Back in the short story business..?
It’s been a little while! I was planning an end of year review to reflect generally on whether the mission to read more short stories in 2022 had been successful, but given it’s now mid-February of the following year, we’ll keep it short and sweet, just to wrap things up!
So… was it a success?
Quantitatively, yes AND no. I didn’t have a goal for the number of stories I wanted to read, but the numbers definitely petered out towards the end of the year when life got busy. However, I did read ~125 short stories, which is a LOT more than any previous year. I did think about making a little pie chart of genres, for my graph loving soul, but we all know scifi/fantasy/horror would dominate!
For what reading time I did have though, it was definitely a success in terms of perserverance. I’ve previously had goals to ‘read more nonfiction/poetry/plays/essays’, which have always fallen through, so I am pleased that I did dedicate time throughout the year to this medium of writing. It’s been a rewarding experience! Discovered lots of new (to me) online journals, authors, and feel like I have a better understanding of the short story landscape… the lay of the land…!
What now?
The ‘short story year’ is over, but I do think I will be incorporating more of the medium into my general reading ‘diet’, as it were! It’s been really nice to dive into the extensive backlog of online journals, when I’m in the mood to read something new but don’t want to start a novel. A short story always feels much more low commitment (but definitely not low quality or low impact… some short stories are out here rewiring my brain and I have to revisit them every few months…)
So yes, I will continue to drop in now and then with recommendations, as and when I have read a couple of good stories! I’m thinking it’ll likely be seasonal recs at most but no promises either way.
Um, that’s it! That’s the update! (It’s short.. by MY standards…)
Here’s the most recent few stories I’ve read for the road and hope you all have a wonderful year, whatever you’re reading or not-reading! Till next time!
The Box Social - James Reaney (cw: stillbirth)
In the Greenwood - Mari Ness
Peristalsis - Vajra Chandrasekera
Y.