In another universe, this is the Personal Anthology. I agonized over two versions until the deadline, ditching this weirdo for something safer. This one’s unhinged, and too clever by half, but it screams my site louder.
Introduction
My website’s a slightly chaotic shrine to music, books, and short stories—indie, sometimes oddball stuff I dig up. Lately, I keep tripping over “the internet is dead” hot takes. It’s simpler than that: we got drunk on social media, then forgot how to surf when the enshittification hit. So here are some not-quite-stories—entertaining, dumb, deep, or just good. It’s silly, you’ve been warned:
Hugh’s Alternate and Slightly Obnoxious Personal Anthology
Service by Sarah Gilmartin
Not a short story, an excerpt. Sarah Gilmartin’s novel Service is out-of-this-world good, and I never would have found it if Lit Hub hadn’t published this excerpt:
I’ve never felt as alive as I did that summer. Alive, needed, run off my feet. Every evening we were queued out the door, we had bookings a year in advance. It was the kind of place people of a certain age called hip, while the rest of us rolled our eyes, discreetly, not wanting to jeopardize our tips.
Back then, when the country still thought it was rich, there was always some brash, impossible customer demanding a table from the hostess just as the dinner rush took hold. These arguments added to the atmosphere, the heat, the energy that ripped around the establishment and kept us going six out of seven nights a week.
Foster by Claire Keegan
Not a story, a novella. It’s such a beautiful piece of writing that I read it twice the first day I owned it. It makes me think of my dad, and a time that a high-school pal of mine lived in my house for a while because his own home was hostile. This book is perfect. The movie’s pretty good too.
Pigs in Blankets by Dead Anyway
Not a story, a poem and a song. Kate Arnold writes poetry to the music of Marc Symonds, and last year she released a book of lyrics called Kicking at Tombstones. The centrepiece of that book (and the accompanying record) for me was “Pigs in Blankets”, a furious rant about shitty cops and sexism:
And these instructions we are given how not to get raped by a policeman, right?
How about policemen get instructions how not to rape us murder us, or take photos of us when we’re dead and WhatsApp them to all their friends instead?
Don’t wear that. Stay sober. Text when you get home. Oh, on and on and on it goes. It’s the biggest ism of all time. It’s as big as the sky. It’s so big we don’t see it as we go about our daily lives remembering all the fucking birthdays, which fucking bin goes out when, check for fucking tissues in everyone’s fucking pockets and always have a stamp and always have painkillers and always have change for the fucking waitress because no one fucking else will.
“Oblivion” by Amy DeBellis
Not a story, a horrifying account of life-threatening illness.
This is an account of DeBellis’ experience with Long Covid and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. It’s so shocking and grim it’s almost impossible to believe. She’s since recovered enough to become a prolific short story writer and outspoken advocate for victims of the diseases, and very recently published her first novel.
An Open Letter to the better Robin Becker
Not a story, a letter. There are (at least) two Robin Beckers, and the one who wrote this letter is an excellent short story writer with a… let’s say colourful background. I read this after reading this piece of creative nonfiction. I’m a big fan of Becker (the cool one, not the fancy one).
A Father’s Legacy by Marilyn Duarte
Not a story, a flowchart. It’s nonfiction too – Duarte’s got some great chops for storytelling, and I’ve never seen anything like it.
Heat Death of the Internet by Gregory Bennett
Not a story, a rant. I think this is the first short-story-type-thing I shared on my website. I could read a hundred pages of Bennett’s second-person rants about enshittification. Things I’d add to the list are pop up subscription prompts (sign up for my newsletter), fake artists on spotify, and trying to get my goddam google home to play the local news.
Ted Chiang on AI
Not a story, a way of thinking. He has two pieces on AI in the New Yorker and Financial Times in the past couple of years that have really shaped my thinking: firstly suggesting that a more accurate name for LLMs is ‘applied statistics’, and the second explaining why these word machines will never be able to produce creative work on their own.
Vonnegut on short stories:
Not a story, a lecture. Vonnegut is one of the best to ever do it, and I’ve watched this video a million times. This is very funny, and absolutely correct.
Goldie Boutilier – The Actress
Not a story, a record. Goldie Boutilier’s career arc sounds like something from an A24 film. She was on her way to being a young star, when the wheels came off with her management and record label. This wound up with her becoming an escort for one night to make ends meet, moving to Europe to reinvent herself as a solo popstar, then finally coming home to Cape Breton and starting over. Hit play, it’s short:
Once you’ve heard her story, go listen to the record – the lyrics are extremely personal and poignant, and the songs are killer. She’s on tour now, and hopefully she finds the success and peace that she deserves.
‘Virtute the Cat‘ by The Weakerthans and John K Samson
Not a story, three songs. The Weakerthans are one of Canada’s greatest bands.
When I was in high school, my grade 11 English class was about Canadian Literature. We learned about how the prevalent themes in CanLit are (if memory serves) depression, isolation, snow, and more depression. John K. Samson writes lyrics like that. These three songs appeared across two Weakerthans albums and his first solo record.
This is an excellent article about these songs.
TOM CLANCY DID NOT WRITE DOMESTIC THRILLERS AND DEFINITELY DIED ON OCTOBER 1ST, 2013 by Evan Hannon
Okay, a story. But it’s bonkers and made me scream with laughter.
