Having decided yesterday that I was not going to join any lists, challenges or whatever this year I succumbed at the first invitation placed on Kate’s blog to rejoin the short story challenge and help to reactivate the Curious Singularity blog. Of course I could not resist: short stories are different after all, aren’t they? You can pick them up any time, you love them really, don’t you?
And so I started this New Year’s Day reading the story Jumbo’s Wife in Frank O’Connor’s collection My Oedipus Complex and other stories. I will work on a review and place it appropriately, or another one. I’ve got a shelf now dedicated to short stories collections and altough I have cheekily added a number to my page above in the 2009 collection of books read, of course I have not read every single story in every single collection. Now I have a good reason to go for it.
Kate lists 5 suggestions for how you can go about this challenge and I like her Option 5:
‘ This is the custom option under the rubric of which you can tailor your reading list to best meet your personal reading aspirations. You might wish to craft a list that focuses on a particular place, or era, or genre. Or you might wish to include reading about short stories as well as of short stories, for example, such works as Frank O’Connor’s The Lonely Voice: A Study of the Short Story. It’s entirely up to you. ‘
And reading about short stories might just give me / you the impetus of trialling writing some yourself. That’s an added bonus then.
I hope to meet you on the Curious Singularity site as well as here.
51stories 
I have had the exact, same experience (or lack of will power to do what is in my best interest). No challenges for me this year, I am so overwhelmed with my real life responsibilities and my first GRANDDAUGHTER arriving in March. And what did I do today but sign on to Stainless Steel Droppings SciFi Experience. Oh well. It will be fun, anyway.
Happy New Year Sea! I do hope you do some story writing – I enjoyed your post of fiction last year and would love to see more.
By: qugrainne on January 3, 2010
at 1:17 am
This was one of the few challenges I’ve ever managed to finish, and it started me on a love of short stories. I’m glad she’s doing it once more 🙂
By: Becca on January 9, 2010
at 9:46 pm
Qugrainne – we are weak, but then all of this is fun and gives us a purpose, doesn’t it? First Granddaughter: congratulations and enjoy! They are wonderful – I speak from experience.
Becca: yes – I now have a really good excuse to simply read and enjoy short stories. Like you, this challenge really got me going on the short story and I now also enjoy writing them, that’s even better!
By: seachanges on January 11, 2010
at 8:18 pm
You’ve got me thinking I must definitely read some short stories this year. And very curious now about Frank O’Connor’s Oedipus Complex. As for my writing at least one story story this year, that’s a good challenge too.
By: Pete on January 15, 2010
at 7:33 pm
Pete – Oedipus Complex will be right on your street. Enjoy. Let’s see what we come up with as far as short stories are concerned at the end of this year – I quite like this thought of writing at least one! Somehow this seems manageable when there are so many other demands on your time, don’t you think?
By: seachanges on January 16, 2010
at 9:24 pm