UK Book Club discussion

Well, it'll be short stories for June. But what to read? I'm always recommending The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories by Angela Carter - she expertly retells classic fairytales. Her writing is simply beautiful.

Looking at things on my to read list, one collection that currently stands out is The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories by Susannah Clarke (who wrote Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell).

What will you be reading?

Maybe I could finally get round to reading Margaret Atwood's Stone Mattress: Nine Tales seeing as how she's so newsworthy at the mo.

I've got a couple of possibilities on my bookshelf -

Dear Life: Stories by Alice Munro;
Classics of the Macabre by Daphne du Maurier; and
Someone Like You by Roald Dahl

I'm starting the month with Classics of the Macabre by Daphne du Maurier.

Liz wrote: "Well, it'll be short stories for June. But what to read? I'm always recommending The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories by Angela Carter - she expertly retells classic fairytales. Her wr..."

I have read both of your choices. But I might read The Bloody Chamber etc over again. I have all of Angela Carter's short stories in one volume.
But I've only read a few of the early ones and the Bloody Chamber collection. I might try to read a full collection (probably not the whole book!) this month.

I also have out from the library, so I might start with that one.

Haven't started mine yet. Mustn't forget....

Are we a week into June already? :P I don't understand how these things happen. Time and such.

I've just finished 'The Ladies of Grace Adieu', which reminded me how much I enjoyed Susanna Clarke's writing.

The only problem with short stories: I'm just really getting into it, before it's all over and I'm being asked to welcome the next group of characters!

I realise I also have 'Cold Hand in Mine' on my Kindle. Can't for the life of me remember who recommended this collection of 'strange tales' to me, but here goes....

I've just started The Lost Prophecies by The Medieval Murderers.
I don't know if you've come across their books before (this is my first) but its a group of 6 historical crime writers (Susanna Gregory Bernard Knight Philip Gooden Ian Morson Michael Jecks and C. J. Sansom) who share a theme through the book. Essentially its 6 different stories but they are linked by a common theme - in this case a book of prophecies written by a monk in the 6th century where "whoever comes into possession of the cursed book meets a gruesome and untimely end"!!

Kate, that sounds fun. Mercia, how's Margaret Atwood coming along?

I've just finished 'Cold Hand in Mine', which was suitably strange.

Classics of the Macabre was very interesting. I had previously read two of the short stories but was glad to finally read, The Birds.

Liz wrote: "Mercia, how's Margaret Atwood coming along?

She's not, although I'm enjoying The Handmaid on TV. Work commitments mean I'm reading slowly and I'm trying to finish SS-GB before time tuns out for early 20th century reads.

UPDATE 16 June: now reading Stone Mattress: Nine Tales and I'll seek to read one tale a day and so should finish about 25 June. Then when I'm less busy I can catch up on watching The Handmaid's Tale.

Ghostly Whispers: Thirteen Ghost Stories Set in Macao by Azita Crerar While these stories were written ok some how I think it could have been done better and the endings of most the stories was to sudden for me.

I finished Stone Mattress: Nine Tales by Margaret Atwood. It begins with two short tales about a fantasy author and a poet and I had hoped they would feature in all nine in an interlocking shorts collection, but I was disappointed on that front. I then lost some interest especially as the stories took a more brutal turn towards the end. For round the worlders the tales are all set in Canada.

Tales from the Heart of Haiti A selection of short stories about the people of Haitu

Mercia wrote: "I finished Stone Mattress: Nine Tales by Margaret Atwood. It begins with two short tales about a fantasy author and a poet and I had hoped they would feature in all nine in an inter..."

Canada is a brutal place, Mercia... ;0)

I've got 2 collections of short stories on the go, but won't have them finished by end month...

The Archer Files: The Complete Short Stories of Lew Archer, Private Investigator by Ross Macdonald, and
The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

I don't read a lot of short stories but enjoy listening to them but i have now in front of me and so far im enjoying.

Reading The Country of the Blind and Other Selected Stories but finding it slow going.

I'm on the 3rd story of Stone Matresses, I'm enjoying reading Atwood again, it's been a while and I always enjoy her writing.

Em wrote: "I'm on the 3rd story of Stone Matresses, I'm enjoying reading Atwood again, it's been a while and I always enjoy her writing."

She can be hit-and-miss but always different and interesting.

I've read two of Kelley Armstrong's Otherworld anthologies: and
I've also read by Neil Gaiman.

All three books were just alright, with some good stories and some not.

I've just finished which was 6 interlinked short stories by 6 different medieval murder authors. Everything was going so well until we reached the last chapter and then I felt let down. :( I might consider reading another from the series but I'm not as enthusiastic about it as I thought I'd be.

I failed to finish I found the stories I did read very unsatisfying and had to abandon it.
However I have just read a short story which came as a freebie with both of which I really liked.