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Respected Contributor
Posts: 3,923
Registered: ‎02-20-2016

a wondrous book of short stories

I'm aware that not every reader cares for short stories. Personally, I love them; in fact, one of my book clubs focuses only on short stories.

 

Julie Orringer's How to Breathe Underwater is a most remarkable collection of truly unique short pieces. The book jacket says that "Orringer's characters--all of them submerged by loss. . .struggle mightily against the wildly engulfing forces that threaten to overtake us all. All of them learn, gloriously if at great cost, how to breathe underwater."

 

I recommend this book to all who want plots that follow tangents: no run-of-the-mill writing can be found here.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 13,401
Registered: ‎07-15-2016

Re: a wondrous book of short stories

@insomniac2 

 

Thanks - sounds interesting!  I downloaded a sample from Amazon.

Trusted Contributor
Posts: 1,047
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: a wondrous book of short stories

[ Edited ]

I love short stories.  I didn't always.  When I was younger I found them not appealing, it seemed the characters or plots weren't as satisfying to me, although I liked some of the really well known ones like "The Lottery" or Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily".  But on the whole I didn't care for them.

 

Now that I'm older, I like them so much more. 

 

Thanks for the recommendation.  I can highly recommend short stories by Carol Shields.  She was a Canadian author (I think) who wrote "The Stone Diaries".  I think that book won a Pulitzer prize, but I can't remember for sure. 

 

  Maybe that's another reason I like short stories now....my memory is so bad that if I put down a novel for a day or more, when I go back I find it hard to remember what I had already read.  I am not kidding. 

Honored Contributor
Posts: 9,305
Registered: ‎06-08-2016

Re: a wondrous book of short stories

This week a friend was telling me about a good novel she's reading and it reminded me of how much I miss reading short stories.    Learned about them in high school and loved them ever since.

 

There are some soft cover magazines that come out monthly, maybe quarterly at the book store in the magazine rack.   I sometimes pick up one of them, then pass them to my DS, who reads like crazy.

 

Asimov's Science Fiction comes out bi-monthly if you are into scifi or fantasy.

 

There's others with great compelling short stories.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 12,110
Registered: ‎03-12-2010

Re: a wondrous book of short stories


@blueroses47 wrote:

I love short stories.  I didn't always.  When I was younger I found them not appealing, it seemed the characters or plots weren't as satisfying to me, although I liked some of the really well known ones like "The Lottery" or Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily".  But on the whole I didn't care for them.

 

Now that I'm older, I like them so much more. 

 

Thanks for the recommendation.  I can highly recommend short stories by Carol Shields.  She was a Canadian author (I think) who wrote "The Stone Diaries".  I think that book one a Pulitzer prize, but I can't remember for sure. 

 

  Maybe that's another reason I like short stories now....my memory is so bad that if I put down a novel for a day or more, when I go back I find it hard to remember what I had already read.  I am not kidding. 


 

 

@blueroses47  I love Carol Shields.  Yes, she's Canadian and "The Stone Diaries" is a much-lauded book that a lot of people would love.  

 

Suggestion for short stories (a genre I usually avoid because I don't understand a lot of them):

 

A new author, her first book and I can't praise it enough:   The Wonder Garden by Lauren Acompora. 

 

They all take place in the same small and unforgettable town of Old Cranberry, Connecticut.  They're loosely linked.  I've read it twice, which I rarely do, because I enjoyed it that much.    

Respected Contributor
Posts: 3,923
Registered: ‎02-20-2016

Re: a wondrous book of short stories

Blueroses47, I appreciate your comments on Carol Shields (who was a brilliant writer). I'm also going to check out The Wonder Garden.

Trusted Contributor
Posts: 1,047
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: a wondrous book of short stories

@LoriLori  Thanks so much for the recommendation.  I willl definitely check it out, it sounds like something I would enjoy.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 13,401
Registered: ‎07-15-2016

Re: a wondrous book of short stories

@insomniac2 

 

Well, I read the "sample" which was part of the story "Pilgrims"  .... and bought the book.

 

I like the writing style.

 

Thanks again!

 

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@ALRATIBA wrote:

@insomniac2 

 

Thanks - sounds interesting!  I downloaded a sample from Amazon.


 

Respected Contributor
Posts: 3,923
Registered: ‎02-20-2016

Re: a wondrous book of short stories

Alratiba, thank you!

Respected Contributor
Posts: 4,759
Registered: ‎03-03-2011

Re: a wondrous book of short stories

Thanks so much for this book tip (How to breath...) I could not put it down! Great short stories....most of them better than the full length novels I've read lately.