Single Taken Cursed by Nicki Bell

I expected something different when I picked this book. I thought it would be a collection of stories of people that the author goes out to meet and then encounters strange situations. They were not all that way. A couple were just ones that happened to the author during the course of her numerous and…

Twice upon a Time by LM Montgomery

My greatest bias as I approached this book was that Anne and her life were the first time I felt a thrill as I read. As a child who had been feeding on Famous Five and the like prior to finding these books, it was fun but not as emotionally rewarding as some of Anne's…

Eight – Fantastical Tales from Here, There & Everywhere by Poornima Manco

The book is by an author I had not read before, but the cover and the intriguing prospect of different stories from across the world was a big draw. It took me some time to work my way through the books for one main reason, even though the length of the stories is short, it…

Lake Like a Mirror by Sok Fong Ho

In my attempt to read translated works as well as short stories, I chose this. It is written by a Malaysian Chinese author and shows a window into cultures that I had very little understanding of earlier.As with most short story collections (even by the same author), the standard of stories usually varies wildly. This…

Other Moons: Vietnamese Short Stories of the American War and Its Aftermath

Edited by : by Quan Manh Ha Translatedby Joseph Babcock When I started reading this, I wanted to make a good effort in the writing of the review because of the gravity of the content. I also found out a lot about America's war in Vietnam, most of which were news to me. There is so…

Land of Big Numbers by Te-Ping Chen

I usually have a problematic relationship with short stories. It takes a lot for it to feel complete enough in those few pages that amount to a story. Given this background, I am usually wary of picking up a collection. Then again, the rewards on a good day weigh heavier, and I was really tempted…

Mystery Follows her – Assorted authors

I have had a love-hate relationship with both short stories as well as cozy mysteries featuring enterprising young women. With this book, I wanted to test my interest in both. I recently loved a collection of historical cozies so I thought I might enjoy this one too. Debating and procrastinating this review held up a…

Hotel Du Jack And Other Stories by Dan Brotzel

I waffled quite a bit, back and forth with a lot of points for either idea about expanding on individual stories or writing an all-encompassing review. The latter plan gained more traction when I started listing out personal one line reactions and realised it would involve me saying more than the book does during a…