L.S. Popovich
wants
to read:
Short stories are better than novels. I need a huge and I mean ginormous collection of short stories by one author. Can be ebook. Can be speculative fiction or realist. I am working my way through Zelazny, Poul Anderson, Brian Aldiss, JC Oates, Jack Short stories are better than novels. I need a huge and I mean ginormous collection of short stories by one author. Can be ebook. Can be speculative fiction or realist. I am working my way through Zelazny, Poul Anderson, Brian Aldiss, JC Oates, Jack Vance, R. A Lafferty, Twain. Already finished Bradbury, Chekhov, PK Dick, Lovecraft, Poe, Hemingway. Who is the ultimate short story master? Anthologies are okay as long as they are not recycling the typical ones....more
Fergus NmSeconding recs for James Tiptree Jr and Borges. JG Ballard's collected short stories is some 1000+ pages and has a remarkably high hit rate. Burning YouSeconding recs for James Tiptree Jr and Borges. JG Ballard's collected short stories is some 1000+ pages and has a remarkably high hit rate. Burning Your Boats by Angela Carter Bruno Schulz Smaller collections from the decadent/symbolist era that you might like - "My Fantoms" by Theophile Gautier, "Moral Tales" by Jules Laforgue (contains, among other things, an incredibly tripped-out version of Salome's tale, which was a big influence on Wilde's own version), "The Last Siren" by Lucie Delarus-Madrus (wide variety of stories ranging from naturalism, to decadence, to fables, and more)...more
Feb 11, 2025 04:25PM
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About:
If it's on my want list I plan to read it (eventually).
Books and friends serve the same purpose. The more the merrier.
Recommendations, messages and inIf it's on my want list I plan to read it (eventually).
Books and friends serve the same purpose. The more the merrier.
Recommendations, messages and invites are welcome.
That being said, I prefer to reread a book I love than force myself to finish a book I dislike.
RATING:
***** - worth rereading. Allowed for total suspension of reality. I was absorbed in the book, at least most of the way through. It also did something different, and didn't just repeat a tried and true formula.
**** - a good read. 7-9 stars on a ten-point scale. Might not hold up to a second reading, but probably was a work of genius or, if only slightly, altered my perception, greatly stimulated my imagination and made me want to turn pages.
*** - still a good book. Based on classic tropes reused through the centuries. Might be worth reading if its subject matter interests me or it's considered a classic. But it didn't really break the mold.
** - Somehow insulted my intelligence as a reader. It might have good ideas, but the story is not convincing - meaning the way it conveys the information does not create the illusion of reality with the world-building. Elicits the phrase we've all heard so many times: "it didn't grab me." A blurb on the cover says it's "fiendishly clever."
* - All the characters in the book do nothing but take drugs, drink, and act immoral. Nothing actually happens for about 99% of the book. Unreadable....more
JG Ballard's collected short stories is some 1000+ pages and has a remarkably high hit rate.
Burning You ...more
Feb 11, 2025 04:25PM · flag
Feb 11, 2025 05:04PM · flag