December's Challenge

[Anita]

It's here, Suevians, the final challenge for the Mary Sue's 2016 reading challenge. I hope you've all found some great reads this year and are successful in all of your challenge goals!

December's challenge is to read a book of short stories. A great way to finish up the year, and easy to fit in during a really busy time! I found this Listopia Collection of Short Stories you may be interested in perusing, and I also highly recommend one of our previous group reads, North American Lake Monsters: Stories. It was really, really good. So if you missed out on that read, here's another chance.

Share with us what book you choose to read for this one, and of course any recommendations you would toss our way. I wish you all a happy holiday season, and good luck wrapping up your reading challenges!

[Sara]

I'm accidentally participating in this one. :-) After seeing Arrival, I wanted to read the short story it's based on, so I got Stories of Your Life and Others. Each story is a gem.

[Anita]

Sara wrote: "I'm accidentally participating in this one. :-) After seeing Arrival, I wanted to read the short story it's based on, so I got Stories of Your Life and Others. Each story is a gem."

I've heard great things about that collection. I hope you enjoy it. I'm working my way through Around the World in Seventy-Two Days: And Other Writings, mostly because I've been dying to read Into the Madhouse

[Chessa]

I saw Arrival last night after reading the short story it's based on a few weeks ago (Story of Your Life) and I thought they were both SO GOOD. One of the rare instances where I loved both equally despite their differences! God, I think I cried for half the movie though. It really is so amazing and heartbreaking (but don't let that stop you! So so excellent!)

I definitely intend to read the rest of that collection at some point.

This year I read a few great collections of short stories, a form that I generally avoided in the past because of intimidation. I really liked Of This New World - great short utopian stories of all kinds. I also read an advanced copy of Roxane Gay's Difficult Women - holy cats, that one is intense!

[Anita]

Chessa wrote: "I saw Arrival last night after reading the short story it's based on a few weeks ago (Story of Your Life) and I thought they were both SO GOOD. One of the rare instances where I loved both equally ..."

Two excellent recs, Chessa. They're going on my to-read shelf. Reading this Around the World in Seventy-Two Days: And Other Writings and I find myself instantly fangirling over Elizabeth Cochran AKA Nellie Bly and extremely horrified at how easily women were tossed in, abandoned, and labeled insane... Really, reporting on her time in the asylum was a service to women and mental patients everywhere.