Yeah...

In 2020 I have already read 1.5 David Levithan books.  He didn't show his disdain for we who are not in great physical shape in either!  Turning over a new leaf?  Or did you put some weight on, Mr. L.?  19 Love Songs is a collection of short stories and it was uneven.  Levithan appeals to me a lot more when he didn't clearly telling his own story.  The story about the love between his mom and dad and the one about a protest he attended after the 2016 election are exceptions.  The mom-dad was decent.  The protest one was excellent.  It made me remember our church's response to the election.  Offering prayer/support time for those who felt particularly threatened by the horrible, horrible person who took office.  It was such an awful time.  Here at work, too.  We were just devastated.  And what is worse, his time in office has turned out to be even more damaging and hate-filled than expected.  And we are in for many more years to come.
I will say it here, and I think I said it before, he will win this year and in 2024 he will win again.  People say, "that can't happen" but think of all of the things about which we have already said just that.  Yet his evil persists.  Not just his hate, but the hate his supporters show as well. 
The snow day story and the story about Infinite Darlene were really, really good.
The rest were okay but the ones about Levithan himself, I mean, I know even his fiction has parts of himself in it, but the ones that were clearly Levithan telling a personal story, I could barely get through them.   

The Tricky Thing about Short Stories...

is that sometimes they are uneven, especially when written by different authors.  I have to say that was NOT the case with Black Enough:  Stories of Being Young and Black in America.  It was edited by Ibi Zoboi and I have read two of her books and one of her short stories and I loved them all.  I also loved so many of these stories...like the guys growing up the south and falling in love.  This was just such a great collection of voices that not only need to be heard but man...the world is so much better when they are. 

Alone

Some people love being alone.  I don't.  I like it more than I used to, but I guess when I think about "alone"  I am thinking about "lonely."  I don't mind being alone, but I sure get sad and blue when I am lonely.   This has nothing to do with Walking Alone expect maybe that for some of us, being alone is scary and these are scary short stories.  Bentley Little is great with the horror.  Each story is very different and some a are REALLY REALLY good and some are decent and there were just a couple that were "meh."  Definitely worth the read! 

Fresh!

Even though I had read some of these short stories, Fresh Ink: an anthology was very good.  Some I really loved.  Some I didn't like at all, but could really appreciate that others might really love them.  And they are important.  And I highly recommend this book. 

Tall Tales and Ghosties

Ozark Tall Tales, The Scariest Stories Ever, Wonder Tales from Around the World, There's No Such Thing as Ghosts:  Ghost Stories from the Southeast, Ozark Ghost Stories, Cajun Ghost Stories, Twenty-two Splendid Stories to Tell From Around the World, and Ghost Stories from the American Southwest are all published by August House and are part of the American Storytelling series.  I was to do some storytelling at a community event, which was later changed because of the weather and I needed some new material so I really did my research.  Even though I didn't

get to do that particular program, I have picked up so great stories to tell to classrooms and groups.  All very well done and very well read.  Some aren't for kids though, but adults love stories, too! 

Gone

Mama Gone and Other Stories to Trouble Your Sleep is a collection of very creepy short stories.  All very different and I wanted to listen to this one in case there was a "keeper" in there that I can tell in the upcoming Halloween season.  I have a bunch of programs and places where I will be telling or sharing stories and I wanted something for the older crowd.  These are assuredly for the older crowd!  Very good and well worth the buy. 

Glad for My Ignorance

Baby, You're Gonna Be Mine was another case in which I was glad that I hadn't yet heard of Kevin Wilson and so it was a completely new and awesome discovery!  A great collection of short stories, all with something to say or make me laugh!  I am really looking forward to reading his others.

Can You Take a Look at This Rash?

Something Rich and Strange:  Selected Stories is written by my latest read by the incredible Ron Rash.  Some of the stories were in Nothing Gold Can Stay.  and I did love all of those.  And these stories that I had not heard before were equally as excellent.  On to Above the Waterfall!

Tales

I love short stories.  And so when I was searching for them on audio, I found Jeffery Archer's And Thereby Hangs a Tale, forgetting that he is from the UK and I usually don't enjoy books set in places that I have never been, but wow, this was just fantastic.  That I found these stories to be so good says at least two things:  Archer is an incredible storyteller and I am a dork.  Each one was so different, but all were excellent, not one set in any of the 46 states I have been, nor South Africa, nor any of the 5 Canadian provinces I have visited but ALL were awesome!

Stay Gold, Ponyboy

is a quote from one of my most favorite books, ever!  And because of reading that book so many times and seeing the movie, I learned the poem, to which it refers. And because I loved The Outsiders and learned the quote Nothing Gold Can Stay caught my eye.  So I have to thank S.E. Hinton for turning me on to Nothing Gold Can Stay by Robert Frost which then made me notice this amazing collection of short stories by Ron Rash.  This was an incredible collection of stories.

What Can You Say?

Jackie Torrence?
Stories from her childhood? 
She narrated the book?
Made me laugh.
Made me cry.
Made me think.
All you can say is:
My Grandmother's Treasure = Perfection. 

Titles

The Whore's Child and Other Stories by Richard Russo has a really intriguing title and I admit, that is what drew me to it.  It's a book of short stories and I enjoyed all of them and recommend the whole book, but the first one, which happens to be the title of the book, was my favorite.  This guy is really talented. 

Death

Death's Betrayal:  Transgressions:  5 and 9 is another couple of short stories from the book edited by Ed McBrain which is incredible!  These two stores were quite good.  Some day I do need to explore the books of Jeffery Deaver because I have enjoyed the short stories that I have read. 

Everything Comes Around

"People" say life is like a circle and everything comes around but I heard a woman, with great optimism say that she likes to think of a life a spiral, and yes, everything comes around, but with each turn, we go up and up, things get better and better.

Well I thought that was lovely.  I don't know how much faith I have in humankind, but I do believe that we draw closer to the day we will be with God with every moment and turn and so, yes, I do believe we go around and around, but we keep going up!

The Voiceless was a great short story by one of my most favorite authors in the whole world.  And it will make you think!

Good stuff.  Thank you again, Ms. Kellerman.  

New to the Game

I didn't know Joshua Ferris because I am new to the world of adult authors!  But he is very accomplished and I am so glad I found Dinner Party and Other Stories, a collection of eleven short stories that were all unique.  It for sure made me want to read more from him.  It made me laugh and made me think! 

Gwendy

Gwendy is a blend of a name, not a nickname from Gwendolyn.  The main character explains her name saying that her dad wanted Gwen and her mom wanted Wendy so she is Gwendy!  I like it!  Gwendy's Button Box was one I liked, too.  And in about 5 minutes I went from 3 to 4 to now thinking about changing my rating to a 5.  Because this was different and made me think.  And proves that Stephen King doesn't HAVE to use every word in the world to write a great, scary and thought-provoking story.  He wrote this with Richard Chizmar.  He is the creator and genius behind Cemetery Dance which is a publisher of horror novels and also the incredible Cemetery Dance magazine.  I should get a subscription.

Inspired By

Lawrence Block is a favorite of mine.  Always has been.  He has edited this book In Sunlight or In Shadow, for which he invited author friends to write a short story inspired by a work of art by Edward Hopper.  Fantastic idea.  The Music Room is by Stephen King.  I can't wait to read all of them and I hope that Alive In Shape and Color comes out on audio, too!

ER Stories...

People of the ER is another book by Dr. Philip Allen Green.  I really, really loved the first one I read by him, and this one was the same way.  I just found every one of the short stories to be so well written and so different and interesting.  Sometimes short story collections are hard to write about because they can be uneven.  Even when it is a collection by the same author, but this wasn't the case with this book or Meet Cute, so maybe that bodes well for all of the short story collections that 2018 will bring my way!  Lots of great sermon illustrations in here, too! 

SO CUTE!

Some people find the word "cute" to be demeaning, but since Meet Cute is actually titled Meet CUTE, I figure it is okay to say that the book is cute!  And wow, it is.  So many short stories but ALL were excellent.  And such diversity in the stories.  Not just in that some people love people with different body parts, etc., but there is some fantasy here, some sci fi,  and they are REALLY great!  What a super book!

The Doctor's Side

I have read nurse books and paramedic books and the doctors don't always come across so well.  So I thought that reading Trauma Room Two would give me a little POV of at least one doctor, an ER doctor in a small rural town.  These stories are fictional (which I just learned here!) but based on true events.  Dr. Green has written an incredible book here.  There are sixteen short stories and I found every one to be top notch.  So