Welcome to Litsy!

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl #2025reads

Reading today, another short by Poe. I‘ve only known a couple of his poems and really like the rhythm that runs through them, I‘m finding this rhythm is also in his shorts. This is the third story I will be reading by Edgar Allan Poe.

I want to love this, but it‘s the genre of short stories is always hard for me to connect with. Just when I feel invested in a character, we‘ve moved on. I did love the story “To Reach Japan” about a young mother and writer who attends a literary party and unexpectedly connects with a man she meets. Munro is objectively incredible and I recognize that in her writing. I just struggle with the short story format.

While I haven't read a biography of Eleanor of Aquitaine, whatever kind of reader this is, I'm it.

Let the holiday reading season commence! McLean is a Canadian National Treasure, and his story Dave Cooks the Turkey is a classic Vinyl Cafe listen. It also makes a delightful short read on a chilly December night.

If you've got the time, it really is worth listening to him tell the story, or can be found here: https://youtu.be/4VmMUM0HW6E?si=jpl-AEC1hSrbw2io

#librariesareawesome #readingrainbow

👼🏽

The title story,My Father's Tears,stands out in particular.In the scene at the beginning,you can feel the son's anticipation of college life freedom clashing with the father's sadness of separation. Updike doesn't need dramatic words to convey this. Sentences like “I was going somewhere, and he was seeing me go. I was growing in my own sense of myself, and to him I was getting smaller” are enough. Wonderful collection of short stories.

I really enjoy Samanta Schweblin's style in her novels and apparently in her short stories, too. Her characters are vivid and flawed and get into such bizarre predicaments that are somehow totally logical. As a bonus, two of the narrators of this audiobook are people I've met through narrator networking, which is fun.

This collection is a pick, even though I averaged only 3/5 among all the stories. It‘s a great introduction to Poe which concludes in his more famous work. The narration is solid and clear. Definitely a Poe fan after reading this collection.
#EdgarAllanPoe #TheCompleteShortStories #TheRaven #audiobook

🤘🏻pick
Iconic Poe. Loved the rhythm and the feel of this one so much.
#EdgarAllanPoe #TheRaven #NarrativePoem #Poem #poetry