Sample Saturday is when I wade through the eleventy billion samples I have downloaded on my Kindle. This week, all three are from Cathy at 746 Books’ post on Irish Short Stories & Nonfiction to look out for in 2026 – Continue reading
Tag Archives: short story
Sample Saturday – ghosts and manicures
Sample Saturday is when I wade through the eleventy billion samples I have downloaded on my Kindle. I’m slowly chipping away and deciding whether it’s buy or bye. Continue reading
First two collections for Short Story September
I began Short Story September with two remarkably similar collections – Other People We Married by Emma Straub and Middle-Aged Boys & Girls by Diane Bracuk. Continue reading
Short Story September 2026
Incoming reading challenge! Continue reading
Sample Saturday – (a day late)
Sample Saturday is when I wade through the eleventy billion samples I have downloaded on my Kindle. I’m slowly chipping away and deciding whether it’s buy or bye. This week, all three come via Susan’s post about April new releases. Continue reading
Sample Saturday – new releases
Sample Saturday is when I wade through the eleventy billion samples I have downloaded on my Kindle. I’m slowly chipping away and deciding whether it’s buy or bye. This week, all are books that have just hit the shelves. Continue reading
Wait Here by Lucy Nelson
In previous years, I’ve attempted to read the full Stella Prize longlist – that took some effort in terms of coordinating predictions, library reservations and bookshop visits! This year, the longlist announcement crept up on me and I was totally unprepared. Nevertheless, I got my hands on a copy of Lucy Nelson’s short story collection, Wait Here. Continue reading
Portraits of a Few of the People I’ve Made Cry by Christine Sneed
I really had the best intentions to do all of my Short Story September reviews in September… but anyway, here I am in October (planning November reading) and thinking I ought to draw a line under last month. So, Portraits of a Few of the People I’ve Made Cry by Christine Sneed…
There are ten stories in the collection (Sneed’s debut. I bought this book after reading her first novel, Little Known Facts, which I enjoyed). The themes focus on love and what people choose to do for love. Continue reading
Difficult Women by Roxane Gay
Well, after two funny collections about women and their relationships, Roxane Gay’s Difficult Women brought me back to reality with a thud.
There are 21 stories in Difficult Women, and most have themes of violence. The collection opens with the powerful and disturbing I Will Follow You, about two sisters who were abducted, held by their abuser for months, and then released. The impact of this trauma on the rest of their lives is explored by Gay in a delicate but straight-forward way. Continue reading
Single, Carefree, Mellow by Katherine Heiny
I enjoy Katherine Heiny’s writing. She makes me laugh and I’m quite okay with the odd boundary that she pushes. Her novels are terrific but I reckon it’s in short stories where she really shines – there’s no overdoing the joke, it’s all punch-and-to-the-point. Single, Carefree, Mellow met my expectations.
Single, Carefree, Mellow is an even collection of eleven stories. The style is consistent and you very much know you’re reading Heiny. The stories are about adult women and their (difficult) relationships, with themes focused on fidelity, manners and sex. Continue reading