Rather, an obsession with short stories, it seems.
I think I must collect books of short stories like others collect stamps or seashells. Old, new, borrowed, and if I looked hard enough I could probably find one to fit in the "blue" category, too. I've joked in the past about being able to subsist on a steady diet of mysteries and crime novels. I bet I could do the same when it comes to short stories.
As you can see I've not just been thinking about them, I have been hoarding them and accumulating new ones--buying and borrowing. I've still got a ways to go in Troubled Daughters--nine more stories (maybe I'll pick up the pace and read two a weekend--we'll see), but that doesn't stop me from thinking ahead, or maybe even dipping into one of these (or something else entirely) in the meantime.
Since this is what's on my mind today, I thought I'd share my stack here (these are just a small tip of the iceberg when it comes to story collections I own . . .). I'm always open to new suggestions, so if you have come across a really good story lately or a new collection that shouldn't be missed, do tell!
Of most recent interest:
Maybe I should save Something Was There . . . : Asham Award-Winning Ghost Stories edited by Kate Pullinger for next October's RIP reading, but that seems so very far off, I don't think I can wait. I'm not sure now where I first came across this, but I am especially looking forward to reading it: ""Virago Press and the Asham Award, the foremost prize for stories by women, present a collection to send shivers up your spine . . ." This is the 2011 collection, which was judged by Sarah Waters, Polly Samson and Lennie Goodings. The 'ghost story' theme was inspired by Sarah Waters and the collection includes a story recently discovered by Daphne du Maurier.
And again, not sure now where I came across the Bristol Short Story Prize, but when I did discover it, I was pleased to see they publish the shortlisted stories in a paper collection each year. It's sort of cool, too, that the cover designs of the books are student work, too. So far I have acquired volumes four and six.
I had hoped that Angela Thirkell's Christmas at High Rising might have arrived prior to the holiday, but it came after meaning that the momentum for reading Christmas-oriented stories was lost. I do look forward to getting back to Angela Thirkell's work, but I might not start with this story collection. Then again, looking at the table of contents I see a story called "St. Valentine's Holiday", so maybe I will dip into it after all.
The usual story when it comes to looking for a particular book and coming away with more than planned. I grabbed Kate Chopin's A Vocation and a Voice: Stories when I was looking for something else. It was just sitting there at the top of the pile, and so . . . I have The Awakening to read next for my Meville House Art of the Novella when I finish with Henry James. It's been ages since I have read any of her stories, so it's long overdue that I pay her a little attention.
My turn has finally arrived for The Best American Mystery Stories 2013 edited by Lisa Scottoline. I expect this is one I will just dip into rather than reading straight through. Looking at the table of contents--I might start with Ben Stroud's "The Don's Cinnamon". I'm just intrigued by the title.
This month's NYRB selection is Balzac's The Human Comedy: Selected Stories, which I must get back to. Balzac is good, but his writing is intensely descriptive. Just need to devote a good chunk of time with this one.
And last two books on the bottom of the pile--they are for my local authors/Western Fiction reading plans this year. After finishing The Lieutenant's Lady I am in need for a new book, and I think it will be Norman Maclean's A River Runs Through it and Other Stories, which I have never read, but now have a great desire to. Ron Hansen doesn't live in Nebraska anymore, but he is a native Nebraskan and this aptly named collection, Nebraska: Stories seems like a perfect fit as well.
The longlist for the Sunday Times EFG Short Story Award for 2014 is out. The shortlisted titles will eventually be available in digital format, but there will be a bit of a wait to read those (I'm not quite sure where, or if, the stories have been published elsewhere).
And then there is the weekly New Yorker story to read. This week it is a story by Donald Antrim. So far only one short story appearing in the magazine has been by a female author. I was beginning to wonder what was going on, but I am happy to see next issue's story is by Zadie Smith.
Something else to look forward to.