Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.
I had to change up the theme a bit because I honestly haven't read enough short stories and novellas to be able to pick my top ones. For the purposes of this discussion I'm going to be dodging all short stories and whatnot that build on an existing world, not because I haven't read and liked many of those, but just because they feel a little different than a short story that creates and carries as story in a world all within a small page count. If that makes sense.
Most of the novellas are Tor because... I am Tor's target audience I guess?
1. Binti by Nnedi Okorafor: I have heard SO MANY good things about this trilogy and I own the first book and I haven't read it yet because I am terrible.
2. Mapping the Interior by Stephan Graham Jones: I have this out of the library right now and I'm really looking forward to picking it up (when I'm in a horror mood)
3. The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe by Kij Johnson: I bought this on sale on a whim, because I loved the title and cover. It's a spin on a Lovecraft story which I... have not read.
4. The Black Tides of Heaven by J. Y. Yang: This is a pretty new addition to the TBR that I was intrigued by at the library where I work.
5. Brother's Ruin by Emma Newman: snagged on a whim, again from the library I work at. (Working in a library is not doing excellent things for the scale of my TBR list.)
6. Passing Strange by Ellen Klages: Words alone cannot describe how much I adore this cover. I am SO EXCITED to read this. I missed putting it on my TBR list when it came out and then I forgot about it until it was on a recent list on the Tor website.
7. Keeper of the Dawn by Dianna Gunn: one of the notably non-Tor novellas on this list. I feel like I SHOULD have read this already but somehow haven't.
8. All Out: The No-Longer-Secret Stories of Queer Teens Throughout The Ages edited by Saundra Mitchell: I actually bought this shortly after it's release and read one or two of the stories and then stopped because... I don't know why I just wasn't in a short story mood I think?
9. The Starry Rift: Tales of New Tomorrows edited by Johnathan Strahan: I also did pick up this and read a few of the stories but the only one I remember is the one by Neil Gailman..
10. Unbroken: 13 Stories starring Disabled Teens edited by Marieke Nijkamp: I'm really eagerly anticipating this anthology! We don't see enough characters with disabilities in fiction.
None of these are familiar authors or covers to me, but "Passing Strange" looks so elegant. That design is beautiful. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm not super familiar with a lot of the authors either- I guess that's a perk of novellas, they're more of a sampler?
DeleteIsn't it beautiful? The lighting and the colours and the art style and the font and just. It's a really pretty cover.
I haven't read any of these, but they do look like books that'll capture your attention. My TTT
ReplyDeleteThere's a whole world of novellas out there and I feel like I've barely scraped the surface with my current TBR!
DeleteOH. I am very interested in UNBROKEN. I haven't heard of it before. My favorite short stories
ReplyDeleteDoesn't it sound great? It's not out for a little while yet but I think it will be excellent to have more stories starring characters with disabilities. (Also I really like the cover because I am a simple creature that is always extra-interested in books with cool covers...)
DeleteI can't wait for Unbroken! It sounds like it's going to be amazing!!
ReplyDeleteHere is our TTT: https://thebookdutchesses.com/2018/07/17/ttt-36-favorite-novellas-short-stories/
It really does! I feel like I heard about it relatively late but now I'm really looking forward to it...
DeleteThe Black Tides of Heaven has a beautiful cover! I haven't read any of these because, like you, I don't read that many short stories.
ReplyDeleteI did my TTT list on fanfiction because I actually do read short stories there: http://www.brookereviewsnsweeps.com/2018/07/favorite-fanfiction-stories/
It does! I'm really looking forward to reading it (and more short stories and novellas in general because... I just need to read more of those in general...)
DeleteI enjoy short stories, but haven't read very many of them recently. Several of these sound intriguing! Here is our Top Ten Tuesday
ReplyDeleteI haven't really read many standalone short stories since the required ones when I was in high-school. most of the ones I've read have been expanding upon an existing novel or novel series... I am looking forward to reading these ones though!
DeleteI haven't heard of any of these. You and a few other bloggers have mentioned finding stories in Tor, which I've never checked out. I'm going to take a look at that. It sounds great. My Top Ten are here: https://tinyurl.com/yav6xu8u
ReplyDeleteTor is a fantastic publisher if you like speculative fiction! They post a lot of the the more out there sci fi and fantasy concepts, and they also feature essays and reviews and things on their blog too. I really like the way that Tor approaches speculative fiction as a genre overall (both in terms of what they publish and how they engage with the genre outside of their publications).
DeleteAll Out is on my TBR list, too. It seems like a cool idea for an anthology.
ReplyDeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
It really does! I have actually read one or two stories from the collection already and they've been good (especially the one by Anna-Marie McLemore).
DeleteI'm super excited for Unbroken too!! And All Out...I keep meaning to borrow that from my library. And Binti!! It sounds so good and I've heard excellent things about it. 😍
ReplyDeleteBinti and All Out are both cases of "I bought a copy a while ago and then I stared at it mostly or entirely unstarted for some reason" so I should probably... fix that eventually? Unbroken sounds really promising and I'm definitely looking forward to it's release!
DeletePAssing Strange has a BEAUTIFUL cover. And The Starry Rift doesn't look half bad...
ReplyDeleteIt's really pretty, isn't it? It's just as lovely in person, I'm really looking forward to starting it!
DeleteThe Starry Rift is an older collection but one I'm definitely interested in getting all the way though at some point.
All of these are new to me but Unbroken sounds especially amazing. Thanks for putting it on my radar!
ReplyDeleteHappy to be of service! It sounds really good, hopefully we'll both get the chance to read it when it comes out!
DeleteMapping Strange and The Black Tides of Heaven are two I've been seeing around that I REALLY want to get my hands on.
ReplyDeletePassing Strange or Mapping the Interior? (Hmm "Mapping" and "Passing" are the same composition with only a few different letters...)
DeleteI now have my hands on both of them (thank you, libraries!) and I can tell you that they're just as stunning-looking in person, although I haven't read them yet...
I haven't read many short stories, novellas and anthologies, but I've been eyeing Unbroken, because I love that cover so much and we really don't see enough characters with disabilities in fiction so yay for the rep. I can't wait to read that one :)
ReplyDeleteHappy reading! :)
I really haven't picked up that many either, so this week wound up being a bit of a challenge for me... Hopefully we both enjoy Unbroken when we get a chance to read it!
DeleteI haven't read any of these titles! I am often one to shy away from the short stories as well. I am really intrigued by Unbroken, though. It sounds like a very compelling read.
ReplyDeleteIt really does sound like it's going to be a fantastic collection, I'm really looking forward to it! (Cool cover too.)
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