This week’s prompt is “Favourite Novellas/Short Stories.” I don’t read that much short fiction, so my list of faves is short. It also includes a couple of non-fiction picks, sorry. So my tweak this week is to also feature some short works I’ve heard good things about or that have piqued my interest.
Favourite short reads:
We mostly think of Roald Dahl as the author of brilliant stories for young readers, but he wrote a fair number of stories for adults (some would argue that none of his writing was originally intended for children) as well. I could have picked the title story from Skin just as easily, but Lamb to the Slaughter was the first of his short works for adults I read, and it definitely cracked open a door in my mind that had previously been firmly closed. I won’t say anything else about it – you’re better off to try it for yourself.
I just finished reading The Uncommon Reader for the second time and it was every bit as delightful as the first. It’s a novella bout how The Queen discovers a love of reading, and the many repercussions this new passion has on her work and view of the world. It’s brilliantly funny, but also contains plenty of social commentary and personal exploration. It’s a great one if you just want to lose yourself for a brief period.
I don’t think I really need to say anything about We Should All Be Feminists. Everyone has heard of it by now. But in case you have managed to miss it, check out my review of it here. And just read it, okay?
And finally, Very Good Lives. It’s the commencement address J.K. Rowling delivered at Harvard in 2008. It’s inspiring, of course, because it’s J.K. Rowling. (If you like this kind of thing I’d also recommend looking up Neil Gaiman’s ‘Make Good Art’ speech – similarly emotive and rousing.)
Some short fiction I’d like to check out:
I’m so excited for this Penguin Modern Classics box set. It contains very slim volumes – samplers, really – of some of the writers I’ve either wanted to read for some time or felt too intimidated to try. Including Betty Friedan, Gertrude Stein, Andy Warhol, Martin Luther King Jr., Susan Sontag, Daphne Du Maurier, Allen Ginsberg and Dorothy Parker, this collection is sure to contain names you recognize as well as plenty you don’t.
I have yet to read any Lauren Groff, but I’ve heard amazing things about her novel Fates and Furies and have been curious to check her out. So far reviews on this collection have been mixed – the stories don’t seem to have much in the way of plot and are essentially character studies, which is either a pro or a massive con depending on your reading preferences. But I’d like to give it a try and find out for myself!
There are a few of Sarah Hall’s books I’ve heard about repeatedly, so she’s on my TBR several times (I think Wolf Border, recommended by my mother, was the first time I heard of her). I picked this up in a Book Outlet sale for just a few dollars. I read the first story in the book and it was excellent – evocative characters, brilliant sense of culture and place. It made me want more, and so I was a bit put out when that story ended. I’ll get over it, and when I do I’m sure I’ll discover more treats between its covers.
Jen Campbell is, of course, a BookTube darling, being a very well-known BookTuber in her own right. She is also the author of several books – including Franklin’s Flying Bookshop and the Weird Things Customers Say In Bookshops duology, among others. She is smart, eloquent, principled and wise. I have yet to foray into this book but if her personality comes through on its pages it will be well worth your time.
I have had A.M. Homes pop into my reading life here and there over the years, but have never seemed to actually pick her up. I was recently flipping through the David Foster Wallace Reader and discovered that he used to assign one of her stories for his students, and that piqued my interest. Maybe this time I’ll finally get around to giving her a try.
Attrib is another of those books I’ve kept hearing about, but most notably from Liv Hooper over on her channel. It won this year’s Republic of Consciousness Prize and was nominated for at least three others. But mostly I just add everything Liv likes to my TBR and call it a day. I’ve only read the first in this collection so far and I was actually rendered speechless. Which, if you know me, you’ll know doesn’t happen often. It’s a story about a woman who is slowly losing words. As the story progresses the author cleverly edits the language used on the page to mirror her symptoms. It’s done with such delicacy and care that it doesn’t seem a gimmick – it works perfectly to draw the reader into the experience of the character. I can definitely see why this one has received acclaim.
What about you guys? Have you read any of these? What do you think of short fiction? Share thoughts and recommendations in the comments!
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly link-up feature created by The Broke and the Bookish and hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl. Every week TTT has a different topic, and everyone who links up has to create a link of ten items that fit that topic. To see past and upcoming topics, go here.
I had forgotten about Very Good Lives by JK Rowling. Thanks for the reminder!
I love Lamb to the Slaughter – it totally threw me and had me laughing out loud at the end!
I still need to read We Should All Be Feminists-my sister read it and really enjoyed it!
My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2018/07/17/top-ten-tuesday-168/
Great list! We Should All Be Feminists and Very Good Lives are on my TBR list. I’m curious about Florida, but I’m on the fence about adding it to my list. I read The Beginning of the World in the Middle of the Night and kind of hated it. It felt unfinished to me. I hope you like it more than I did.
We Should All Be Feminists and Very Good Lives are both incredibly short, so you can polish them off in one go. I have to say that Very Good Lives hasn’t stuck with me as much as Neil Gaiman’s “Make Good Art” speech, but I remember it being worth the read, especially given the length. We Should All Be Feminists is just so succinct, and I know from years of trying that writing what you need to say and nothing more is very, very hard. So I really respect what she accomplished with it. I’ve been a little nervous about The Beginning of the World. I’m not huge on fairy tales, which I think really inspired her work, and I do wonder if there’s a little bit of blurring the lines between the book and the author. I have a lot of respect for Jen Campbell, as do all the BookTubers I’ve seen talk about the book. I can imagine it being difficult to say the book’s only okay when you are friends with the author, or when the online book community you are part of is very dedicated to her. I think that’s part of what’s stopped me picking it up – being scared that it won’t impress me! We shall see…
Ooh, Sarah Hall is great! I think you’ll enjoy her work. My Top Ten are here: https://tinyurl.com/yav6xu8u
I think I will as well – I really like her writing style so far!
I haven’t read any of these (like you, I don’t read much short fiction) but this week has got me interested in reading it a little bit more. A couple people have listed Summer Days, Summer Nights on their lists, and it’s at the library today, so I think I’ll pick that one up. I moved my scheduled Throne of Glass review to September so I can review it in July… before the summer is over!
I’ve heard good things about both Summer Days, Summer Nights and its wintery counterpart! I like reading compilations by various authors, because then if you aren’t crazy about one, the next is bound to be completely different. I hope you manage to find time for it, and that you enjoy it!
The Uncommon Reader sounds interesting! Here is our Top Ten Tuesday
It’s one of my all-time faves! Definitely worth checking out.
I’m a big fan of The Uncommon Reader. I’ve always been a fan of short books over long ones; I don’t know why. I wish I could tell you about any of the ones you are thinking about reading, but I know nothing about any of them.
I never used to really consider the length of books all that much – I did find that I enjoyed having time in a book to really get to know the characters, and I felt there was more that could be said in a longer book (obviously). But I’ve discovered that some stories do work well with a smaller page count, and it’s like anything else – the ones that work are excellent. These days I’m drawn more to shorter books because it’s taking me so much longer to get through them and that way I at least manage a couple of reviews in the month!
Beautiful Indifference seems cool. Have you read The Umbrella Man by Roald Dahl? Or Henry Sugar? I really love his weird short stories. My TTT: https://mwgerard.com/short-and-sweet/
I haven’t read The Umbrella Man, but I have read the entire book that contains Henry Sugar. In fact, I have very strong memories associated with it, and bits from various of those stories often pop into my mind! I love it. And he is definitely one of the masters of weird fiction!
The UNCOMMON READER is such a fun and funny novella. Glad to see it on your list. My favorite short stories
I adore it! It was the perfect re-read for the summer.
I’ve read the Roald Dahl book but that is the only one. I did really enjoy that one though!