2025 Reading Challenge discussion

*UPDATE*

Nicole W. (Msg. 57)

Goal Met So Far: 4/24

Patricia: Welcome to the calendar!

All up to date! I haven't decided what story to read/count for today yet, but I'm itching to read several of the ones you all have listed...!

4/24 - Today's story was Karen Russell's "Z.Z.'s sleep-away camp for disordered dreamers", from St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves. I'm a little conflicted about Russell's stories - I love her voice and vocabulary and settings, but I kinda hate how the stories tend to lack endings, they just sort of stop in medias res.

Updated message 50.

3/24 "Dance in America" by Lorrie Moore (Birds of America)

4/24 "Agnes of Iowa" by Lorrie Moore (Birds of America)

I'm really loving this short story collection so far. I've read a novel by Moore, but her short stories are so much better.

ATTENTION KINDLE OWNERS! I found a FREE collection of short stories called Stories on the Go: 101 Very Short Stories by 101 Authors... I'm really excited to share this because this collection was the idea of Hugh Howey author of the awesome Wool series, the stories are from indie authors of all genres written in 1000 words or less. VERY short stories and also before each story it tells you what genre it is so you can pick and choose which you think you might enjoy more. I am just reading them in order.

My first four stories/poems:

December 1st- A Dream Within A Dream (poem) by Edgar Allen Poe --- I like poetry but I am not good at interpretation, if anyone reads this poem please share with me what it means to you, I am just curious.

2nd- 38th Street by Micah Ackerman in Stories on the Go: 101 Very Short Stories by 101 Authors

3rd- Suzanne Valadon: A Woman Who Dared by Caddy Rowland in Stories on the Go: 101 Very Short Stories by 101 Authors

4th- This challenge inspired me to finally finish Casting Off by Hugh Howey in the Wool Omnibus. I LOVE the omnibus so far, it's just taking me awhile because I'm reading it and not listening to the audio which is how I mostly "read".

4/24 Crazy Bitchmy chapter book

Hurt So Good

stories 1=4 read

Thanks for the recommendation, Alisia! You'll have to let us know if you find any really great stories in there.

Yesterday I finished a couple more stories from The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher: Stories:
- The Long QT
- Winter Break

3/31

Cassandra wrote: "Last night I read a couple of stories from The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher: Stories:
Sorry to Disturb
Comma

2/31"

I've been reading out of that and I loved Sorry to Disturb, I plan on finishing it up this month.

December 4th:

Story: Variations on an Apple: A Tor.Com Original by Yoon Ha Lee. Another free online from Tor. I loved this, but it has gotten very mixed reviews. YMMV.

Poem: One Art by Elizabeth Bishop. Revisiting another favorite.

4/31 and 4/31

Alisia wrote: "ATTENTION KINDLE OWNERS! I found a FREE collection of short stories called Stories on the Go: 101 Very Short Stories by 101 Authors... I'm really excited to share this because this ..."

Thanks for that, Alisia. I love vignettes, so I'll give it a try.

Updated msg 69:
I'm 4/4 on Option A
4/4 on Option B

Updated message #34:

Read 4/24: today I finished The Fifth Dragon by Ian McDonald, available on the Tor.com website. It is the precursor to Luna: New Moon, which I'm reading at the moment.

4/24

Karina wrote: "Theresa~OctoberLace: Added you!

Great choices, Reija! I want to read that Stephen King collection too. :)

I just noticed the short story collection [book:Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Distu..."

I picked Trigger Warning voting lists actually. I really love King's short stories, I think you can find his finest works there, with Gaiman I have to do more work, I usually almost gets his idea and hopefully after this I understand his works better.

It's funny both of books have short introduction of stories before hand, King has right before story and Gaiman one long story before stories. I have to say that while reading this books from Kindle, I prefer King's way.

Updated message 11 with my next 2
Not so keen on "Some Gods of El Paso" by Maria Dahvana Headley
but loved Hello Hello by Seanan McQuire from Future Visions: Original Science Fiction Inspired by Microsoft

Updated message #34: Completed 5/24

Finished "Cat's Paw" from Connie Willis' Miracle and Other Christmas Stories. It was a fun little detective story, with a bumbling assistant, primates galore and absolutely no plum pudding.

5/20
5/24

5/24

I've now read 4 of 19 chapters, 60 out of 298 pages.

5/24
Really enjoying this challenge. I don't plan them out beforehand so every day is a new short story surprise. Today I opened When You Are Engulfed in Flames to a random page and read "Of Mice and Men"

Actually I do have one story planned in advance. I will read Tenth of December on the tenth of December.

~

I am 5/24 on the poems (15 of 80 Emily Dickinson read) and 5/24 through Jamaica Inn.

Updated to here!

Today's story for me was "Beatrice" by Karin Tidbeck, from her collection Jagannath. Really liked this one, looking forward to the rest of her stories.

I'm finished 5/24 in A Feast for Crows so far.

Yesterday I just barely managed to finish Harley Street from The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher: Stories. Luckily I'll have more time to read today.

4/31

Stories:

#1Taste
#2 Lamb of the slaughter
#3 Man from the south
#4 My Lady Love, My love
#5 Dip in the pool

All of them belong to Tales of the Unexpected. So far I am in track.

the novel that I am reading is The Witches: Salem, 1692 and so far here I am also on track. I will report my progress in the next days...

Yesterday I updated mine, msg, 69, but forgot to post so.

Have a question: I am reading more than one short story or poem on some days--do I count the number of days I've read, or the total number of stories/poems read?

Crazy Bitch 6/24

Hurt So Good 6/20

6/24

Yesterday I finished up The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher: Stories collection with:
Offenses Against the Person
How Shall I Know You?
The Heart Fails Without Warning
Terminus
The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher

5/31

5/24 "Charades" by Lorrie Moore (Birds of America)
6/24 "The Cut-Glass Bowl" by F. Scott Fitzgerald (Jazz Age Stories)

I'm certainly finding I generally like Fitzgerald's short stories more than his novels.

Day 4: The Molested
Day 5: Carrera's Woman
Day 6: Dummy

6/25

Goal reached so far: 6/24

Updated message 69:)

I'm sorry, but I'm going to pull out of this challenge. I'm trying to finish up 2 projects (one a huge cross stitch piece and the other a knitted shawl) by the end of December. To do this I need to stick to audiobooks, and the collections I'd chosen are on Kindle only. Good luck to everyone completing this challenge!

Tonight I read from a couple of collections - Selected Stories of Philip K. Dick and Dark Beyond the Stars.

Beyond Lies the Wub - Philip K. Dick
Containment - Susan Kaye Quinn

Both were good, but I really loved Containment.

6/31

Amy (Other Amy) wrote: "Alisia wrote: "ATTENTION KINDLE OWNERS! I found a FREE collection of short stories called Stories on the Go: 101 Very Short Stories by 101 Authors... I'm really excited to share thi..."

thank you for sharing I actually bought this

Theresa~OctoberLace wrote: "I'm sorry, but I'm going to pull out of this challenge. I'm trying to finish up 2 projects (one a huge cross stitch piece and the other a knitted shawl) by the end of December. To do this I need to..."

Sorry to see you go, Theresa. Good luck on those projects, though! Happy Holidays~

Updated message 11 with a short story from Stories on the Go: 101 Very Short Stories by 101 Authors

*UPDATE*

Nicole W. (Msg. 57)

Goal Met So Far: 7/24

7/20
7/24

Theresa~OctoberLace: Aw, sorry to see you go!

-
*Everyone else is updated to here.*
-

I'm really enjoying my morning short story and spiced tea! Maybe I want to keep this ritual for the coming year.

Yesterday I read a triplet of stories - "Spores", "Fruiting bodies" and "Resistance" by Seanan McGuire, from the triptych of Apocalypse anthologies: The End is Nigh, The End is Now and The End Has Come. (This is set of anthologies for which contributing authors were specifically encouraged to contribute sets of three stories - before the apocalypse, during the apocalypse, and after the apocalypse. I really like the idea, although I admittedly sorta hate skipping between so many volumes on my kindle to read the stories in their appropriate sets of 3...)

Aaand today I've had another Karen Russell one, "Children's reminiscences of the westward migration". I'm listening to this collection in audio - it has surprisingly good narrators all over.

December 5
Story: "The Outsider" by H.P. Lovecraft from The Complete Works of H.P. Lovecraft

December 6
Story: " The Music of Erich Zann" by Lovecraft

December 7:
Story: Oral Argument: A Tor.Com Original by Kim Stanley Robinson (Hated it.)
Poems: Spring and Fall by Gerard Manley Hopkins
Pied Beauty by Hopkins
And the Sea by Patrick Ryan Frank

I wasn't going to use any of the stories from the Lovecraft collection I'm working through, but I didn't get any other reading done this weekend. Read three poems today to make up for the two poems that didn't get read this weekend (and read Hopkins to make up for Lovecraft, kind of).

Avoid that Tor story unless you like current politics in your fiction (I don't).

I'm not sure that last poem is going to still be available at that link tomorrow. It's short and I kind of liked it, so here it is:

And the Sea
by Patrick Ryan Frank

Once, I wanted to be Hemingway.
But so did Hemingway. That act is hard—
dumb facts decked out as art, and anyway,
who gets what they want? And then who cares?
What matters when the water at your feet
is running out without you? I grew my beard
and bought a little boat on credit, named
it after myself and painted all of it blue,
then put us out to sea. And when it’s calm
and when the sun is out, we disappear.
We’re gone. What else was I supposed to do?

7/31 and 7/31

i updated message 10!

7/20

Updated msg 68 for today

7/25

I've finished 7 chapters.

7/24 now too

7/24

Updated message 11 - now at 8/24 with another couple from Stories on the Go

Mallory Heart wrote: "Have a question: I am reading more than one short story or poem on some days--do I count the number of days I've read, or the total number..."

I'm thinking you have to read a story on each day. No opening the chocolates early.

~Progress: 8/24 by Andy Weir