Synopsis: A selection of deleted scenes from Peter V. Brett’s debut fantasy novel The Warded Man. Review: The Great Bazaar and Other Stories is a fun little read for fans of the world and characters created by Peter V. Brett in The Warded Man and its upcoming sequel The Desert Spear (which is so so [...]

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Synopsis: A collection of unpublished and previously uncollected short stories by the reigning queen of gothic Americana. Review: Short stories are not usually my cup of tea, because they’re over far too quickly. But I’ll read anything that Shirley Jackson writes, and I really enjoyed the stories found in Just An Ordinary Day, which I’ve [...]

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Synopsis: A collection of short stories. Review: Just After Sunset offers a lackluster selection of short stories, hardly any of which really grabbed me by the collar. Many of them had a fancy twist ending that could be spotted a mile away (“The Mute”), while others were just deadly dull (“The Things They Left Behind”). [...]

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Synopsis: A collection of short stories featuring Indian American protagonists. Review: Jhumpa Lahiri’s novel The Namesake was one of my favorite books I read the year I was pregnant with Superfast Toddler, and I was so happy to get Unaccustomed Earth for Christmas this year. What I love about Lahiri’s stories is that I never [...]

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Synopsis: A collection of traditional wizarding fairy tales translated by Hermione Granger and annotated by Albus Dumbledore–with an introduction by JK Rowling. Review: Why couldn’t Beedle the Bard be twice as long? I loved these stories, which read just like “real” fairy tales, but with a spin that marks them as belonging to the world [...]

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Synopsis: A collection of previously published works by humorist David Sedaris on the topic of Christmas. Review: To the tune of “Frosty the Snowman” Da-vid Se-daris Was a writer oh-so-droll With a quirky style and take on life That will put you on the floor. Da-vid Se-daris Writes the weirdest stuff you’ll see About the [...]

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Synopsis: A collection of short stories by a preeminent contributor to “The Twilight Zone.” Review: Button, Button is an uneven bit of business, purporting to highlight the very best of Richard Matheson’s “Uncanny Stories.” Some are good, one is spectacular, but others have not aged well. First, the good: “Button, Button” exhibits a flawless “Twilight [...]

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Synopsis: A collection of short stories set mostly among Indian immigrants in the US. Review: Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake was one of my favorite reads of last year, so I decided I needed to check out her much-buzzed about collection of short stories, Interpreter of Maladies. It will surprise no one who has read these [...]

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Synopsis: The first of two anthologies featuring short stories by George RR Martin, ranging from fantasy to science fiction to horror to genre hybrids. Review: I am one of those readers who had never heard of George RR Martin before encountering A Game of Thrones, book one in his Song of Ice and Fire series. [...]

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Synopsis: Short stories, essays, and an unfinished novel by Shirley Jackson, queen of American Gothic and author of “The Lottery.” Review: My love for Shirley Jackson has been well documented in this blog, so I was delighted when my husband got me Come Along With Me for my birthday. The collection opens with “Come Along [...]

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