Saturday, February 16, 2008

Short Story Challenge List

I've begun my Short Story Challenge reading but haven't yet posted my list. This is because I keep changing my mind about which collections should be included on that list. I decided that the form my challenge would take would be to read ten collections by ten authors whose short stories I've never read before. But even with a generous allotment of ten books and the stricture that they must be by authors new to me, I've been having trouble narrowing it down. There are so many collections out there that I already wanted to read. And, of course, the great reviews that are accumulating now on the Short Story Challenge Blog are tempting me in a multitude of new directions. But then it occurred to me that I've pledged to read a minimum of ten not a maximum, so I need not feel constrained by the posting of my list. The following is my provisional list then, and please keep the recommendations coming!

Eileen Chang, Love in a Fallen City;

Amy Hempel, The Collected Stories;

Laura Hird, Hope and Other Urban Tales;

Kelly Link, Magic for Beginners;

Leonard Michaels, The Collected Stories;

Z.Z. Packer, Drinking Coffee Elsewhere;

Nathan Sellyn, Indigenous Beasts;

William Trevor, Cheating at Canasta;

Simon Van Booy, The Secret Lives of People in Love; and,

Tim Winton, The Turning.

6 comments:

Andi said...

YESSS! The Secret Lives of People in Love is SO BEAUTIFUL! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

I've been feeling the same way. At first I felt constrained, but I know I'll read way more than the ones I chose for the challenge, so I might as well bask in the short story goodness.

Remi said...

The Amy Hempel book is amazing.

Anonymous said...

What a lovely collection: I shall have a relook at my own list!

LK said...

I'd love to read Chang (among others in your collection). There are so many...!!!

Anonymous said...

If you haven't read it already, I recommend Deborah Eisenberg's Twilight of the Superheroes.

Deanna McFadden said...

I've just read the first two stories in Winton's "The Turning." While I can't highly recommend the whole collection yet, I can say that the first two stories, and especially the second one, "Abbreviation," are excellent.