Play Book Tag discussion
December 2016: Short Story
>
Announcing the December Tag
message 51:
by
Kristel
(last edited Nov 24, 2016 11:45AM)
(new)
Nov 24, 2016 11:43AM
I just recently read a collection of American short stories. It included An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Bierce and Brown Wolf by Jack London. A classic short story also included Kate Chopin and Mark Twain. And don't forget The Lottery.
reply
|
flag
Nicole R wrote: "Shotgun Lovesongs is not short stories but it is wonderful so read it anyway!!! ;)"Yep, I looked it up.......no worries, I found a Christmas collection where some romance authors did stories based on the 12 Days of Christmas. I love the Sophie Katz series and Kyra Davis contributed.
I will read Revenge and perhaps can get to The Tsar of Love and Techno as well.Absolutely recommend Nine Stories - LOVE Salinger. I also have a collection of unpublished stories I can read.
And any Christmas celebrating person should read A Christmas Memory - it really captures the moment.
AJ wrote: "Does anyone know "Astray" by Emma Donoghue and if that counts for the tag?"I have not but every time I see that title I read it as "ashtray." lol
I was at the library yesterday and saw that Jeanette Winterson has a new collection of Christmas short stories out. Good timing as it meets the criteria for December and for Fall Flurry! https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
Someone had mentioned Wool on their list for short stories for Dec. It's on Kindle sale today for "cyber Monday" for $1.99 Wool Omnibus Edition (Wool 1 - 5) (Silo series) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0071XO8RA/... I thought it was good. It's a near future post apocalyptic story of humanity being saved by the creation of a huge underground silo.
AJ wrote: "Does anyone know "Astray" by Emma Donoghue and if that counts for the tag?"I read Astray and gave it 4 stars. It would definitely work for the tag. Here is my review:
Astray is collection of short stories that have the common theme of individuals emigrating from one life to another. It is divided up into stories labeled as "Departures," "In Transit," and "Arrivals and Aftermaths." All of the stories are historical fiction ranging from 1639 through 1967 that are inspired from real historical records. Some are about real historical people and others are based on a sentence in a newspaper. I enjoyed most of the stories. They show snippets of the history of North America (most of the stories take place in the United States and Canada; those that do not have characters that are departing for North America). I also liked how Donoghue described the historical person or document that inspired each story. Those based on real people often included a description of what happened to that person later in life. I would recommend this collection to those that enjoy short stories and historical fiction - especially historical fiction set in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in North America.
Hmmm. Short stories aren't really my thing. I've tried them time and time again and I'm always disappointed. Anyone have any good ideas based on how well you know my reading tastes (if you do)?
Jenni Elyse wrote: "Anyone have any good ideas based on how well you know my reading tastes (if you do)?"I'll be reading My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories which is young adult Christmas shorts. It has one by Rainbow Rowell, one by David Levithan, plus a bunch more. I think it would be up your alley.
I cant remember if you've read The Selection series, but it also has "inbetween books" that are short stories.
Recommendation for anyone- if you like Gillian Flynn- read The Grownup. Only 75 pages, but jampacked with Flynn-like goodness.
Joi wrote: "Jenni Elyse wrote: "Anyone have any good ideas based on how well you know my reading tastes (if you do)?"I'll be reading My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories which is y..."
Thanks for the recommendation Joi. I'll check that one out and see if I can get it. :)
Cora wrote: "AJ wrote: "Does anyone know "Astray" by Emma Donoghue and if that counts for the tag?"I read Astray and gave it 4 stars. It would definitely work for the tag. Here is my review:
Astray is collec..."
I'm thinking I won't have time for it but it sounds interesting. I'll be adding it to the TBR.
Top Recommendation: A Twist in the Tale by Jeffrey ArcherTwo other recommendations, although I warn these story collections could be considered uncomfortably bizarre:
Willful Creatures by Aimee Bender
My Cousin, My Gastroenterologist by Mark Leyner.
Possibilities for me:
Ward No. 6 and Other Stories by Anton Chekhov
Redeployment by Phil Klay
Smoke and Mirrors: Short Fiction and Illusions or Fragile Things: Short Fictions and Wonders by Neil Gaiman
I hadn't realized that The Tsar of Love and Techno was short stories! Don't know how I missed that but, since it's on my TBR, that will definitely be on the top of my list. I'm also considering Fragile Things by Gaiman and A Tyranny of Petticoats, a YA book that includes (subtitle)15 stories of belles, bank robbers & other badass girls. Sounds interesting. Short stories are on the bottom of my genre list - probably after non-fiction!
I'm not a short stories person. I have only read a couple that I have actually liked. I think I will take my time to find something sci-fi similar to Eye by Frank Herbert, so I will at least like the genre.
Barbara wrote: "I hadn't realized that The Tsar of Love and Techno was short stories! Don't know how I missed that but, since it's on my TBR, that will definitely be on the top of my list. I'm also considering Fra..."I am not a short story person either and The Tsar of Love and Techno is so brilliant because it is short stories that blend so well into a longer narrative that is so beautiful.
Booknblues wrote: "Barbara wrote: "I hadn't realized that The Tsar of Love and Techno was short stories! Don't know how I missed that but, since it's on my TBR, that will definitely be on the top of my list. I'm also..."Another book similar to this (one that many refer to as a complete book told in multiple short stories) is The Imperfectionists by Tom
Rachman. It's been tagged short-stories so I think it qualifies. It's a great book by a great author.
Good to know Charlie as I loved The Tsar. Thanks!
Charlie wrote: "Booknblues wrote: "Barbara wrote: "I hadn't realized that The Tsar of Love and Techno was short stories! Don't know how I missed that but, since it's on my TBR, that will definitely be on the top o..."Really loved this one too! It didn't totally strike me as short stories, but I can see how it might count.
Charlie wrote: "Booknblues wrote: "Barbara wrote: "I hadn't realized that The Tsar of Love and Techno was short stories! Don't know how I missed that but, since it's on my TBR, that will definitely be on the top o..."Thanks for the excellent suggestion. Not sure I can get to it but I'll check with the library. This is going to be a very busy month, my reading will probably suffer. I've got 2 quilts going into our judged quilt show (must be finished by Jan 4), Mom's 90th birthday in 2 weeks and then Christmas which I haven't even started shopping for! I'm in big trouble!
I was goimg to suggest The Imperfectionists, but it appears Charlie beat me to it. And Regina beat me to Dubliners. So instead, I will recommend I, RobotI am a big fan of short stories. This month I am considering:
Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances
Revenge
The Tsar of Love and Techno
The Dead
Olive Kitteridge
Charlie wrote: "My favorite individual short stories are as follows:Heat by Joyce Carol Oates
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce
Love of Life by Jack London
The Last Rung On the Ladder by Stephe..."
Thanks for the list. I am definitely going to look into the Hemingway and London.
Anita wrote: "Charlie wrote: "Booknblues wrote: "Barbara wrote: "I hadn't realized that The Tsar of Love and Techno was short stories! Don't know how I missed that but, since it's on my TBR, that will definitely..."I agree its not short stories in the strictest sense, but the way its written it can definitely be interpreted in this way. I think it would definitely appeal to those who aren't fans of short stories and love character driven stories.
I just realized Tales of Beedle the Bard is a collection of short stories by JK Rowling. I think I'll read that for December. I've been wanting to read it for a while. Perfect time. :)
Jenni Elyse wrote: "I just realized Tales of Beedle the Bard is a collection of short stories by JK Rowling. I think I'll read that for December. I've been wanting to read it for a while. Perfect time. :)"Great decision! So glad you found something . . .
I'm listening to One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories by BJ Novak (The Office). It's narrated by him. I had actually listened to part of it some time ago and just lost interest (which is a problem I sometimes have with short story collections, too many easy places to stop). It's pretty silly, sometimes clever and sometimes he'll randomly bring in bits from previous stories. And I just added The Imperfectionists to my list. I know I had checked it out before but never read it.
I'm not sure if it's tagged "short stories", and it's probably not meant to be, but I found And the Mountains Echoed read like short stories, that were merely connected by the characters.
Ah, I guess it's not. I thought someone might have tagged it that way. I didn't like it as much as his other books that I've read because they felt so much like short stories.
LibraryCin wrote: "Ah, I guess it's not. I thought someone might have tagged it that way. I didn't like it as much as his other books that I've read because they felt so much like short stories."I would agree that And the Mountains Echoed is a book of linked short stories; at least as much as The Tsar of Love and Techno. If one works for this tag the other does also.
Sara wrote: "Anita wrote: "Charlie wrote: "Booknblues wrote: "Barbara wrote: "I hadn't realized that The Tsar of Love and Techno was short stories! Don't know how I missed that but, since it's on my TBR, that w..."Not to be a noodge BUT given the back and forth on whether The Imperfectionists qualifies for the Short Story tag, I can't help but point out three data points in its defense:
1. Anita the first two sentences of your review of the book in question reads as follows: "The Imperfectionists is both a novel and a short story collection. To me, it reads like a novel, but each chapter could standalone as a short story."
2. Sara your review starts by saying, "A collection of short stories, The Imperfectionists tells the stories..."
3. Under the book's Goodreads genres page "short-stories" garners 21 tags.
It is uncharacteristic of me to post like this but I felt the need to vindicate my recommendation given that I was just trying to help those struggling with what has been a very polarizing tag if I do so say.
For the record, I had a bad day, so please don't hold this rant against me.
Charlie wrote: "Sara wrote: "Anita wrote: "Charlie wrote: "Booknblues wrote: "Barbara wrote: "I hadn't realized that The Tsar of Love and Techno was short stories! Don't know how I missed that but, since it's on m..."For whatever it's worth, I just told my wife about my post/rant and she said, "good luck finding another book club and poor Michael (aka "last man standing")."
Charlie wrote: "Charlie wrote: "Sara wrote: "Anita wrote: "Charlie wrote: "Booknblues wrote: "Barbara wrote: "I hadn't realized that The Tsar of Love and Techno was short stories! Don't know how I missed that but,..."Charlie, if that polite posting is what you consider a rant, your wife is a lucky lady. I think you made your point very clearly.
Sorry you had a bad day.
Charlie wrote: "For whatever it's worth, I just told my wife about my post/rant and she said, "good luck finding another book club and poor Michael (aka "last man standing")." "
That was a polite rant and I don't think you need to go out and find a new book club. And since it was tagged short stories 21 times, it would work anyway :).
It's okay to debate politely, at least I think so.
I think that we've always had the leeway to self qualify if we think the book meets the tag so I don't even think that anyone would vote you off the island ;-)I've actually had this on my Kindle for a while because my F2F bookclub read it (but I didn't because I was travelling). Since I'm not the biggest fan of short stories, I think maybe I'll try it --- I did like Tsar of Love and Techno.
Lol, Charlie . . .you need to "rant" more often! You made excellent points, and obviously my memory isn't what it used to be! It is a terrific book and deserves the defense.Your wife sounds adorable and witty!
I too agree with the loveliness of Charlie. I found it surprising to hear the description of polarizing for the tag. I don't know, maybe it's my flair for drama, but I think it would be fun to have a truly polarizing tag. I think we could well handle it. But it would be really interesting to unfold. Meanwhile, have just started 9 stories, and I'm looking forward to my experience this month of short stories. It's in the stretch category for me - so I'm curious to see what unfolds. Have t had a bad PBT month yet!
I always considered a general 'rule of thumb' that even it a book isn't tagged as such here on goodreads- if I FEEL that the book qualifies as the tag, I'll use it for the month.Please correct me if I'm wrong- and this may be sort of an 'honor code' type of thing. The goodreads tags just aren't the same as Shelfari Tags, and I see that as a reason to be flexible. For example, I started Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea. It's not tagged as short stories- but it DEFINITELY IS, so I was going to use it for December's tag.
Nicole R wrote: "OFF WITH HIS HEAD!!!;)"
Aha, now I know which Wonderland person you are ;)
Joi wrote: "I always considered a general 'rule of thumb' that even it a book isn't tagged as such here on goodreads- if I FEEL that the book qualifies as the tag, I'll use it for the month.Please correct me..."
It is totally an honor code thing. And to be honest, it was an honor code thing on Shelfari too. If you think it counts and post it in the proper place, we let it stand. It is only for games that we are "strict".
That being said, I would characterize a "short story" as fiction which is probably why Handler's book is not tagged as such.
I will say that I think here at Goodreads (as opposed to Shelfari) there are so many more active users that if a book doesn't have a single person tagging it with the monthly tag and it isn't obscure . . .the tag probably doesn't fit.
I feel there is more overtagging here (tagging a book with a tag that barely fits) than there is undertagging (book fits the tag, but no one tagged it that way).
But we aren't strict on the monthly tags so if a member feels it is a fit, we are good with that.
Charlie wrote: "For whatever it's worth, I just told my wife about my post/rant and she said, "good luck finding another book club and poor Michael (aka "last man standing")." ..."Awwww, I don't think anyone will hold your opinions against you! I also didn't really think of it as a rant!
Joi wrote: "I always considered a general 'rule of thumb' that even it a book isn't tagged as such here on goodreads- if I FEEL that the book qualifies as the tag, I'll use it for the month.Please correct me..."
Yes, this is true. If you read a book that you think qualifies for the monthly tag, it is fine. For a game, that's a different story, but just for the monthly tag, it's all good.
Thanks to all for your friendship. Glad to be part of the group. Happy reading to all!
Charlie wrote: "Sara wrote: "Anita wrote: "Charlie wrote: "Booknblues wrote: "Barbara wrote: "I hadn't realized that The Tsar of Love and Techno was short stories! Don't know how I missed that but, since it's on m..."So you are right! I tend to seperate short stories and linked short stories in my head, and the Imperfectionists is definutely the latter, but linked or not it is still a short story collection.
And if that was a rant, well then I'd hate to see you truly angry. ;)
There has been some discussion, both here and behind the scenes, about what a short story truly is.So in that spirit, I share Webster's definition. So, fiction.
Definition of short story
: an invented prose narrative shorter than a novel usually dealing with a few characters and aiming at unity of effect and often concentrating on the creation of mood rather than plot
Whoops! Didn't realize short stories had to be fiction. Good thing I've got a few more options for this month :)
I didn't recognize Olive Kitteridge as short stories, but the tag fits if some folks see it that way. A lot of books use linked stories. Go Down Moses, which I am wanting to read seems that way. It looks like Stones from the River is in that vein too.
Joi wrote: "Whoops! Didn't realize short stories had to be fiction. Good thing I've got a few more options for this month :)"I would probably call short-story like non-fiction essays. I know that is how I would tag it.
For those confused about The Tsar of Love and Techno here is part of the Amazon description:From the New York Times bestselling author of A Constellation of Vital Phenomena—dazzling, poignant, and lyrical interwoven stories about family, sacrifice, the legacy of war, and the redemptive power of art.
This stunning, exquisitely written collection introduces a cast of remarkable characters whose lives intersect in ways both life-affirming and heartbreaking.
To me a collection refers to short stories rather than a novel.
Great to find this group again!I am going to read from The Treasury of American Short Stories edited by Nancy Sullivan.
I also have a book of short stories by Ernest Hemingway. It's in the garage, not sure if I want to go find it.
Play Book Tag
Books mentioned in this topic
After the Quake (other topics)The Machine Stops (other topics)
Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea (other topics)
And the Mountains Echoed (other topics)
The Tsar of Love and Techno (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
E.M. Forster (other topics)Kyra Davis (other topics)
Charlaine Harris (other topics)
Connie Willis (other topics)
Laurie Penny (other topics)
More...
