Short Stories – Page 90 – Cannonball Read 17

“When creative people do their best work, they’re hardly ever in charge, they’re just sort of rolling along with their eyes shut yelling wheee.”

Everything's Eventual by Stephen King

April 23, 2019 by scootsa1000 Leave a Comment

I have had this beaten-up paperback copy of Everything’s Eventual in my backpack for at least a year, reading a few pages here, a short story there. I was enjoying it, but kept forgetting it was there, usually opting to listen to Audible or read on my kindle when I had some free time. And finally, I went for a walk at lunch today, found a cute table outside a sandwich shop, and sat down to finish it. I’m pretty sure that this was only […]

“Fathers and sons…they’re like governments: always having sword fights with their penises”

Anagrams by Lorrie Moore

Like Life by Lorrie Moore

April 21, 2019 by vel veeter Leave a Comment

OK ok ok. So I originally used to truly love Lorrie Moore stories, especially from the two collections Self-Help and Birds of America. I read Birds of America in college and read Self-Help a few summers ago from a ratty old copy I found in a free bookstore. But recently I have read first her collected nonfiction, which ranged from perfectly good, to unnecessary, to kind of meh, to outwardly bad. I also read her most recent collection Bark and found it more or less […]

A Quick Little Walk on the Dark Side

The Best American Mystery Stories 2018 by Louise Penny (editor)

April 19, 2019 by lumenatrix Leave a Comment

I’m going to say that while I did like this collection, I don’t necessarily know that I personally would have called all the included stories “mystery” stories. A lot of them fell into more of a ‘suspense’ or general ‘crime’ genres rather than a true mystery story. That didn’t bother me most of the time, but it was enough of a thing that I wanted to get it out there for anyone who may want to check this one out. As with most short story […]

Fresh Fantasy

How Long Til Black Future Month? by N.K. Jemisin

April 18, 2019 by Ale Leave a Comment

It took me a long time to get through this book, but not because I didn’t like it. I really loved many of the stories in this collection. Jemisin’s prose is tight, and fresh, and wonderful. She creates full-bodied characters in small spaces, and in many ways, the largest reason it took me almost a whole month to read was because I’d be so bereft at having to leave a character or environment that I love, and I simply wasn’t ready to move on to […]

A Little Less Sparkle the Second Time Around

The Ancient Magus Bride The Silver Yarn by Kore Yamazaki et al.

April 14, 2019 by CoffeeShopReader Leave a Comment

The second The Ancient Magus Bride short story collection, The Silver Yarn, had some ups and downs, and in the end I wasn’t quiet as in love with the stories as with the first collection. I think maybe it was partially expectations, and partly the fact that the first collection had more references to the original characters and series. This set was still entertaining, it just didn’t have the same sparkle. Three stories stood out for me this time, and as it turns out, they […]

Once upon a time I didn’t think I could write short stories.

How Long Til Black Future Month? by NK Jemisin

April 10, 2019 by vel veeter Leave a Comment

I was a little leery of this one for two distinct reasons. One, when an author tells us in the first pages that they don’t like or know how to write short stories…uh oh. And two, I might be one of the few people who didn’t particularly enjoy The Broken Earth (first) book(s). I might go back to them now, because I did enjoy this one. I was worried of getting my time wasted with what I misperceived as a possible dilettante attitude about short […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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