Light Reading (Not!)

I know it looks like I read a fair amount this week. I really didn’t, seeing as the last bunch of stories were flash. So, here’s the roundup.

The first two are from the collection Report to the Men’s Club (from the local library, but I just ordered my own copy).

“Grandma” by Carol Emshwiller. A nice tale that took its time getting to the SF/F element, but was well worth the wait. Not your standard plotted story; it seemed more like a series of vignettes and flashbacks skillfully arranged into a narrative. 5 out of 5.

“The Paganini of Jacob’s Gully” by Carol Emshwiller. You just need to read this! Just do it! It is without a doubt the absolute fucking best lit/genre-blended love story I have ever read! 5 out of 5!

“The Rookers” by Bobbie Ann Mason. Another piece from Shiloh and Other Stories. I’ve took my time reading this one, remembering how well-crafted I remembered the story “Shiloh” was. “The Rookers” didn’t disappoint. Her character and setting descriptions are proof positive that “minimalism” doesn’t mean “2,000 words or less.” While the ending wasn’t as shocking as the one in “Shiloh,” it made me think just as hard. 5 out of 5!

I don’t know why I waited so long to get a copy of The Girl on the Fridge. That was just dumb. Before I knew it, I read these stories in one sitting during my lunch break one day…

“Asthma Attack” by Etgar Keret. Not a story, but it’s the piece that sets a metaphorical rationale for the economic for the economy of word use in rest of the book. Very, very nice. 5 out of 5.

“Crazy Glue” by Etgar Keret. Another valuable lesson for me that fantasy doesn’t have to mean magic and such. 5 out of 5.

“Loquat” by Etgar Keret. Another story involving a grandmother, this is simultaneously a piece on the socio-political complexities of Israeli daily life and on the lengths anyone, anywhere might go to for family. 5 out of 5.

“Hat Trick” by Etgar Keret. Definitely loved the “gonzo magical realism” thing this story had going. Wasn’t too big on the non-ending ending, well-written as it was. 4 out of 5.

Tweets for Today

  • 07:22 Of course, now that I have a breather, it’s supposed to rain. Oh, well. It’ll keep me indoors writing. #
  • 10:45 If this bastard of an MS insists on being 6,250+ words, fine. Off it goes on Monday to whatever market might have it! Good riddance! :P~ #
  • 12:48 I know this is the attitude I should have with my writing: ♫ blip.fm/~a3jr #
  • 14:09 I am hereby banning myself from the campus bookstore for at least the rest of the month!! #
  • 17:32 I’d love nothing better right now… ♫ blip.fm/~a77d #
  • 22:09 Why, oh why do I feel a second wind at 10 pm?? #
  • 22:39 My second wind sure wasn’t from watching the presidential debate, that’s for sure. #
  • 22:43 Then again, am I really complaining that this debate actually looked like a debate? #

Via LoudTwitter

Tweets for Today

  • 09:01 New attitude today. Yesterday’s got old really quick. ♫ blip.fm/~9ox0 #
  • 09:06 Mostly caught up with skoolwork, too. Which means more writing tomorrow!! #
  • 13:18 Is it bad that I plot my walk from work to class to walk up the fewest staircases possible? #
  • 18:07 Nothing like a fresh pair of eyes on an MS. Not that I’ll get to process any comments before tomorrow–it’s still a skool nite 🙁 #
  • 22:00 Skoolwork done until next week! (Aside from reviewing for next week’s midterm.) #

Via LoudTwitter

Tweets for Today

  • 04:01 Why am I awake??? ♫ blip.fm/~8p2r #
  • 07:11 Ooh, this is gonna be a rough morning. The kind of morning where one falls back on old addictions… #
  • 10:35 Successfully resisted the red-eye temptation! Day will suck, but at least I have that one satisfaction ;)! #
  • 11:04 "The Paganini of Jacob’s Gully" by Carol Emschwiller is the best fucking lit/genre-blended love story I’ve ever read! #
  • 15:31 In the eye of the hurricane at work… #

Via LoudTwitter

Tweets for Today

  • 08:29 I want to float through my Saturday. ♫ blip.fm/~8az0 #
  • 13:01 Sucks that my favorite food stand was *not* at the Farmer’s Market this morning! #
  • 13:04 Not thrilled about the money I spent buying pants this morning, either. But what can you do? #
  • 13:09 Will put off skoolwork until tomorrow. Edits today. #
  • 15:55 Far, far less writing/editing than should’ve been done by this hour. #

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Some Light Reading

Through the hustle and bustle of school, trying to fire off stories to markets, and eeking out some new stuff, I’ve been reading like I haven’t been in awhile. I’ve actually read quite a bit since my last set of reviews, but I haven’t had the brainspace to sit and give more than a passing thought to them before now. So, here’s the latest batch.

This first four pieces are from the Trampoline anthology…

“The Force Acting on the Displaced Body” by Christopher Rowe. A journey always makes a great metaphor, especially when a piece is as well-written as this. It’s a good example of something that skirts around the stricter genre definitions of fantasy. No magic as such–that is to say, no wizardry or the like. I guess it’s more on the lines of myth-making. 5 out of 5.

“Well-Moistened with Cheap Wine, the Sailor and the Wayfarer Sing of Their Absent Sweethearts” by Ed Park. Slightly long and slightly too descriptive for this Carver-lover but that’s my issue, not the story’s. The premise of the story more than makes up for it. You could almost call this piece Soft-Science-Fiction. 5 out of 5!

“Angel” by Shelley Jackson. This is the second or third Jackson story I’ve attempted. I really can’t put my finger on why I’ve been less than enthusiastic, thus far. Any idiot can see how good the writing is. I really don’t know what I’m not getting. As far as this piece though, it read like something calculated to be a bizarro, if well-written, version of Raymond Carver’s “So Much Water, So Close to Home.” Still, the writing rules, so 4 out of 5!

“Impala” by John Gonzalez. Straight-up sci-fi joint–almost! Loved it! Gonzalez took a risk with the choice of POV character, but I still found it compelling. 5 out of 5.

“Shiloh” by Bobbie Ann Mason. I searched high and low for a copy of Mason’s collection Shiloh and Other Stories, and finally found one (actually, three) in a second-hand bookstore around me that I didn’t know about until about a month ago. I see why this story’s a classic. Believable characters in a well-structured piece with the least amount of “writing” necessary. What more could a reader want? 5 out of 5.

“The Garden of Time” by J.G. Ballard. Another classic, this from his Best Short Stories. The line between sci-fi and fantasy blurs with this one because of Ballard’s skillful writing. A little light on characterization for me, though. 4 out of 5.