The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

15.4 Summer Shorts- Read ONE anthology or collection of essays, short stories, poems, or novellas by several contributing authors ex. Love at First Bite, Firebirds: An Anthology of Original Fantasy and Science Fiction
Or
Read TWO anthologies or collections each by a single author. Each book may be by a different author or you may use the same author for both books.
Ex. Smoke and Mirrors AND Men of the Otherworld,
The MacKade Brothers: Rafe and Jared AND The MacKade Brothers: Devin and Shane both by Nora Roberts

If you have questions, need suggestions OR have suggestions for books to read for this task, please post them here.

2 separate authors in one volume is OK
serial novels- those written a chapter at a time by different authors- work; traditionally co-authored novels would not work

Doesn't work as ONE book

Lies that Chelsea Handler Told Me

will you accept Erotica: Women's Writing from Sappho to Margaret Atwood? i don't want to make any assumptions, but i think it will work. thanks for your help! :)

kiki wrote: "will you accept Erotica: Women's Writing from Sappho to Margaret Atwood? i don't want to make any assumptions, but i think it will work. thanks for your help! :)"

That works, this edition Erotica has "An Anthology of Women's Writing" as a subtitle

thanks! :)

I was hoping to read Feral Attraction for this but it only has two novellas by two authors - is that enough for "several authors" or do you want more?

Mrs.soule wrote: "I was hoping to read Feral Attraction for this but it only has two novellas by two authors - is that enough for "several authors" or do you want more?"

It works

Will you accept by Flannery O'Conner for this task?

Anne wrote: "Will you accept by Flannery O'Conner for this task?"

They work

I was thinking Love And Death by Carolyn Hart. Will this work for this task?

Sheila wrote: "I was thinking Love And Death by Carolyn Hart. Will this work for this task?"


It does, it works as ONE book, enjoy!

Thanks Dlmrose

Here are some others that might work for this task

Watchlist: A Serial Thriller
Chopin Manuscript
The Copper Bracelet
I'd Kill For That
Naked Came the Phoenix

I am presenting a part of a program next Thursday on Summer Reading. My part will be on short stories. Some of the Newish books for that by Multiple authors:

Haiti Noir
Original Sins: The Crime Writers' Association Anthology
Crucified Dreams
Dancing with Mr. Darcy: Stories Inspired by Jane Austen and Chawton House Library

Older stories in anthologies:
21 Essential American Short Stories
The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick 2: We Can Remember it for You Wholesale
No, But I Saw the Movie: The Best Short Stories Ever Made Into Film

Short story collections by a single author:

Sleight of Hand by Peter S. Beagle
All the Time in the World: New & Selected Stories by E. L. Docotorow
Volt: Stories by Alan Heathcock
Widow: Stories by Michelle Latiolais

Unfortunately, I can't use any of these as I had to read them before the start of the Challenge.

I love short stories! Here are some more options:

Anthologies:
My Mistress's Sparrow Is Dead: Great Love Stories from Chekhov to Munro
My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me
Brave New Worlds: Dystopian Stories
Fantastic Tales: Visionary and Everyday
20 Under 40: Stories from The New Yorker
American Fantastic Tales:Terror and the Uncanny from Poe to the Pulps
The Mammoth Book of Modern Ghost Stories
Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules
Telling Tales
Sympathy for the Devil
McSweeney's Mammoth Treasury of Thrilling Tales
Speaking with the Angel
The Worst Years of Your Life
The Book of Other People
Lit Riffs

Individual Authors:
Everything That Rises Must Converge - Flannery O'Connor
Demons in the Spring - Joe Meno
Willful Creatures - Aimee Bender
The Lottery and Other Stories - Shirley Jackson
St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves: Stories - Karen Russell
Throw Like A Girl: Stories - Jean Thompson
Labyrinths - Jorge Luis Borges
Welcome to the Monkey House - Kurt Vonnegut
Nine Stories - J.D. Salinger
Where I'm Calling From: New and Selected Stories - Raymond Carver
The Shell Collector: Stories - Anthony Doerr
Circling the Drain: Stories - Amanda Davis
The Things They Carried - Tim O'Brien
Among the Missing - Dan Chaon
The Pugilist at Rest: Stories - Thom Jones
Unaccustomed Earth - Jhumpa Lahiri
Stranger Things Happen - Kelly Link
The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven - Sherman Alexie
How to Breathe Underwater - Julie Orringer
Like Life - Lorrie Moore
The Celestial Omnibus - E.M. Forster
20th Century Ghosts - Joe Hill
Nocturnes - John Connolly
Dubliners - James Joyce
Delicate Edible Birds: And Other Stories - Lauren Groff
Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned - Wells Tower
I Am Legend - Richard Matheson
Winesburg, Ohio - Sherwood Anderson

Also, collections by Guy de Maupassant, H.H. Munro (Saki), Nikolai Gogol, Anton Chekhov, Ray Bradbury, Edgar Allan Poe, etc.

would The Best American Travel Writing 2008 work?

Kate wrote: "would The Best American Travel Writing 2008 work?"

For multiple authors, yes, it would

Would nonfiction essays work:

Toddler: Real-life Stories of Those Fickle, Irrational, Urgent, Tiny People We Love

Joanna wrote: "Would nonfiction essays work:

Toddler: Real-life Stories of Those Fickle, Irrational, Urgent, Tiny People We Love"

Yes, non-fiction essays work

Can I read Girls' Night Out / Boys' Night in - Jessica Adams

Fiona (Titch) wrote: "Can I read Girls' Night Out / Boys' Night in - Jessica Adams"

Sure, that works as ONE

Thanks. It was either that or In Bed With...: Jessica Adams, Imogen Edwards-Jones, Maggie Alderson, Kathy Lette - Imogen Edwards-Jones

Would Lies that Chelsea Handler Told Me work? Each chapter is written by someone she knows, her co-workers, her family, etc...

Nicki wrote: "Would Lies that Chelsea Handler Told Me work? Each chapter is written by someone she knows, her co-workers, her family, etc..."

I'm going to say no to this book as ONE. The GR link only lists a single author. The book title is also the title of Handler's comedy tour and some of the stories are by questionable "authors"- her dog. If you can find a reference that identifies the contributors as authors, I'll take another look. Since GR only list one author- you could read this as a single author's (Handler) collection of essays and do the second option.

Not sure if this qualifies or not: The Tao of Travel: Enlightenments from Lives on the Road

KSMary wrote: "Not sure if this qualifies or not: The Tao of Travel: Enlightenments from Lives on the Road"

"A Look Inside" on Amazon shows a very different structure- quotes and excerpts from various authors and sources, but I think it works

The Virago Book of Women Travellers?

I hope this works? - It's a collection of extracts from the work of many women travel writers.

Wendy UK wrote: "The Virago Book of Women Travellers?

I hope this works? - It's a collection of extracts from the work of many women travel writers."

It works as ONE

Thanks - I just wondered because it's extracts rather than complete stories or essays.

For task 15.4, I have the 1979 Pulitzer winner for fiction in goodreads bookswap if anyone needs it.
The Stories of John Cheever

It could also fit Tasks 5.4, 10.8 or 25.2

Was wondering if this would work. Letters From a Skeptic: A Son Wrestles with His Father's Questions about Christianity It's a collection of letters written back and forth between a father and son.

Edited to add: Actually, never mind! I fit it into another task!

What about Female Nomad and Friends. On the cover it only has the author as rita Golden Gelman but the stories are by several different authors. Each "tale" is about an individual true traveling experience from several women authors.

Rebekah wrote: "What about Female Nomad and Friends. On the cover it only has the author as rita Golden Gelman but the stories are by several different authors. Each "tale" is about an individual tr..."

That works for one book

For the two-book option, will you accept a graphic novel (if over the 100-page length) if it consists of what were originally individually-published comics?

I'm particularly thinking of MM, which is a four-comic series by a single author/artist, collected into a ~200-page hardcover collection.

Stacey wrote: "For the two-book option, will you accept a graphic novel (if over the 100-page length) if it consists of what were originally individually-published comics?

I'm particularly thinking of [book:M|20..."

That compilation of 4 comics would work for one of the titles

Would Chicken Soup For the Teenage Soul count as an anthology? It is a collection of short stories with multiple authors.

Jayme(the ghost reader) wrote: "Would Chicken Soup For the Teenage Soul count as an anthology? It is a collection of short stories with multiple authors."

It does count as an anthology with multiple authors

cool, It wasn't on the approved list so I wasn't sure.

Will this work Stingray Bit My Nipple!: True Stories from Real Travelers?

Lisa wrote: "Will this work Stingray Bit My Nipple!: True Stories from Real Travelers?"

Yes, that works

Dlmrose wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Will this work Stingray Bit My Nipple!: True Stories from Real Travelers?"

Yes, that works"

Thanks! That was fast :)

I'd like to double check this anthology. It is over 700 pages and mostly stories and essays, but there is some poetry included, too. Will it work?

Tablet & Pen: Literary Landscapes from the Modern Middle East

It is excellent so far and I'm definitely looking forward to reading through it!

Karen GHHS wrote: "I'd like to double check this anthology. It is over 700 pages and mostly stories and essays, but there is some poetry included, too. Will it work?

[book:Tablet & Pen: Literary Landscapes from the ..."

It works as one book, enjoy!

Would The Serial Garden: The Complete Armitage Family Stories count as an anthology or collection by Joan Aiken?

Thanks!

mstan wrote: "Would The Serial Garden: The Complete Armitage Family Stories count as an anthology or collection by Joan Aiken?

Thanks!"

It works as a collection by one author