From the Bookshelf of Constant Reader…

Tenth of December

George Saunders

Start date: October 15, 2013

Finish date: November 15, 2013

Discussion: Reading List

Discussion leader: Sherry

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Reading List

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What Members Thought

Jan 13, 2013 Jenny (Reading Envy) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, short-stories, own, read2013

I was lucky to score a review copy of the audio of these stories from Random House (you can listen to a 4 minute excerpt on their website). The stories are read by the author, which I really love hearing in his voice. He has a somewhat dry tone that lends well the simultaneous whimsy and morbidity that are found in his stories. I have read several volumes of Saunders' short stories, and this combination of light with dark is his style, but he is able to make it fresh with each new story.

The Semp ...more

22 likes · Like · see review

Mar 14, 2015 Jenny (Reading Envy) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: short-stories, read2015, open-book, reread

My review is the same of the print as it was of the audiobook when I listened to a few years ago, same favorites even! But I re-read this because I got to see the author speak at an author series at the University of South Carolina.

...more

11 likes · Like · see review

Jul 29, 2015 Clifford rated it really liked it

Shelves: shortstorycollections

7 out of 10 of these stories were first published in The New Yorker, which means I had read them already. And now, after reading this book, my conclusion is that Saunders shouldn't publish collections of stories. Each of the New Yorker stories was fine in the magazine, great even, but reading them one after another is kind of annoying. For me, there's a certain sameness--not in the subject matter necessarily, but in the voice and the manic electricity of the prose. ...more

9 likes · Like · see review

Dec 16, 2014 Kate rated it really liked it

Really beautiful short stories. Arguably one of the best books I've read all year. A must. ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Sep 25, 2013 Ruth rated it it was ok

At first, I didn't like this book at all. Smartass stuff, I sniffed. Put it down. Picked it up again a few days later. Hmmm. Ended up liking it. Sorta. Two of the stories I'd read before, Tenth of December and The Semplica Girl Diaries. They must have been in the New Yorker. Escape from Spiderhead I just could not get through. So my verdict on the book as a whole? Interesting perhaps, but I'll not seek out his work again. ...more

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Nov 06, 2013 SooYoung rated it it was ok

I just couldn't get into it. A few of the short stories were interesting, but overall wasn't feeling like sticking with it. ...more

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Aug 06, 2013 Loretta rated it it was amazing

Shelves: short-stories

Oh, this was a lovely read. Also depressing, insightful, heartbreaking, and brutal. But lovely, and well worth it. I'll be reading more of Saunders. ...more

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