I had a funny dream about the library the other night. I dreamt I walked into the library to meet some friends and after saying our hellos and getting our table, I was off to check out the new books.

As I made my way to the shelves I realized they had moved the new books to a whole new section because apparently they had received so many new books that they needed more space. More books to explore – joy!

I woke up pretty much after that but you know what I think? This is a sign that I better get to my library to see what new books have arrived!

It has been a while since I’ve stopped in the library and I’m not sure if I’ll make it this weekend as I have family in town but I can put some items on hold and hopefully pick them up next week.

So what do you have planned for this weekend? I feel like I haven’t had a lot of time to devote to my reading this week so hopefully I can catch up with some of my reading. Of course to all of you moms out there – have a lovely Mother’s Day. I get the feeling my mom and I will be watching Sense & Sensibility again, which is ok as that never gets old.

Happy Weekend!

Did you know that May is Short Story Month? I saw an article about it and thought you know, this may get me out of my reading rut. As I’ve mentioned before I don’t read a lot of short stories but I do realize they can be a great way to discover an author and/or help you get through those times when you feel like you can’t devote a lot of time to reading.

Penguin Random House has this great list of short story collections they recommend. I’ve only read one collection, After the Quake by Haruki Murakami and I admit it wasn’t my favorite but I do have some of these other titles on my radar.

Now if you want to read your short stories online, Huffington Post has this great list to choose from. There are a couple here I’d like to check out definitely.

Finally, I wanted to share some titles that I’ve read and have loved. These short story collections are some of my favorites:

Strange Pilgrims by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I’ve read this one many years ago and it has all the wonderful qualities of GGM’s writing – magical realism, beautiful descriptions and memorable characters.

Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri. Another read that I discovered many years ago. This award winning collection traces the lives of Indian Americans adapting to their new homeland.

Tales from Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan. For something a bit different, check out these wonderful short stories accompanied by beautiful imagery.

Finally if you like mystery short stories I highly recommend the collections in the Noir series from Akashic Books. I’ve read from several and it’s a great way to discover some international crime fiction.

Now, tell me if you’ve got a short story collection you recommend. I’ve got my pencil ready to take notes!