Short Story Collections Community Read Along - August 2013

Welcome to a new month of short story reading!

I see these threads have waned considerably, but I will continue to soldier on in the realm of shorter fiction. I've really enjoyed some of the discoveries I have made.

I am currently reading The O'Henry Awards Prize Stories 1998 and wow, it sure started off with a bang, with Lorrie Moore's first prize story "People Like That Are The Only People Here."

Happy reading! Share what, if anything, is on you SS plate!

A Collection of Short Stories by Jeffrey Archer

Tales of the Unexpected - Roald Dahl

- Forthcoming Reading.

Any suggested titles.

Have just started the 1988 debut collection by one of Mississippi's finest - Larry Brown - with Facing The Music.

I just began Home for Sale by Leo Litwak. Leo, a very fine writer, was one of my instructors and mentors when I got my Masters Degree in creative writing at San Francisco State. This is his latest collection.

I could not finish The O'Henry Awards Prize Stories 1998 because they were just horribly depressing and loaded with bizarre and gratuitious violence ... so much so, I dreaded each next story. I realize this is not fair to the second half pieces, which may have borne no resembances to the prior ones. But I just felt that if that panel chose those few as winners, I could not stomach the rest.

#3 - I am a huge, huge Larry Brown fan, so anxious to see if you liked Facing the Music. I have only read his novels. What a talent - gone far too soon.

I received, read and reviewed the ER book Reduced to Joy by Mark Nepo which is a wonderful, small collection of poems.

So, it turns out that Home for Sale is a novel. Please disregard post #4. On the other hand, it is a fine novel which I read through over this past weekend.

>5 CarolynSchroeder:

I agree, an amazingly talented writer who I'm sure would have given us many more fine stories. I've read seven of the ten in Facing the Music so far, so I'll probably post up a comment or two (or a link to my review maybe) when I finish them all. Suffice to say - I love it. It's a great collection, and very hard to believe that it was his debut publication!

I just started reading Tales of the Night by Peter Hoeg which is another Danish collection. I must admit that I am enjoying these more than Isak Dinesen's short stories, which surprises me as I didn't care much for Smilla's Sense of Snow.

Finished the Larry Brown collection - and I loved it. Five star fiction. My review is here: http://www.librarything.com/work/245750/reviews/72522842

I am reading Half as Happy by Gregory Spatz.

Be interested to hear what you think of that Carolyn.

Need to get back on the SS reading wagon - will give Open Secrets by Alice Munro another crack over the weekend!

And now that September is half over, I started a new thread.

*sigh* been neglecting my duties, haven't I. Bad me.