Short reads: November 25, 2024

Short writing

Seven stories this week, all but one are fiction.

All new authors except Avitus B. Carle, who seems to be a regular around these parts (and has a new book out).

I’m trying out a new format and method for these, so the presentation isn’t quite as polished as I’d like, but it lets me organize and inventory these stories in a way I couldn’t before. It also mixes in creative nonfiction with fiction, I’m not sure I like that, but let’s see how it goes. Forgive any unexpected wackiness. This website, like everything about my life, is a work in progress.

A couple of these were linked to by Lena Valencia in her Personal Anthology a couple weeks back, if you don’t know that website learn more about it here.

nonfiction

On the Nostalgia of Dried Apricots and Other Garbage

by Jeanann Verlee

This is a fierce piece of writing that hits like a sledgehammer: “The man I chose to wed is miles away in the next room weighing down the couch as he wrestles his way through another hangover, offering some caustic rebuke of my failures.” It reminds me of Gwendoline Riley’s First Love, but the text in the footer next to the date is the heartbreaker: creative nonfiction.

in X-R-A-Y
fiction

These Are the Fables

by Amelia Gray

This story about a woman finding out she’s pregnant and telling the would-be father goes places I would never have predicted. It’s the first I’ve read of hers but it won’t be the last. Recommended in this thread of gems by Aaron Burch.

in electric lit
fiction

Gravity, Reduced

by Kara Oakleaf

The Earth’s gravity begins to diminish and people are forced to adjust. This story is full of metaphors and original turns of phrase like this one: Some of us dream of the day the earth will remember itself and restore gravity. The accompanying interview with the author has some really great book recos too.

in Smokelong Quarterly
fiction

Bridezilla

by Kim Fu

A couple plans to get married in a world that might be ending due to climate change and sea monsters. I could have read hundreds more pages taking place in this world. It brings new meaning to the term ‘cold feet’. (from Lena Valencia’s Personal Anthology)

in Oprah Daily
fiction

Beast

by Megan Cummins

A woman’s life starts coming undone as she discovers that an old flame is coming back to town. This story is like a slow-motion car crash. I couldn’t look away. (from Lena Valencia’s Personal Anthology)

in CRAFT
fiction

Vagabond Mannequin

by Avitus B. Carle

Blog fave Avitus B. Carle uses a crossword puzzle as a hook for a story that affected me deeply. Just click, it’s fast and unforgettable.

in Jellyfish Review
fiction

Dancer

by Joel Henry Little

A performer at tacky corporate events dreams of being a professional tapdancer. This story is so propulsive, and the characters are so real.

in Heavy Feather Review