forestofglory: A green pony with a braided mane and tail and tree cutie mark (Lady Business)
[personal profile] forestofglory
I really enjoy reading collections, short stories by one author collected in one volume, and anthologies, stories by multiple authors generally centered around a theme. They are great ways to explore the depth and breath of SFF. I like that collections let me see the range of a single author and that anthologies show me so many different takes on the same theme.

Recently I've been reading more collections and anthologies. While I have been having trouble reading things on screens in pandemic times, I have lots of collections and anthologies in either hard copy or ebook, both of which are easier for me. It's nice to dip into the stories between longer works.

Here are some new and some old favorites:

Xenocultivars: Stories of Queer Growth, ed. Jed Sabin and Isabela Oliveira— This is an anothology of queer plant-themed SFF. There's a wide variety of stories here. I liked that many stories featured intergenerational relationships. Also it was fun to see how many different ways stories could feature plants.

A Summer Beyond Your Reach by Xia Jia— Xia is Chinese science fiction writer whose work tends to center daily life. I had read several of the stories in this volume before, but many were new to me and a fair number were first translated into English here. These stories are emotionally rich.

Not For Use In Navigation: Thirteen Stories by Iona Datt Sharma — Datt Sharma’s stories focus on people doing unglamorous work (like siting a sewage plant) to make the world better. They also frequently deal with living in community with others. I find their writing evocative and lovely.

Spirits Aboard by Zen Cho— Cho is another of my favorite authors; she has a strong (and delightful) writing voice. This collection really showcases the breadth of her writing. I love how she brings magic to all kinds of ordinary situations

What are some of your favorite anthologies and collections?
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[personal profile] bookgazing
Just three stories this week because brain fog is a huge thing for me right now. Hopefully I'll return stronger next week, but at the same time we are waiting for our phone calls about work reopening so... If you'd like to, please tell me about short stories you've enjoyed which are compatible with tired brain.

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[personal profile] bookgazing
This week's stories are about time travel, technology, talking foxes, and I guarantee one of the oddest quest protagonists you'll have met in a long time.

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[personal profile] bookgazing
Ok, maybe I need a plan to help me read new to me short fiction authors because this post is yet another foray into new work by authors I've read before. Turned out pretty great though so...

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Quick bit of short fiction news before I go - I just wanted to add a little note linking to Charles Payseur's new rating system, The Scales of Relative Grimness which is just so relevant to my own interests when it comes to short fiction. I think Charles has some further thoughts on the scale coming out soon, so I'll be interested to see those too.
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[personal profile] bookgazing
Four stories a week seems to be about my level at the moment, so no Friday story yet again. It's possible four stories will be the norm now? We'll see.

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[personal profile] bookgazing
I only managed to read and write about four stories again this week, but oh well. I think I have fully learned that living through a pandemic without losing it means having to just let my brain do what it wants when it wants. And sometimes what it wants to do is watch three series of Superstore in a row.

However, I fully expect to read more stories next week because Maria Haskins just posted a round up with the unofficial theme of 'companion animals', and I plan to inhale all the stories I haven't read already. So, I hope you check out the four stories I was able to highlight, and then come back ready for more next week.

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[personal profile] bookgazing
I hope everyone is enjoying my focus on softer stories with happy endings because it is not about to stop. I would love to see more of these types of stories make it into the SFF awards lists this year but even if that doesn't happen I hope writing these posts is helping to make some of my favourite stories more visible.

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[personal profile] bookgazing
I gave myself the first week of my new furlough off from doing any projects, including Short Business, but even with that break to re-adjust I've found myself slow to get back into short fic. So, if you think 'Hm, that's a short post about an odd mix of stories this week' yes it is, and we're just going to roll with it.

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No Friday story this week because like I said I was still finding it hard to get back into the project, but I'll return next week with a full complement of five stories, and hopefully more coherent thoughts about them.
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[personal profile] bookgazing
Happy New Year everyone. Hope you are all well, and ready to face 2021. I'm going into this year with a lot of gratitude for a variety of different things that I don't want to write about because I am terrified of tempting fate. However, my brain feels it can safely talk about my gratitude for all the creative people, and their work, that kept me going in 2020; starting with a list of favourite short fiction that I read last year.

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helloladies: Horseshoe icon with the words Lady Business underneath. (Default)
[personal profile] helloladies
Join Anna (aka forestofglory) and Jodie as they explore their feels about 'soft' or low-stakes SFF short fiction, and rec a whole bunch of stories for you to enjoy.


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