Short Story Wednesday: Collections from the Book Sale

 

Last Friday, September 12, was the first day of the Planned Parenthood Book Sale; it will continue through Sunday, September 21. We went to the book sale on both Friday and Saturday. (And we will go back again tomorrow, and Saturday and Sunday.) 

Every year I plan to limit my short story book purchases at the sale, since I have so many already, both in print editions and on the Kindle. Yet I was unable to resist the four books I am featuring here.

The Complete Stories, Volume 1

Isaac Asimov

This book consists of the stories previously collected in Earth Is Room Enough (1957), Nine Tomorrows (1959), and Nightfall and Other Stories (1969). There are a total of 48 stories by Asimov in this volume. Asimov wrote short stories in other genres, but my impression is that this volume is primarily science fiction and fantasy tales. 

I, Robot

Isaac Asimov

This is a book I have planned to read for years. It consists of nine short stories, which originally appeared in science-fiction magazines in the 1940's. Recently, Kelly at Kelly's Thoughts & Ramblings read and reviewed I, Robot. She enjoyed the book and that motivated me to read it sooner rather than later.

The Truth and Other Stories

Stanisław Lem; Antonia Lloyd-Jones (Translator); Kim Stanley Robinson (Foreword)

Stanisław Lem (1921-2006) was a Polish writer. I don't know much about his writing, except that he was best know for his science fiction novels and short stories. His most well-known novel was Solaris (1961). This book of 12 science fiction short stories was published in 2021 and includes 9 stories that previously had not been published in English.

Lake of Souls: the Collected Short Fiction

Ann Leckie

I took a chance on this book because I am interested in Ancillary Justice, the first book in her Imperial Radch series. This collection has seven stories from the Universe of The Raven Tower, a standalone novel, three stories from the Imperial Radch Universe, and eight unrelated stories. 

Spell the Month in Books — September 2025

 

Spell the Month in Books is a monthly meme hosted by Jana at Reviews from the Stacks. The link up post is posted on the first Saturday of each month. Each month one or two themes are suggested for the books that are chosen. The theme for September is "longer books."

I had a bit of difficulty with September, because of having to find three books with titles beginning with E that fit the theme.

S is for The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher   (580 pages)

I have only read one book by Pilcher, Winter Solstice. I liked that one and plan to read more. This one has been on my physical shelves for two years. I don't know much about the story except that it is set in Cornwall and London. If you have read The Shell Seekers, tell me what you think of it.

E is for The Emperor of Ocean Park by Stephen L. Carter (657 pages)

I have read this book but it was way back in 2004. I remember liking it but that is about it. Fortunately I can link to a very good review at Bill Selnes's blog Mysteries and More from Saskatchewan.

P is for The Portable Dorothy Parker by Dorothy Parker   (603 pp)

Description at Goodreads:

This collection ranges over the verse, stories, essays, and journalism of one of the twentieth century's most quotable authors.

I have been wanting a copy of this book for years. My husband found this lovely edition at the book sale a few years ago. I have not read any of it yet and I will first check out the short stories.

T is for Time's Witness by Michael Malone (576 pp)

Michael Malone is the author of three mystery novels that feature two policemen working in a small town in North Carolina. The two policemen are very different. Justin Savile V is the scion of an old and important family in the state. Cuddy Mangum's origins are much lower, but he and Justin are very good friends. Time's Witness, the second in the series, is narrated by Cuddy. Cuddy is educated, but he is not refined, and to the powerful and rich inner circle of Hillston residents, he is a redneck. And at the point in time of this story, he is the Chief of Police. He has cleaned up the police in his town and he has hired women and blacks as police officers. The book was published in 1989 and set around the same time period. (My review)

E is for East of Eden by John Steinbeck  (602 pages)

Description at the Penguin Random House site:

Set in the rich farmland of California’s Salinas Valley, this sprawling and often brutal novel follows the intertwined destinies of two families—the Trasks and the Hamiltons—whose generations helplessly reenact the fall of Adam and Eve and the poisonous rivalry of Cain and Abel.

I do not think I ever read this book, although I have read other books by Steinbeck. It is not currently on my TBR, although I may consider reading it someday. 

M is for Moonflower Murders by Anthony Horowitz  (580 pages)

Moonflower Murders is the sequel to an earlier book by Anthony Horowitz, Magpie Murders. In both books the main character is Susan Ryeland, and both feature the "book within a book" format. However, Horowitz labels them as standalone books on his website. I agree that this book can stand alone, but it does reveal some parts of Magpie Murders, if the reader wants to go back to read that one. (My review)

B is for Believing the Lie by Elizabeth George  (610 pp)

I read this book in 2012; it was the 17th book in the series and the last novel in this series that I read. I had read and enjoyed all the books preceding it. The main characters are Detective Inspector Lynley and Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers; they work for Scotland Yard. Lynley is an aristocrat. Havers is from a working-class background. There are numerous secondary characters that are well-portrayed and also evolve throughout the series. I found a lot of praise in this novel, but I was not happy that the books were getting longer and longer.  My review of the book included a general overview of the series up to that time.

E is for Exodus by Leon Uris   (608 pages)

I read several books by Leon Uris when I was younger, and Exodus was one of them. 

Description on Wikipedia:

Exodus is a historical novel by American novelist Leon Uris about the founding of the State of Israel beginning with a compressed retelling of the voyages of the 1947 immigration ship Exodus and describing the histories of the various main characters and the ties of their personal lives to the birth of the new Jewish state.

R is for Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb   (648 pp)

This is the second book in the Farseer Trilogy, following Assassin's Apprentice. The main character in this trilogy is FitzChivalry, a royal bastard who becomes the king's assassin in the first book, a fact that he and only a few others know. The story is very dark, with little relief. Fitz is shunned by most people in the court and leads a difficult life. I cared about many of the characters, and loathed all the bad ones. And I look forward to reading the third book in the trilogy, which is an even longer book.

Short Story Wednesday: Jewel Box by E. Lily Yu

Today I read the first four stories in Jewel Box, a short story collection by E. Lily Yu. I bought the book on a whim at the Planned Parenthood book sale last year, and I was probably influenced by the lovely and unusual cover. 

Although I have only read four of the stories, the ones that I read have an unreal, fairy tale quality. 

The first story is "The Pilgrim and the Angel," which tells the story Mr. Fareed Halawani, the operator of a coffee shop in Cairo, who misses his son, who is living in Miami, and worries that he does not call home and talk to him and his mother. He is visited by an angel who plans to take him on hajj, but he persuades the angel to take him to Miami to see his son instead. It has a lovely ending, but also a sad one. 

The second story, "The Lamp at the Turning," is my favorite so far. A simple story of a street lamp who turns on only when a certain young man walks by twice a day (on the way to work?). The street lamp loves the young man and is resentful of the young woman who begins to accompany him on his walks.

"The Cartographer Wasps and the Anarchist Bees" is the most well-known of Yu's stories; in 2012 it was nominated for the Hugo, Nebula, Locus, and World Fantasy Awards. I read that story in an anthology a few years ago, and I read it again twice in this collection. It is a wonderfully inventive story, but I confess to having problems understanding the story during all three reads. The ideas and symbolism were too much for me. 

“The Lion God and the Two Gates,” is an interesting story of a judge who prides himself on his neutrality and fairness; the Lion God of the title presents him with a decision to make about his fate after his death.

My highest praise is for Yu's wonderful writing style. I enjoyed reading the stories even when I was a bit confused. The collection has 22 stories and I will eventually read them all.

Introducing London: Our New Cat

 

After four months without a cat we now have a new one in our home. His name is London, and we got him at the local cat rescue society, ASAP, in early August. The people at ASAP said that he is two years old, and he weighs ten pounds. He seems huge to us after our previous cats.

He loves to be petted and will butt your hand to remind you to pet his head. He purrs a lot and loudly (like a motorboat). He doesn't meow (at least not since he has been with us), but he chirps and trills a lot, and he has adjusted to us for the most part, and vice versa. He is a big eater, and he wants to be fed often and eat off our plates. He wakes up my husband to be fed early in the morning. 

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