It’s a lovely day,
out there,
blue sky,
light,
clouds of white,
postcard stuff:-)
Yesterday,
was one of those,
days of penance,
type days,
every weirdo,
you could think,
of,
was in,
tough one,
in spite of that,
I’m in a good mood.
Slept in this morning,
haven’t slept this well,
in weeks,
literally.
I picked up some,
very interesting,
short story collections,
for the bookstore,
Eleven Kinds Of Loneliness,
by Richard Yates,
Cathedral by Raymond Carver,
and,
The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway.
I have a customer,
who is a freak,
for top of the line,
short story collections,
these qualify,
she probably has,
the Hemingway,
no matter,
it’s bound to interest,
someone.
I read a few of,
the Yates stories,
I particularly liked,
Builders,
about a writer,
and the taxi driver,
who hires him,
to write up,
his experiences as,
a hack.
He’s dark,
Yates,
in a subtle way,
more,
charcoal,
than black,
I read one of his novels,
last year,
Revolutionary Road,
didn’t like it so much,
couldn’t relate to the characters.
I liked the stories better.
Carver,
I’ve read,
he’s very sparse,
writes about,
ordinary people,
nobody,
really writes about,
people who seem,
uninteresting,
but,
everyone is,
if you dig,
enough.
I have tons of novels,
laying around,
waiting to be read,
but,
right now,
I need short,
it’s my,
Summer attention span,
sort of adolescent,
not in it’s interests,
more in it’s ability,
to concentrate.
I’m still mulling over,
that essence of butchness thing.
Soon,
I guess?
Going for some,
brewskies,
tonight,
at my friends,
busy writer,
and,
perfect guy:-)
Later girls,
BB
You know, I’m just not into books of short stories, as a rule. In fact I avoid them. At the library, I will grab and then immediately reshelve collections by even my most favourite authors, as soon as I realize they aren’t full novels. I’m put off by how fast they go by, how much thinking is required before I can move on to the next story in the book. Which is funny, because some of my very favourite pieces of fiction are actually short stories… Brief tales that mean the world to me, despite the fact that I never wanted to read them. Most of the short fiction I read is in magazines or on websites or self-published, where they somehow sneak past my bias.
(And really, BB, what are our blogs but collections of short stories about our own lives?)
Right now, I’m reading Alex Haley’s Roots, which is probably the farthest from a short story that I could get! I’m on page 266… Only 422 pages to go.
I prefer novels as well, I read Roots about 25 years ago, maybe more:-) good read. Funny I often think of my posts as short stories or vignettes.
I tend to avoid short story collections, though have been reading more of them lately and actually really liking them. I guess I should read more!
I like short stories but, I have to be in the mood, both of these are good:-)
Hmmm…”Roots”?! What a tome!…Not as huge books 4-7 of Harry Potter…but still:-); I like short stories. Have you read “The Story of an Hour”?
No, should I?
Yes. “The Story of An Hour” by Kate Chopin will take you maybe 5 to 10 minutes to read, but it will stay with you forever. It is poignant, funny, and sad. It makes male students uncomfortable, but female students love it! It is so short that it has to be online somewhere–I haven’t checked. If not, check 19th century women’s short story collections. I know that you will love it!
I found it in one of my anthologies, I’ll tell you what I think, soon:-)