May 7, 2013
Michael's Short Story Month reading plan. What movies do to books, good and bad. Plus we recommend the new books from Claire Messud and David Sedaris.
Ann's been reading a short story a day, all year. That was too much for me to commit to, so I'm just doing it for the month of May, which is Short Story Month. I've collected all of the books I'm pulling the stories from onto one shelf in Goodreads, though of course, I'll read other things that catch my eye, including the May Short Story Read-Along.
One of the books I talk about, I Don't Know the Author or the Title, But It's Red and It Has Three Zombie Stories In It by Kelly Link, is only available through Harvard Book Store, as far as I can tell. Ann recently read Flying Lessons by Kelly Link recently in her writing class at Grub Street in Boston, and now wants to read everything Kelly has ever written. Ann also recommends the New Yorker Fiction podcast as a great way to hear stories, followed by a discussion of the work.
Follow @annkingman on Twitter for short story recommendations throughout the month. Follow my month of reading on the Books on the Nightstand Facebook page.
The movie adaptation of The Great Gatsby (in theaters May 10) is getting people talking, especially about the movie-tie-in edition of the book, which has star Leonardo DiCaprio on the cover. Many people dislike movie-tie-in covers in general (and some stores won't even carry them), but we think that anything that gets people to read a book is worthwhile.
Other book/movie news:
Ann calls The Woman Upstairs by Claire Messud "one of the best novels she's read in 2013." It's the story of Nora, an elementary school teacher who forms an intense attachment to the family of one of her students.
I recommend David Sedaris' new book Let's Explore Diabetes With Owls, especially on audio. It's a wonderful collection, hilarious, yes, but also incredibly moving at times.