Mel (Epic Reading) > Recent Status Updates

Story #20 - A Step into Emptiness by Aiki Mira, translated (from German) by CD Covington

Ohh another story I really liked. The last couple have been really great. Hoping this means the last few stories result in this anthology ending on a high note.

Story #19 - Sugar, Shadows by Aisha U. Farah
Oh do I want more of this!!! Written like a noir detective story and the concept is sooo cool!
Finally a new author to look into!

Story #18 - The Garden of Collective Memory by Neon Yang
So far all the best stories have been by authors I know. This one is wonderful!! But I already knew Yang was amazing.
Hoping to find one new author from this collection still…

When you find yourself behind on your reading goals, unsure of what to pick-up, and totally disjointed then why not try a book that has endorsed 150+ years of love and the first of the vampires. I’ve never read it, seems like I certainly should.

Story #15 - Where The World Goes Sharp and Quiet
Raining nails, intriguing. I liked this one. It was weird but had good cohesion and was easy to follow.
Story #16 - Circular Universe
This is an excerpt from a prequel… that sounds like too much to know for a snippet to read. So I’m skipping it.
Story #17 - Blueprint for the Destruction of Solitude
Weird, weird. A bit icky in bodily torture… very unsure.

Story #14 - A Few Degrees
Another super short one.
What is it about the lesbian stories so far… they all seem to feature more paranoia than any other. It’s kinda weird…

Story #13 - Copper Boys
Barely a thought never mind a story. But I do appreciate the cute milk snake. (Well he’s cute in my mind but most snakes are, lol)

Story #12 - When the Devil Comes from Babylon
This story suffer from far too much metaphor and allegorical attempts. It’s so ‘clever’ in unclear what actually happened in the end…

The problem with all of Newport’s books is that they tend to overlap a lot… and don’t apply to the common worker. I’m super frustrated by this one…

Story #11 - The They Whom We Remember
The most interesting, philosophical, story of the group so far. In a human future where you can change your appearance, including genitalia on a whim, a person asks themselves what it would be like to not have that ability and be ‘stuck’ with selecting one never changing gender.
Took a minute to get into it but once immersed this short story has interesting questions.

Story #9 - oh do I wish for more of this story! The set-up is decent, the action is quick, yet the grief is huge! Fair warning it’s a rough one.

Story #10 - meh… too short to hold any impact

Story #8 - There Used to be Peace

A little ditty about a knight, and a set of moral codes and the argument that it’s better to die on the front-lines than be oppressed.

Story #7 - They Will Give Us a Home by Wen-yi Lee
I love this concept!!! Our main characters, the queer angle, the lottery; just everything! But I want wayy more.
This needs to be a full fledged book! I want the pre-story and the after story and just everything. Looking up this author right now for more.

Story #6 - Forever Won’t End Like This
What a cute, clever set-up and wonderful way to tell two parallel stories! I don’t want to give anything away as it’s too delicious to go in blind like I did.

Story #5 - Moonwife, by Sarah Gailey
I picked this book up partially to read just this story and I’m so glad I did! Gailey gives us a poignant, intriguing story in a few short pages. I’d love to see more with this MC and in a world with the unique technology based off social media.
Excellent read!

Story #3 - The Orgasm Doula
This story is awesome! Love the twist and the whole concept is just great. Some very sexy moments.

Story #4 - The Shabbos Bride
Very short but still has a small punch.

Great to see so much diversity across the queer and trans community so far!
Next story by Sarah Gailey who I’ve enjoyed stories from in the past.

Story #1 - The Republic of Ecstatic Consent
Not sure I am on board with all the sentiments. But well written.

Story #2 - Trans World Takeover
The number of trans kids in this school by the end reminds me of something a kiddo told me the other day. She’s 14, pansexual, and in Catholic school. She told me it’s not fair because ‘everyone’ in public school is queer and no one is at her school. Broke my heart.

I need a short palate cleanser… hoping this one does the trick. Im counting on Kingfisher never failing to amaze me.

This series has been on my shelf for years. Finally time to make time for it.

Sometimes I lament if a book takes me longer to read than expected. Like this one. I know it has taken longer because it’s that good.
Bright Young Women is so real. A truly disturbing tale. The kind that can only come from truth. One that bares societies fucked up obsession with killers in a way that makes everyone uncomfortable. A truth we don’t want to admit; we’re obsessed with psychopaths over victims.

Interesting that this author has held to the narrative (so far) that Colorado sheriff should have followed protocol properly instead of taking ‘credit’ and prosecuting his local murder before the other charges from other jurisdictions were fulfilled. Then Bundy would have been in a more secure facility; thus never escaped to murder the Florida gals.
How unbelievably frustrating. Toxic masculinity at play.

We have a technical book club at my work and this is our current read.
A bit similar to Deep Work by the same author that we read last year. Although some really good, classic examples of famous folks who took their time to make masterpieces.
A little bit frustrating at times as it’s feeling nigh on impossible to implement some of the ‘slow work’ strategies in today’s working world.

Superb writing!

A very strong narrative voice!

”It fascinates me, the fact that humans have the capacity to mortally wound one another at will, but for the most part, choose not to.”

Picks up within days of the second book; and those are all travel in space days so nothing important happens.
Again I feel like these 3 ‘novellas’ are really just one book.

Got lucky on a hold and coming right off book 2! Let’s see how this all ends.

Reads soo quick!

An unreliable narrator? Or perhaps one far too truthful?
Either way she is disturbingly troubled, and wonderfully evil in minute, if relevant ways.

Character just introduced totally sounds like Elon Musk…