The Magic of Modern Living
May 9, 2015 1:12 AM   Subscribe

"Unconventional Advice for the Discerning Reader" by Sophie Wereley and "The Practical Witch's Guide to Acquiring Real Estate" by A. C. Wise are recent fantasy short stories that offer handy tips from similar perspectives. "Pockets" by Amal El-Mohtar and "The Apartment Dweller's Bestiary" by Kij Johnson (who adds one beast in a comment) are recent stories that blend strangeness into everyday life with poignant results. All via @SpiralGalaxy and @SFFMicroReviews.

Bonus story somehow wedged into this FPP: "Cat Pictures Please" by Naomi Kritzer.

Amal El-Mohtar previously. Kij Johnson previously. Naomi Kritzer previously. A. C. Wise previously.
posted by Monsieur Caution (4 comments total) 61 users marked this as a favorite
 
Thanks so much for this. One of the major weaknesses in the Hugos that the puppies exploited was that fans are reading less and less short fiction. In light of that, following and promoting @SFFMicroReviews might be one of the most helpful things a person can do if they're concerned about the Hugo business.

My boyfriend and I have started a thing where we each read the same one or two short stories each week so that we can discuss them together. I've been collecting a long list of recommended stories to read. None of the 2015 stories we've read have been astounding so far. A lot of good stories, but none that were great. We haven't read any of the stories that were linked here, mostly gathering stories from the Tor and io9 short fiction roundups.
posted by tofu_crouton at 6:45 AM on May 9, 2015


Well I take back what I said about no great stories. I just finished Ambiguity Machines: An Examination by Vandana Singh. I had started it last week but stopped because I wasn't in the mood. It didn't seem like, based on the description, it would have any emotional resonance. I was so, so wrong.
posted by tofu_crouton at 8:18 AM on May 9, 2015 [2 favorites]


I loved Pockets and liked Cat Pictures Please. I especially liked the contextual SF references in CPP; it's almost a meta-SF story.

I don't know that we're reading fewer short fiction; I'm reading a whole lot more. There's just so much good stuff around, and a lot of it's free! I often go on a binge and use Readability to send a whole lot to my Kindle at once. I find that I'm buying fewer novels, which is at least partially due to the short fiction deluge.
posted by Joe in Australia at 8:24 AM on May 9, 2015


We are spending the morning lying in bed listening to wonderful stories. We do not have a ravock at the foot of our bed- it's a cat.
posted by happyroach at 11:52 AM on May 9, 2015


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