2018 Short Story Advent Calendar Unveiling: December 16

A little worse for wear, but still reading and eating chocolate, so basically everything’s fine. How did we get to December 16 already?
Has anyone ever heard of YOSS? Well it stands for Year of the Short Story, and it happened a couple years ago, but I’m still trying to keep the momentum alive by highlighting how important short fiction is. Listen in for my (somewhat) convincing arguments! CBC.ca | The Homestretch | Short fiction picks.
Reproduction by Ian Williams, winner of the 2019 Giller Prize is a quirky read. Aside from this book being PAINFULLY LONG, I enjoyed it. It plays with lots of things: format, timelines, even phrasing. That being said, I’m a reader who doesn’t like freaky-deaky experimentation in my books, but I still found this story readable….
I can’t remember ever reading a book or story by Alistair MacLeod before today, but I do know I should be ashamed of this fact because he’s one of Canada’s greatest writers. Although he died in 2014, his legacy still lives on in his writing, as well as through his son Alexander MacLeod (pictured below) who is…
I’m going to make an effort to do more video book reviews as people seem to like them, plus, they’re fun to do! My apologies there are no kitties in this video, and as always, please send any feedback my way re: lighting, backgrounds, etc. I need all the help I can get!
I’m a fan of the occasional cozy mystery, although I only read them every once in awhile because they can be a bit slow. The Missing Guests of the Magic Grove Hotel by David Casarett is a perfect example of the cozy mystery; it’s slow, very slow, in fact the ‘mysteries’ that came to light…
Some thriller readers may already be familiar with the author C.J. Tudor – she wrote the bestseller The Chalk Man a few years ago and continues to build her audience from that success. A Sliver of Darkness is the first book of hers that I’ve read, and it’s a collection of short stories, all works…
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“A man and a boy crossed the parking lot and they were drawn as if melting, they were shaped like gum being stretched from a shoe.” Wow! End of review. JK, what a beautiful story of love lost and found and all of the questions we ask ourselves. It was fragmented, but I appreciated that approach, given it was a recollection of events and random thoughts. And I loved the commentary about technology and the lack thereof woven throughout the ‘narrative’. Simpler times?
Glad to see you up and about, and, yes, kitties are very intuitive…and therapeutic.
so true! I must admit I’m in a grumpy mood because of my surgery so I’m probably not as ‘giving’ as I would normally be in my reading
Poor you! You deserve so much more than a miserable chocolate square! (I’m sure you’ve had more than fifteen of them already…) Have some chocolate ice cream.
great minds think alike! My husband picked me up some today :)
You know what’s strange is my cat will not leave me alone when I don’t feel good. I mentioned that I went to the ER last weekend, and though I was only gone 8-9 hours, when we got back she was all up in my face and following me around. She especially attentive when I have cramps and always manage to lay in just the right spot on my abdomen to purr (she doesn’t usually lay with me).
awwwww so cute!! Cats are the best.
Their purrs resonate at a healing frequency, so perhaps she is more attuned to her magic-cat-powers than some other cats. :)
I like the sound of that!
LOL! I love that expression: “magic-cat-powers.” I HAVE heard about the healing frequency before!
me too!!!
Glad you are recovering and enjoying the stories so much. I admire your dedication to posting daily about them. (But am still stubborn about limiting my screentime, so I’m admiring from the sidelines!)
understood! This does take an effort, that’s for sure.
And you can’t even prepare very far ahead because they are timed-release. Like vitamins!
So glad it went well! And now I am caught up a little but, too!
I agree with everyone – cats are the best! I’m watching one of my cats right now playing with my daughter’s bunny. So cute!