Ravi Mangla's Blog, page 47
May 13, 2012
SSM Reading List: "Wonderful Break-Up Stories"
by Greg Gerke
- “Are These Actual Miles?” by Raymond Carver
- “Platinum” by James Salter
- “A Bit on the Side” by William Trevor
- “Liars in Love” by Richard Yates
- “Winter Dreams” by F. Scott Fitzgerald
- “The Palmer System” by Laurence C. Peacock
- “A Bear Came Over the Mountain” by Alice Munro
- “Comfort” by Mary Gaitskill
- “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway
- “Brokeback Mountain” by Annie Proulx
(Recommended Reading 5/09)
May 12, 2012
May 11, 2012
SSM Reading List: "Smörgåsbord Short Story Collections"
There are a lot of story collections I enjoy while I’m in the midst of reading them, but then look back on later and find the stories have blurred together in my mind. I have an especial love for collections that offer up a lot of distinct pleasures, whether the author is consciously working with different subjects and styles, or just producing a selection of really kick-ass stories.
- The Hotel Eden by Ron Carlson
- Equal Love by Peter Ho Davies
- Here We Are in Paradise by Tony Earley
- Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
- The Good Life by Erin McGraw
- Permanent Visitors by Kevin Moffett
- The Train to Lo Wu by Jess Row
- Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich (I know, it’s a novel, and I know, everybody already knows it’s great. But it’s the book that taught me what a short story is, so I can’t let it go unmentioned.)
(Recommended Reading 8/09)
May 10, 2012
May 9, 2012
SSM Reading List: "Ten Stories That Are Ready For Their Close-Up"
by Owen King
In the Bedroom (from Dubus’s “Killings”) and Brokeback Mountain (from the Annie Proulx story) are great examples of why, in general, most short stories probably make more sense as subjects of film adaptation than most novels. I’m not sure that the reason for this is all that complex. Turning a novel into a film usually requires a screenwriter to do lots of paring down, whereas a short story adaptation usually asks for rounding out. Neither thing can be easy, but I feel like the former needs a ruthless attitude that’s especially rare.
Anyway, here are ten short stories that have a sort of wonderful “roominess” – full, terrific characterizations, and narratives extended enough to bear the weight of elaboration – that makes them ripe for the motion pictures! (Come to think of it, for the same reasons, all these stories could be enlarged into novels…)
- “Death Defier” by Tom Bissell
- “The Man Who Knew Dylan” by William Gay
- “Flower Garden” by Shirley Jackson
- “Aerogrammes” by Tania James
- “The Specialist’s Hat” by Kelly Link
- “Intervention” by Jill McCorkle
- “Gators” by Mark Poirier
- “CivilWarLand in Bad Decline” by George Saunders
- “Batting Against Castro” by Jim Shepard
- “Blue Yodel” by Scott Snyder
(Recommended Reading 8/09)
May 8, 2012
May 7, 2012
SSM Reading List: "Debut Story Collections"
- Tunneling to the Center of the Earth by Kevin Wilson
- The Language of Elk by Benjamin Percy
- Once the Shore by Paul Yoon
- Minor Robberies by Deb Olin Unferth
- Big World by Mary Miller
- In the Devil’s Territory by Kyle Minor
- Animal Crackers by Hannah Tinti
- Reasons to Live by Amy Hempel
- Self-Help by Lorrie Moore
- Famous Fathers and Other Stories by Pia Z. Ehrhardt
- The Girl in the Flammable Skirt by Aimee Bender
- The Point by Charles D’Ambrosio
- Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
- Yellow by Don Lee
- Drown by Junot Díaz
(Recommended Reading 5/09)
May 6, 2012
May 4, 2012
Two Nice Mentions
- Visiting Writers gets a shout out from the good people at Treehouse: 5 Things Published Online You Should Read.
- Lost at E Minor shares a video of Mel Bosworth reading my story “Nose” (from Keyhole Digest).
