The Color Master

I was ecstatic earlier this year when I first found out that Aimee Bender had a new release — of short stories, no less! — coming out this year. Even though Bender’s last book, The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, left me feeling kind of meh, her short stories are a whole ‘nother ball game

Battleborn

Sun-scorched. Desolate. Solitary. These are just a few of the words I’d use to describe Claire Vaye Watkins’s quietly haunting debut short story collection. Unlike most story collections out there, there’s no story called “Battleborn” in this book. Instead, the book’s title captures the essence of this collection. Not yet 30 (a fact that completely blows

Quickies: A Guide to Being Born & The Great Gatsby

A Guide to Being Born by Ramona Ausubel Publisher/Year: Riverhead, 2013 Format: ARC Pages: 208 Source: Publisher What it is: A collection of eleven strange short stories related to the cycle of life. The stories are organized into four themes: birth, gestation, conception, and love. Why I read it: Ausubel has been on my radar

Quickies: I Want to Show You More & The Guy’s Guide to Feminism

I Want to Show You More by Jamie Quatro Publisher/Year: Grove Press, 2013 Format: Ebook Pages: 224 Source: Publisher via NetGalley What it is: A collection short stories, many of which have elements of fantasy or center on the subject of infidelity. Why I read it: In this case, my awesomely scientific method behind choosing this book amounted to,”I feel like reading

Quickies: Purple Hibiscus & Blasphemy

Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Publisher/Year: Recorded Books, 2011 (book first published in 2003) Format: Audiobook Length: 10 hours, 53 minutes Narrated by: Lisette Lecat Source: Library What it is: Kambali is a privileged, 15-year-old Nigerian girl growing up under the harsh rule of her abusive father, a well-respected man in their community. A brief stay at her aunt’s