The Garden WASTED my time

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  • Опубліковано 1 жов 2024
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КОМЕНТАРІ • 243

  • @ReadswithRachel
    @ReadswithRachel  3 місяці тому +22

    The first 500 people to use my link will get a 1-month free trial of Skillshare! skl.sh/readswithrachel06241

    • @dubitataugustinus
      @dubitataugustinus 3 місяці тому

      Hey, I'm sorry to say this, but the ghoul story seemed to be very, VERY inspired (too much inspired) by the manga Tokyo Ghoul, to the point that it seriously reads like fanfiction of that IP. Maybe you'd like the manga, albeit there are less to no lesbians on it, at least from what I've read. This means the short story still does something new, but I feel that many authors use anime/manga stories that people who aren't into those things find extremely original until they watch/read it. I believe this is a bit disingenuous of the author, to not put it out there where the ideas for worlds, characters, and dynamics came from. What do you think about this?

  • @robirb_
    @robirb_ 3 місяці тому +202

    "She the girl, you the devil, and I the Saint" truly shook me to my core. The religious symbolism? One in three, this desecrated trinity? This impossible, plural, infinite loneliness? The six deaths of the saint changed my LIFE and it did so in *thirty pages*.

    • @ReadswithRachel
      @ReadswithRachel  3 місяці тому +32

      Right?!?

    • @robirb_
      @robirb_ 3 місяці тому +10

      @@ReadswithRachel now I'm curious to see you react to the other short stories because they're...nowhere near as good 💀 (except What the Dead Know which I thoroughly enjoyed!)

  • @sophiemichel8045
    @sophiemichel8045 3 місяці тому +260

    Also I’m not trying to hate on any time travellers, but how is there a 2 hour old comment, when the video is only up for 22 min?

    • @ReadswithRachel
      @ReadswithRachel  3 місяці тому +168

      Patrons get early access to videos!

    • @Mushroomelixir
      @Mushroomelixir 3 місяці тому +110

      Patreon members are canonically time travelers from various places in time that only time travel to watch rwr videos early

    • @sophiemichel8045
      @sophiemichel8045 3 місяці тому +96

      @@ReadswithRachelah ok, thank you for covering for me the time travellers, don’t wanna expose nobody

    • @ReadswithRachel
      @ReadswithRachel  3 місяці тому +103

      I would never reveal the time travellers secrets like that

    • @montananerd8244
      @montananerd8244 3 місяці тому +17

      This is just freaking adorable! I missed out on pride & no longer have a running vehicle, for some reason this little exchange just brings me so much joy!

  • @KyleenWren
    @KyleenWren 3 місяці тому +145

    Tamsin Muir is legitimately such a talented writer! All her stuff is so fucking weird, but so compelling. She writes characters really well and manages complicated plots without totally losing me. I swear, nobody else could pull off the stories she tells because the skill required to execute the way she does is mind-blowing.

    • @ReadswithRachel
      @ReadswithRachel  3 місяці тому +25

      She’s from beyond this universe. Her mind is a gift!!!

    • @respite.1
      @respite.1 3 місяці тому +9

      the locked tomb series is easily one of my favorite book series’ right now, i can’t wait for alecto the ninth

  • @EmilyParagraph
    @EmilyParagraph 3 місяці тому +39

    Professionally, story length is determined by word count, not page count, because formatting can really change the page count of something. So, my understanding of story categorizations goes like this:
    TwitterFic/Microfiction: 140/280 characters
    Drabble: exactly 100 words (term came from fanfic communities, has changed over time)
    Microfiction: up to 500 words
    Flash Fiction: 500-1500 words
    Short Story: 1k-6k (usually the hard cutoff for lit mags)
    Long Short Story: 6k-10k
    Novelette: 10k-20k
    Novella: 20k-45k
    Novel: 45k-120k
    Epic Novel: 120k+
    These are variable, obviously, and people argue about the word ranges all the time, but this is generally what I've seen floating around.

  • @10puppyluv
    @10puppyluv 3 місяці тому +39

    Not for highschool but for college I read the yellow wallpaper and it still sits with me over 5 years later. It really taps into the horror of being a woman at the time when you have literally any mental illness and how isolating and traumatizing it can be. Strong trigger warnings on it but it's a famous short story for a reason

    • @Feynix4
      @Feynix4 2 місяці тому +1

      Such a good short story! I had to read it for an English class I took in college and it HAUNTED me!

    • @angelsnaiilz
      @angelsnaiilz Місяць тому +1

      @@10puppyluv YESSS!!! oh my god. also read this for a college class and it’s stuck with me. i love that one

    • @bettyunicorn6132
      @bettyunicorn6132 Місяць тому

      I listened to The Hexagons is Bestagons guy to a reading of it. It’s starts so slow and unsumming

  • @smeastwest
    @smeastwest 3 місяці тому +26

    I've always thought of short stories as being similar to long form jokes. There's the set-up, and then the punchline. If a short story doesn't have a satisfying ending, it's not a good short story.

  • @whyaleichia
    @whyaleichia 3 місяці тому +11

    I felt bad for not liking Children of Blood and Bone, which definitely should have been a hit for me. I think it’s because while Adeyemi has awesome writing skill technically, her storytelling is woefully one-dimensional.

  • @lacata2570
    @lacata2570 3 місяці тому +24

    I remember I watched the videos where Rachel was drinking monster and beggin them for a sponsorship and now she's such a natural plugging skillshare.... good for you girl! 😘

  • @sam177007
    @sam177007 3 місяці тому +41

    My all time favorite short story is “I have no mouth and I must scream.” It’s not for everyone, but it’s a terrifying look at what the author thought world war 3 would do to humanity. Terrifying villain too.

    • @alisaurus4224
      @alisaurus4224 3 місяці тому +9

      The title is a spoiler, but it still hits by the time it comes back around in the last line. Harlan Ellison was kind of an asshole but dang could he WRITE

    • @BitchboyOzzie
      @BitchboyOzzie 3 місяці тому

      I want AM

    • @angelsnaiilz
      @angelsnaiilz Місяць тому +2

      LOVE this story so so much

  • @helenam00n
    @helenam00n 3 місяці тому +45

    This was over 10 years ago, but I read Karen Russell's "Vampires in the Lemon Grove" book of short stories about supernatural beings and it has obviously left an impression on me. Octavia Butler's "Speech Sounds" was a much more recent one and that was really great!

    • @angryotter9129
      @angryotter9129 3 місяці тому +1

      I love Vampires in the Lemon Grove! It’s also stuck with me.

    • @dannygoldson603
      @dannygoldson603 3 місяці тому +1

      I LOVE Speech Sounds

  • @slenders1ckn3ss
    @slenders1ckn3ss 3 місяці тому +17

    The good thing about bad short stories is that they don't waste as much of your time/life as a 500+ doorstop

  • @GothVampiress
    @GothVampiress 3 місяці тому +15

    by far, my favorite short story is harlan ellison's I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream. it's incredibly dark, laden with themes i absolutely would not bring up with someone i know i can't have a civil conversation with, and probably my favorite science fiction story of all time for the way it showcases the twin human desires of progression and self-destruction.

  • @skeletonkeybooks
    @skeletonkeybooks 3 місяці тому +16

    My favorite short story is probably Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado." I love how much character information he crammed into every single sentence just with his word choices.

    • @angelsnaiilz
      @angelsnaiilz Місяць тому +1

      OMG!! i haven’t seen someone else mention this one before, i love it!!!

  • @ThatFlamingFroggo
    @ThatFlamingFroggo 3 місяці тому +37

    I stopped right after hearing the very summary of the short story of "The six deaths of a saint", because it sounded up my ally and I wanted to read it first. And, I'm glad I did. It went quick. The use of second perspective, was...really hits.

  • @floreya67
    @floreya67 3 місяці тому +32

    Idk if it's your thing, but I've recently been getting into short stories by Neil Gaiman, a lot of which are also suited for kids. I liked Cinnamon, and Blueberry Girl was very adorable with beautiful art.

    • @ReadswithRachel
      @ReadswithRachel  3 місяці тому +6

      I'll check it out!

    • @HazelSageHP
      @HazelSageHP 3 місяці тому

      Neil Gaiman's short story collections are DIVINE! I haven't done a reread in like 7 or 8 years for most of them but they STILL stick with me!

  • @AramiHeartilly
    @AramiHeartilly 3 місяці тому +16

    My fave short stories are The Machine Stops by E M Forster, and The Dead Past by Issac Asimov.

  • @hehevalerie
    @hehevalerie 3 місяці тому +7

    tamsym muir undercover SLAYED me....'in this world you have to learn how to be hungry'......the pure wlw loneliness of it all...........the lesbicious longing..........

  • @neecey1249
    @neecey1249 3 місяці тому +17

    I've wanted this collection so bad. I want a paperbackkkkk anthology

  • @AnitaSleap1080z
    @AnitaSleap1080z 3 місяці тому +7

    Short story suggest: "Emergency Skin" by N.K. Jemisin
    Read it a few years ago and I still can't forget it.

  • @devlyn873
    @devlyn873 3 місяці тому +24

    Undercover really was a mind trip, I loved it!

  • @micahguillemette3344
    @micahguillemette3344 3 місяці тому +5

    I got SO HYPED when i saw Tamsyn's name on the cover! I knew she was gonna deliver!

  • @Cupcake3453
    @Cupcake3453 3 місяці тому +2

    My fave short story collection (which I did read in school, but loved) is the Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter. It's Feminist Gothic retellings of fairytales and it's so good, some are only a few pages and some are much longer. I also love Lydia Davis for Flash Fiction and some short stories

  • @sophiemichel8045
    @sophiemichel8045 3 місяці тому +16

    Not done with the video yet, but I find it very interesting how definitions differ in every country. In Germany no one is really on one page what a novella is, but even though it shouldn’t be too long, length can differ and it’s the content that is more important. There should be only one thing happening, singularity and contrast within the theme are what is important.
    I know, not what the video is about, but maybe there are other definitions out there?

    • @bluewilliams4911
      @bluewilliams4911 3 місяці тому +1

      The definitions actually don’t change from country to country. It’s more that while these aren’t technically novellas, but they’re classified as such often because they’re published outside of a magazine. Novella has a pretty clear literary definition that’s held universally in order for literary contests to like… function.

    • @sophiemichel8045
      @sophiemichel8045 3 місяці тому

      @@bluewilliams4911 how did magazines get into this?
      Rachel defined them in the video by length. I said, that in Germany length isn’t what defines a novella, it’s the content. So there is a different definition, at least in the USA and Germany.

  • @ajlorentz
    @ajlorentz 3 місяці тому +4

    Yes! I’m here for the Tomi Adeyemi critiques. So MANY reviews tend to idolize her and as a Nigerian, it bores me

  • @zachreads
    @zachreads 3 місяці тому +5

    I've read a couple thousand short stories, which makes remembering individual ones difficult... but here we go.
    -"The Pool" and "The Apple Tree" by Daphne du Maurier
    -Lost Luggage" by Mick Herron
    -The Magic Shop" by H.G. Wells
    -More Deadly Than The Male (23 short stories by women 95% bangers)
    -Edgar Allen Poe mastered short stories almost all are good
    -The Ash Tree by M.R. James (there is also a middlehrade retelling called The Night Gardener I rec)
    "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (cheating with lengthbut it's ma fav)

  • @jessicadoneganreads
    @jessicadoneganreads 3 місяці тому +8

    I also read the "Into Shadows" collection and I totally agree that "The Garden" is terrible, the worst start to one of these Amazon Original collections so far. I do think listening to it does the most for the poetry and it still doesn't come off as deep.
    And "The Six Deaths of the Saint" was the best. I'm a sucker for 2nd person too. It was my intro to Alix E Harrow and I def want to learn more from her now.
    I didn't love Undercover as much as you did, but I still enjoyed it. I think I was just a bit slow and needed a little more world building to make it gel.

    • @TiffReadsBooks
      @TiffReadsBooks 3 місяці тому +1

      It was a tie for me between Six Deaths and Undercover. But they alternate regularly as I think back on them

    • @jessicadoneganreads
      @jessicadoneganreads 3 місяці тому +2

      @@TiffReadsBooks Yeah for me it's Six Deaths or What the Dead Know but I'm a sucker for a 1920s spiritualist movement story.

    • @TiffReadsBooks
      @TiffReadsBooks 3 місяці тому +1

      @@jessicadoneganreads what the dead know was so good too!

  • @m1fowl
    @m1fowl 3 місяці тому +8

    Annie Prolux has several volumes of short stories (including Brokeback Mountain) and she has this really fascinating knack of making you understand what is going on and then spinning you around and saying sike! But in a fun way. Also most of the stories interconnect through the characters, which has hilarious implications occasionally

  • @Jess_talks_book
    @Jess_talks_book 3 місяці тому +21

    My favourite short story is The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman. I'm a sucker for a fairy tale retelling and any Sleeping Beauty retelling that uses a drop spindle instead of a spinning wheel gets bonus points

  • @emmy8495
    @emmy8495 3 місяці тому +4

    I loved hearing about these, they sound great. But it always makes me sad when you call yourself stupid. You come up with such cool ideas of how to make a book better and I hope you will speak to yourself with kindness! You are such a light.

  • @thepokepoet9482
    @thepokepoet9482 3 місяці тому +8

    Omg. I onlydownloaded The Garden because it's free with Prime/the cover but never got to read it now I'm glad I didn't 😂

  • @montananerd8244
    @montananerd8244 3 місяці тому +3

    Shirley Jackson (the lottery) is a strong story writer, but at this point, even before you tuck into her novels & novellas, check out her non fiction about raising kids. Keep in mind the norm when she wrote these books - it’s an exceptionally hilarious & intimate sub genre of her work, she delves into some of the dark psychology of family life, but in a fun way and other than some titles containing microaggressions (life among the savages is one of her books, obviously that’s gross to say), I don’t recall much needing a CW or that will be hurtful to anyone other than really organized people lol. She’s got a delightful personality, a terrifying mind, and craft for days..,

  • @abookishlesbian
    @abookishlesbian 3 місяці тому +4

    My favorite short stories are things have gotten worse since we last spoke by Eric larocca And I also really like Carmen Maria machado's short story collection her body and other parties!

  • @Mushroomelixir
    @Mushroomelixir 3 місяці тому +7

    I didn't know gardens existed damn

  • @legendaryfrog4880
    @legendaryfrog4880 3 місяці тому +6

    Hold on. Two 5 star reviews? I thought you didn't even like reading?

    • @ReadswithRachel
      @ReadswithRachel  3 місяці тому +5

      Right? ME? Liking books?! Who even am I anymore?!

  • @Sistertotherain9
    @Sistertotherain9 3 місяці тому +2

    My favorite short story is "Nazis Don't Go To Valhalla" by Margaret Killjoy.

  • @acessofspades
    @acessofspades 3 місяці тому +1

    Ooh for short story recommendations I have two- “Happy Endings” by Margaret Atwood and “Repent, Harlequin! Said the Ticktockman” by Harlan Ellison. (Technically I did read Happy Endings in high school but it’s stuck with me since, lol) Repent, Harlequin is not NEARLY as dark as I Have no Mouth and I Must Scream, which i’ve seen a couple other people recommend, so if you’re looking for a bit of a lighter introduction to Ellison that’s the route I would go!

  • @paulinahosl6658
    @paulinahosl6658 3 місяці тому +1

    Added these to my TBR! My favourites short stories are "Stories of your Life and others" by Ted Chiang - such a masterpiece!

  • @Enbionic_Titan
    @Enbionic_Titan 3 місяці тому +1

    Oh, I thought I was prepared for Undercover 😮 I was NOT. That review made my stomach turn lmao. I love this type of horror for that very reason (one of the reasons Suspiria and Hostel are some of my favorite horror flicks). The subject of disemboweling someone always gets to me. I love a Ghoul story though. ❤

  • @mmarrrow
    @mmarrrow 3 місяці тому +1

    My favorite short stories are in The Ladies of Grace Adieu collection by Susanna Clarke, who is also my favorite writer. Her approach to the fantastic is so enchanting; I've never read anyone who writes about fairies and magic quite like she does. I would highly, highly recommend🖋

  • @BelleChanson0717
    @BelleChanson0717 3 місяці тому +2

    Alix E. Harrow is one of my new favorite authors. The Ten Thousand Doors of January and The Starling House are just phenomenal.
    Tamsyn Muir owns my soul at this point.

  • @kvelling
    @kvelling 3 місяці тому +2

    If it helps with 6 Deaths, I initially read it in the best of american science fiction and fantasy collection for 2023. It's in paperback with the story and it has a forward by R.F. Kuang!

  • @chelscara
    @chelscara 3 місяці тому +3

    The Lottery actually got me into short stories 😅😂

  • @dubitataugustinus
    @dubitataugustinus 3 місяці тому +1

    I can't recommend "The October Country" enough. It's a collection of some of the best short stories Ray Bradbury ever wrote. It's scary and beautiful and interesting and intense. Masterpiece.

  • @sol-uw2kz
    @sol-uw2kz 3 місяці тому +3

    as a brazillian I loooove how much you like brasil! love your videos :)

  • @montananerd8244
    @montananerd8244 3 місяці тому +2

    Best short story/novella writer: Margaret Atwood!!! Every time you think you know her, peel a layer back! I am so excited for Gen Z to rediscover ALL her work! Her short stories pack a tremendous punch! Mostly I’ve read her earlier short works, like from grad school (& then I got to study with her protege & former babysitter Baharti mukherjee eeeek!) - it’s contemporary feminist realism at its finest. I’ve actually learned a lot of Canadian history from her early work. And don’t miss the Journals of Susanna Moodie, it’s poetry but also very prose like, about homesteader history. I mistakenly thought she retired a decade ago & don’t follow the book world anymore so I have to catch up!

  • @reading_faerie
    @reading_faerie 3 місяці тому +1

    6:16 ommggg silver in the wood is so good and the sequel is just as good!! It’s only a duology so if you ever do want another short story you should read the sequel

  • @haski002
    @haski002 3 місяці тому +1

    Well, it's technically a novella but "Sisters of the Vast Black" by Lina Rather was a great ride. I never thought I'd vibe with a story that can be summarized as "nuns in space", but here we are.

  • @perpetualchild
    @perpetualchild 3 місяці тому +1

    omg if you hate Sabriel, I may never recover.....

  • @kathrynolsen1256
    @kathrynolsen1256 3 місяці тому +1

    2:44 I love you using these classes to inform the reviews. And I want to take that class so I can get better at my short stories.

  • @rebeccacoffindaffer9238
    @rebeccacoffindaffer9238 3 місяці тому +1

    I am absolutely FILTH for second person so Harrow's is going immediately on my TBR

  • @steverainbow2.0
    @steverainbow2.0 3 місяці тому +6

    Aaaah brasil mencionado kkkkkk

  • @Merdragoon
    @Merdragoon 3 місяці тому +1

    I think I would Defeantly be intrested in the Six Deaths of the Saint. After reading Fifth Season, I apperciate a well written Second person. A short story that is going to be intresting to read when I get that far since I got it through Stuff your Kindle day is Skin Sessions: Demon at the Doorstep by J.P. Jackson. It's apparently a Horror Romance set at the end of the world at a mens brothel and they make a deal with a demon to "make things better again" at the Unicorn Horn. Do I know anything more than that? Nope. But at the time I was looking to add more to my horror rotation xD;; and Horror Romance seemed like an intresting combo in this case.

  • @CelticGuardian7
    @CelticGuardian7 3 місяці тому +1

    The short story that's had the biggest impact on me is Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut. IIRC, it's a whopping three pages, and somehow he managed to get across a vivid setting in that amount of time. As a writer who struggles to be succinct, my mind was blown.
    Though not quite as amazing in terms of shortness, EPICAC is another good one he wrote. Kurt Vonnegut is two for two for me in that regard; I should look at his other short stories, haha.
    I also recall liking An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge (by Ambrose Bierce), The Things They Carried (by Tim O'Brien), and just about any Edgar Allen Poe short story, with special mention to The Tell-Tale Heart.
    One other I'll note because it stood out so much to me is A Real Doll by AM Homes. That one is... a thing. I don't know if I'd say I ENJOYED it, and I certainly wouldn't recommend it to everyone, but it was memorable, that's for sure.
    🖋 (Forgot to put that in, lol.)

  • @Amaiguri
    @Amaiguri 3 місяці тому

    My favorite short story is How to Slaughter buy Shaelin Bishop -- who is also a UA-camr and I recommend it for their queer characters and incredibly polished prose 🥰

  • @lindarybarova9182
    @lindarybarova9182 9 днів тому

    I really loved Jennifer Egan's "Sacred Heart", and not only because I had to write an essay on it xD

  • @skeletonkeybooks
    @skeletonkeybooks 3 місяці тому

    I'm definitely going to have to re-read "The Six Deaths of the Saint." I was really tired when I read it and recognized that I was completely lacking in the brain activity to process and appreciate it properly.

  • @julimander6569
    @julimander6569 2 місяці тому

    SPOILER FOR UNDERCOVER
    I did love the undercover twist, I thought Amy was ignoring Lucille because she didn’t WANT to recognize her or had to pretend she didn’t know her so I love it 🖊️

  • @Frogface91
    @Frogface91 3 місяці тому

    I bought the collection because I like Garth Nix and the garden one was the first that I read and was rubbish. I bought the collection a couple of years ago and still haven't finished it...

  • @mglarson5936
    @mglarson5936 3 місяці тому

    Highly recommend The Blood Chamber and Other Stories by Angela Carter for a novella + short story collection that’s excellent

  • @ghostoyster
    @ghostoyster 3 місяці тому +1

    have you read the midnight library? edit: SPOLERS. i read it and it was okay…if it had shifted to first person during the final chapter, when she comes to, it would have been the most amazing story i’d ever read but i feel like authors so rarely play with perspective, often to the detriment of the story. but the whole thing was about being different versions of herself and then finally accepting who she is really.
    END SPOILERS.
    ps if anyone has skillshare, can you tell me if there are any event planning (especially multi-day event) courses on? i don’t want to sign up to find out.

    • @ReadswithRachel
      @ReadswithRachel  3 місяці тому +1

      Not yet! I plan to read it.
      Let me check skillshare for you!

    • @ghostoyster
      @ghostoyster 3 місяці тому

      @@ReadswithRachel thank you!!

  • @vyusti123
    @vyusti123 23 дні тому

    my favourite short stories are in a collection by bora Chung which blew up a few years ago- cursed bunny (translated by Anton hurr)! I also really like Why There are No Noyontara Flowers in the Agargaon Colony by shahidul zahir, a bangladeshi author for how they explore the underlying conflict of a regime change in everyday lives. its also really cool how you can see the author refine their signature style of stream of consciousness through different stories.

  • @leahharlann
    @leahharlann 3 місяці тому

    I still love The City Born Great by NK Jemisin!! She ended up turning it into The City We Became if you want to see it expanded into a full-length novel

  • @cursedepub
    @cursedepub Місяць тому

    That is such a powerful line-up of fantasy authors from various decades!! Tamsyn Muir and Garth Nix are 2 of my fav authors. Even if you didn't like The Garden I am really interested to read this collection and the stories by Alix E. Harrow and Muir you talked about here sound soooo good and exactly my taste.
    A short story collection I listened to (audiobook) recently and found really cool, intriguing, and powerful was "I'd Really Prefer Not to Be Here with You, and Other Stories" by Julianna Baggott, which is a collection of kind of Black Mirror-like dark speculative fiction that is at heart about uncovering the human psyche. Some of the stories brought tears to my eyes. My favourites: Backwards (!!), How They Got In, The Drawings, Portals, The Knockoffs. CW as a whole for violence, child abuse/death, domestic abuse, death of a parent.

  • @Shalaena
    @Shalaena 2 місяці тому

    I know I'm late, but these are not just on KU, they're on Prime, too. I don't have KU because I read too slow for the value. But I have Prime. In case anyone without KU is wanting to read them.

  • @isynielsen2716
    @isynielsen2716 3 місяці тому

    “Your Shadow Half Remains” was a novella I really liked. Also “Weird Fishes” was my absolute favorite book I read for AAPI month and it’s a pretty short book (127 pages) 🖊️

  • @sunnysunsins
    @sunnysunsins 3 місяці тому

    Okay, why does the second story literally read like a retelling of Ymir from Attack on Titan? Just with some details changed around?

  • @marycolleen537
    @marycolleen537 2 місяці тому

    I think you'd like thornhedge by Ursula Vernon! It's a novella retelling sleeping beauty... Almost. It's like if the legend was told by unreliable narrators and this is what really happened. It's hard to explain but it's so good!

  • @yawnjpg8506
    @yawnjpg8506 Місяць тому

    i was going to recommend mothers by machado to you but it sounds like you've read it! i need to read the rest of the stories (having read mothers for class, actually) 🖋

  • @rachelreadsromance
    @rachelreadsromance 3 місяці тому

    🖊 "If you want to finish your manuscript, what are you waiting for?"
    Why do you keep calling me out in these videos 🤣🤣

  • @watchinvideosforyears
    @watchinvideosforyears 3 місяці тому

    Novelette recommendation: Nightfall by Asimov. An alien civilisation is going to experience an eclipse for the first time in recorded history. Because records ended thousands of years ago at the previous time of the eclipse.

  • @julimander6569
    @julimander6569 2 місяці тому

    I enjoyed Undercover but I found the world building a bit confusing? I couldn’t figure out what Tarleton was if it was a boat or a big moving town on wheels? and where they were because it’s desert but also Tarleton and Nassau are places in our world, idk it took me out of the story a bit, but I ABSOLUTELY LOVED six deaths of the saint ❤

  • @Marie45610
    @Marie45610 3 місяці тому

    Hannah Lee Kidder has two short story collections, I've only read one (Little Birds), but I think they're stories you might enjoy.

  • @BobTim
    @BobTim 3 місяці тому

    🖋🖋
    I don't normally read fiction (just don't have the mental energy for it, except sci-fi short stories), so I passively listen to creators like you to get my fix on (often very bad) novels.
    But oh boy. I've never skipped any part of your videos till now since "Bah, I'll never get around to reading any of these" or "These motifs and themes don't spark my interest" or "Lol this **does** sound like a dumpster fire"... till you got rolling with Undercover. I *need* that in my face *now*: no more spoilers!
    I am absolutely going to read it and Six Deaths, ASAP. Probably before I finish the other three books I've started but kinda... oops... But still! Reading, good!

  • @akascribblefox
    @akascribblefox 3 місяці тому

    The Lies of the Ajungo by Moses Ose Utomi is one of my favorite short stories that I've read. Very folkloric, with a fable-like quality. You might like it!

  • @groove4020
    @groove4020 3 місяці тому

    The ghoul short story is fascinating, but I can't help but picture a monster hunter waiting for them in the woods.
    Like Dean Winchester once said, "The only good monster is a dead one."

  • @KatHinson-pz3um
    @KatHinson-pz3um 3 місяці тому

    So I have an obsession with short stories after taking a class in college. Really good short stories are absurdly difficult to write - you have such little time to characterize your protagonist, build a world, build theme...but the best ones do so and I think do so more effectively than a lot of novels because of the conciseness. If you want a great podcast to listen to - I highly recommend "Levar Burton Reads", where he reads a different short story every week in all kinds of genres. He's featured some of my favorite short stories including "Chivalry" by Neil Gaiman and "What it Means When a Man Falls from the Sky". I think my favorite of all time is another Neil Gaiman story - "The Truth is a Cave in the Black Mountains" - but I'm also a big fan of "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" from Ursula LeGuin.

  • @nguiklian
    @nguiklian 3 місяці тому

    I took a horror writing class in uni so some of my favorite short stories are horror. My two recs here:
    In the Hills, the Cities by Clive Barker. Cosmic horror and body horror, if you're very squeamish maybe stay away but regular amount of squeamish people should be fine.
    It Only Comes Out at Night by Dennis Etchison. By the time i finished this, i felt all the hairs on my body prick up like i was being watched. AWFUL and perfect

  • @pinklight
    @pinklight 3 місяці тому

    I remember two short stories that I read in elementary school (probably about 30 years ago now) that have stuck with me. "How Now Purple Cow" by Bill Pronzini, and another sci-fi horror story that I remember vividly but can't recall the name of for the life of me. Both of them gave me chills and kept me awake at night.

  • @kentuckyatkfc
    @kentuckyatkfc 2 місяці тому

    My favorite short story collection is What We Fed to the Manticore, all stories from the perspectives of animals as they face climate change, natural disasters, and the consequences of human actions.

  • @harmonyispimp
    @harmonyispimp 3 місяці тому

    I read the Into Shadow series. The Garden was by far the worst one. Undercover was fantastic, imo.

  • @juliawiggers9179
    @juliawiggers9179 3 місяці тому

    Actually paused the video to read Undercover (great choice) so this comment is a bit late, BUT what really helped me get into short stories was by listening to short story podcasts.
    I Just started with recommended/best of year lists, or by searching for episodes featuring authors i already liked and found new podcasts through that & then through those podcasts, new authors!
    I like Levar Burton Reads, Pseudopod, Lightspeed, Uncanny Magazine, Nightlight... Probably a lot of stuff I'm forgetting.

  • @lianajay04
    @lianajay04 3 місяці тому

    idk what translations would be like since i read them in spanish (og language) but i really recommend Mariana Enríquez's short stories! they're kinda mysterious and eerie and I haven't read many of them but the ones i have are sooo good

  • @celestegosling6054
    @celestegosling6054 3 місяці тому

    I read Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir a couple of months ago, and wow. It was dark, it was weird, it was unexpected - all of the relatively contemporary slang and references, but also the gore, and the ending (!). But what really hooked me is that it was totally and completely unique (IMO). I haven't read anything like it before, and it was a refreshing change to all of the regular Fantasy books I have read throughout my life. I get that there is a lot of Sci Fi in there as well, but it also stands out from other Sci Fi books I've read.
    The thing that makes it even better, is that Tamsyn is a Kiwi author, and it is amazing to know that such a novel came from my little neck of the woods.
    I'm glad to hear that you enjoy her writing.

  • @forest_green
    @forest_green 3 місяці тому

    I love how gory and humorous Tamsyn Muir is. I read Princess Floralinda and the Forty Flight Tower to my daughters, who were 9 and 6 at the time, which I might not recommend to other parents, but we had an amazing time. My daughters loved all the disgusting ways the monsters got killed.
    Her Body and Other Stories is such a visceral set of stories. I don't think there was a single one i didn't love, or one that didn't leave me gasping for air. The one with the ribbon was so painful, though, as someone who has survived PPD. Be warned if you have any trauma related to birth or raising children, because it may bring up powerful feelings.
    I read a book that reminded me a bit of the first short story. It's called The Actual Star by Monica Byrne, and one of the plots involves a girl traveling to Belize, searching for something. I'm not sure if it got the history correct, and I gave it 3 stars in the end, but the plot was very interesting and the book has stayed in my head all these years since I read it. If someone does ever read The Actual Star, read TheTiger Flu by Larissa Lai and tell me what you think of that compared to The Actual Star.

  • @cravidana1182
    @cravidana1182 3 місяці тому

    Wouldn't it be easier to define short stories based on the number of words rather than number of pages which can vary depending on the font, size, etc... I've written a 7.5k story and I struggled to find the exact type of fiction. I was between short story and novella and then someone told me: novelette. And I was so happy because it made sense.
    Writing this short story taught me a lot about my own writing. It helped me with not having to spell everything out for the readers. They aren't stupid and sometimes we want to make a point so bad that we feel the need to say that apple is a round shaped fruit that comes from a tree. At times, I would write something and then explain that thing so that readers understand it the way I want. Short stories force you to just say important stuff and not explain yourself all the time. Anyway...back to the video. 😂
    Edit: you said it right. Belo Horizonte que mora a minha melhor amiga Luísa. It would be best to say "onde mora", and not que. But it's understandable.

  • @CityGirlWriter
    @CityGirlWriter 3 місяці тому

    🖋🖋🖋Definitely wanna check out The Six Deaths of the Saint and Undercover

  • @kanjonojigoku8644
    @kanjonojigoku8644 3 місяці тому

    i definetly reccomend The Crimson Thread Of Abandon by SHuji Terayama for a really fun, surreal collection of short stories written to mimic fairytales but with adult themes, its bizzare and weird, and has a kind of theatrical feel to it, and the parts are broken up by poems, very fun read

  • @see_emmy_and_jack_read3569
    @see_emmy_and_jack_read3569 3 місяці тому

    ✒️ Great video as always 🤓
    My favorite this year is Worst Wingman Ever by Abby Jimenez. It had no right to be that damn good and make me cry! I am definitely interested in The Six Deaths of the Saint and Undercover now!!

  • @lexpeters9925
    @lexpeters9925 3 місяці тому

    That last story has convinced me to get a kindle. It sounds so good! 🖊
    I really enjoyed Bliss Montage by Ling Ma. It's a short story collection in which most of the stories are linked in one way or another, time is messed with in interesting ways (imo), and the last story in particular sucker punched me. Definitely recommend looking up trigger warnings though!

  • @pig3292
    @pig3292 3 місяці тому

    What a coincidence, i just decided to get into short films last night! (Mainly the due to a crappy attention span lol). Maybe I should give short stories a chance too

  • @amyallen6863
    @amyallen6863 3 місяці тому

    It may be a personal taste thing, but I believe Neil Gaiman and Ray Bradbury are the absolute peak of short story writers

  • @Wasserschaden
    @Wasserschaden 3 місяці тому

    as a huge Joan of Arc fanatic... yes i will read that second short story you talked about! thank you!

  • @laundryverse
    @laundryverse 3 місяці тому

    I read the six deaths on a family trip and i was losing my shit in the back of the car the same way... it's soooo lifechanging

  • @alyss27
    @alyss27 3 місяці тому

    the idea behind the garden sounds like it could have been cool if done right, but i also can't take it seriously bc it just makes me think of madame web

  • @irispurpurea2616
    @irispurpurea2616 3 місяці тому

    A short story I read and loved recently is Flight Pattern by Azure Arther!

  • @p0ssibly
    @p0ssibly 2 місяці тому

    read "the six deaths of the saint" because of this review and dear god I cannot thank you enough. it was so good.

  • @thejezlo
    @thejezlo 3 місяці тому

    Socorro Belo Horizonte! kkkkkkkkk Sim precisei comentar em PT-BR ♥ Amo o quanto você parece animada sobre o Brasil e ainda mais saber que sua amiga é de BH, surtei

  • @CommanderDarcy
    @CommanderDarcy 3 місяці тому

    BRASIL????? DE NOVO?????
    edit: BELO HORIZONTE?????

  • @ninal.4188
    @ninal.4188 3 місяці тому

    BELO HORIZONTE MENTIONED 🎉🎉🎉🎉🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷