Remember a couple of weeks ago I was talking about short stories and asked for suggestions on which literary journals to check out? I got some good recommendations, which I have been checking and I promise to post more on as I read them and such, but I just have to give a special thank you to Vasilly who sent me three back issues of Tin House!
I received those today and already read a bit from issue 34, The Dead of Winter. There was a very short story by Luis Jaramillo, The Pacific War, which I found very powerful. I also read an essay by Yiyun Li which talks about how she found her call to writing after discovering the works of William Trevor. I’ve only read one of his books but her essay makes me want to read more and I’m definitely looking forward to her debut novel, The Vagrants.
I had to return The Best American Short Stories 2008 to the library this week so I didn’t finish the book but I did read three of the stories: Man and Wife by Katie Chase, Closely Held by Allegra Goodman, and May We Be Forgiven by A.M. Homes. All three I really like but in particular Man and Wife. That story was just so unsettling.
Anyway, I’m having a lot of fun exploring short stories so if you have more recommendations please let me know. I’m taking note.
I always enjoy The Best American Short Stories! I really liked the year Ann Patchett edited–either 2006 or 2007. Happy reading!
I love short stories too. I can’t recommend Joanne Harris’ Jigs & Reels enough. And if you dare – Stephen King’s Nightmare & Dreamscapes. While his longer tales are sometimes questionable, he’s a master at the short story. The last time I picked a Best American Short Story anthology was back in college! Wonder if I can find one here at Borders.
I need to get back into short stories. When I first started getting “serious” about writing in high school I thought short stories were my calling. Now I think I just didn’t like to finish things lol. But they are a wonderful art that’s hard to do well.
I am happy that you received so many leads from your blog friends!
I am about to start some. I’ll let you know when I finish reading them.
Funny, I have recently started reading short stories again too. Not sure why! Right now I am really enjoying the Pushcart Prize anthology, which also has some poetry:
http://tinyurl.com/cvpmcu
I’ve also been rereading some of Edith Wharton’s short stories and they are fantastic but then I am huge fan :).
You’ve won a small prize from the Japanese Literature Challenge. I hope you like it!
Tiffany – I’ll be on the look out for those when I go to the library. I think this is the first time I’ve really checked out the series!
Kisane – Oh I didn’t realize that Joanne Harris book was a short story collection! And, I’ve read a fair share of King novels but never the short stories. Thanks for those tips!
nik – I took a short story writing course a couple of years ago and I actually found it more difficult than a poetry class I had taken. So are you not working on short stories any more?
Isabel – Book blog friends are the best! 🙂 Which ones are you reading?
Greer – Oh thank you for the link! I’ll be checking it out and I’d be up for reading more Wharton. I finally read one of her novels last year and really enjoyed it!
Bellezza – Wee! Thank you so much.
I keep meaning to try an issue of Tin House but still haven’t. I think I’ve been saying that for at least a couple of years now. I must rectify that this year!
And you probably already know it but I quite enjoyed Zoetrope: All-Story which I subscribed to for a couple of years. I gave up on American magazine subscriptions though because they usually took at least 2 months to arrive and not at all a couple of times so I got fed up with the waiting and the claiming. 🙁
I looove Tin House!!! I really need to spring for a subscription. I’ve found some fantastic short stories there.
tanabata – Tin House is really great. I’ve got one issue where it’s all women writers and that was good. See, I don’t think I’ve ever checked out Zoetrope. Unfortunately the big bookstores are hit or miss with literary journals but at my indie store that I have now that we moved I have noticed more. I’ll have to check it out. And, yea, I don’t blame you for giving up on subscriptions if they take that long to arrive. What a bummer!
Andi – I keep saying that once I get a job again, I’ll start subscribing to stuff. I miss my magazines but I had to do some budgeting – sigh!
I love One Story, which sends One Story at a time. Many of their picks end up in Best American. I’ve also enjoyed Tin House. Ploughshares links to some full stories on the site, as does Zoetrope. But I also found this through bookFox today: http://www.fiftytwostories.com/. Harper Perennial is publishing one story a week for 52 weeks. Happy reading!
The Pacific War sounds interesting. My favorite short stories collection has to be Stephen Kings Nightmares and Dreamscapes. I actually just finished reading a short story collection called, The Girls’ Guide to Hunting and Fishing, it was an okay read though . I liked it, but didnt love it.
Priscilla – I did hear about 52 stories which sounds great. I need to visit and see what I’ve missed so far. I didn’t realize Ploughshares had online stories so thank you for that tip! I’m loving this – more places to check out 🙂
bookworm – I read Girls’ Guide and wasn’t that impressed either. It was ok. Now, I think I should get that Nightmares & Dreamscapes! That could be a lot of fun!
I received a copy of The Vagrants in the mail recently–quite unexpectedly. It looks like it will be a good one and I am looking forward to reading it.
I also received The Vagrants, and it looks really good!