ponytail?
The ponytail <3 Long may it live in our hearts and memories! I was just looking at his most recent newsletter and he included a link to a short story so it looks like I’m reading Chekhov tomorrow! Because I trust him in matters of fiction AND hair.
I love short stories (I took creative writing from Ron Carlson!) but the problem is so many times now people put out a short story and it is actually the reasonably good first chapter of a novel, but not a good short story. But I do like this idea, and probably still have a couple anthologies kicking around, so maybe I'll dip my toes in again!
Yes, the problem is you never know when you’ll end up reading a dud! It happens! Maybe that’s why I love the Best American anthologies so much…I know they’ve been approved by someone else so I can trust that there’s some value there.
That's a good point! I must have given away my Best American anthology (or just misplaced it lol) but I I have at least five other anthologies/collected works, so I have plenty of options!
I should read short stories more often. I read "St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves" by Karen Russell years ago and LOVED it, and have been meaning to read another one of her collections, "Vampires in the Lemon Grove."
I loved that collection too, and I also haven’t read the other one! I need to get on it! Also…am I going to see you later this month at The Book Loft??
Just finished Table for Two by Amor Towles. Excellent. Picked it for my bookclub because you are correct - everyone needs to read more short stories. Thanks for the recommendations Kerry!
The story story collection that I've read the most is Welcome to the Monkey House by Kurt Vonnegut. It's been many years, but I used to reread it annually. I also loved Henry Sugar and six more by Roald Dahl as a kid.
Charles Baxter ❤️. I am very excited about Short Story Summer! Every year, I vow to myself that I am going to read more short stories, as I love them so much and feel like I don't read nearly as many of them/collections of them as I used to. So far, I am doing better this year than in previous years, but there is still room for improvement. Most recently I read the new Kate Atkinson story collection (some of which are loosely connected, which I am always a sucker for) and have started the last Alice Munro.
My favorite yearly anthology was always the New Stories from the South collections, which are no longer around.
Speaking of short stories and parenthesis: I'm currently reading the Murderbot series (they're novellas, so a bit longer than short stories, but still short enough I can read in 1-2 days), and the parenthesis usage is HEAVY and it's my happy place. I LOVE parenthesis and exclamation points and emojis and any sort of novelty, "bad writing" things! I'm not a writer, I'm a reader, so! There you have it. Readers who are not jerks don't care! Martha Wells is KILLING it (no pun intended) with her murderbot parenthesis! Anyway. I love short stories and would be game for this except I did the thing other people do and committed to this 1200 page book which is the whole life story of an enslaved woman in northeast Brazil during the 19th century that is an absolute brilliant brilliant brilliant book (not translated to english yet, unfortunately, but if you by some reason want a Brazilian author short story recommendation to your list —im aware you didnt ask1 lol — Machado de Assis is great and has several translated) so I'm focusing on reading one chapter a day of that one. But if short stories summer makes a comeback in 2025 for a sequel... why not? I love a challenge.
I'm so curious about those Murderbot books!! And I think there's something so fun about reading a huge book in summer.
I saw a friend reviewing those books saying they had so much heart. I'm finding a lot of comfort cozy reading lately in sci fi. Which seems very odd. Murderbot is a foul mouthed, parenthesis loving, bot, but he's the absolute most wholesome guy.
This inspired me to read one of my favorites, "Yours" by Mary Robison! It's only 2 or so pages long, but I think about it all the time, probably more than a lot of novels I've read. (The second-to-last paragraph, my god.)
Okay, this comment inspired me to read it last night (you had me at two pages) and aaaaah. Loved it.
Amazing, so glad you enjoyed!
I love short stories and you reminded me of all the reasons why!! It also brings me back to my days of being a student/teacher, and honestly I love school!! My brain is FRIED this summer and maybe reading short stories is actually what I need, so maybe I will join you in a very gentle, low-stakes kind of way. Also, is this the right place for us to bond again over George Saunders' ponytail?
The ponytail <3 Long may it live in our hearts and memories! I was just looking at his most recent newsletter and he included a link to a short story so it looks like I’m reading Chekhov tomorrow! Because I trust him in matters of fiction AND hair.
I love short stories (I took creative writing from Ron Carlson!) but the problem is so many times now people put out a short story and it is actually the reasonably good first chapter of a novel, but not a good short story. But I do like this idea, and probably still have a couple anthologies kicking around, so maybe I'll dip my toes in again!
Yes, the problem is you never know when you’ll end up reading a dud! It happens! Maybe that’s why I love the Best American anthologies so much…I know they’ve been approved by someone else so I can trust that there’s some value there.
That's a good point! I must have given away my Best American anthology (or just misplaced it lol) but I I have at least five other anthologies/collected works, so I have plenty of options!
I should read short stories more often. I read "St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves" by Karen Russell years ago and LOVED it, and have been meaning to read another one of her collections, "Vampires in the Lemon Grove."
I loved that collection too, and I also haven’t read the other one! I need to get on it! Also…am I going to see you later this month at The Book Loft??
Yes!!! I cannot wait!
Just finished Table for Two by Amor Towles. Excellent. Picked it for my bookclub because you are correct - everyone needs to read more short stories. Thanks for the recommendations Kerry!
I haven’t read anything by him! A big gap in my reading!
The story story collection that I've read the most is Welcome to the Monkey House by Kurt Vonnegut. It's been many years, but I used to reread it annually. I also loved Henry Sugar and six more by Roald Dahl as a kid.
Charles Baxter ❤️. I am very excited about Short Story Summer! Every year, I vow to myself that I am going to read more short stories, as I love them so much and feel like I don't read nearly as many of them/collections of them as I used to. So far, I am doing better this year than in previous years, but there is still room for improvement. Most recently I read the new Kate Atkinson story collection (some of which are loosely connected, which I am always a sucker for) and have started the last Alice Munro.
My favorite yearly anthology was always the New Stories from the South collections, which are no longer around.