The last book I read in full was Let Me Hear a Rhyme by Tiffany D. Jackson, back in June of 2019. You read that correctly: June of 2019. After that, I just dabbled with a few novels or cookbooks, skimmed Lamar Odom's memoir, Darkness to Light, for Kardashian gossip, and paged through a couple of books about late Patriots' tight end Aaron Hernandez after watching a scathing documentary about his crimes. Then the holidays occupied my time. Then COVID-19 locked us down and my brain could no longer focus.
As the world begins to reopen, and more and more of us get fully vaccinated, I'm attemtping to jumpstart my love of reading again. If you are also struggling to escape into a book after one of the hardest years of being a live human, join me in exploring the following short story collections (also check out our previous blog post on getting out of a reading rut if you need some tips to get you back in the groove). And don't worry if you can't finish any of them; books are the friends that will always wait for you to find your way back.
Flying to America: 45 More Stories by Donald Barthelme
Why not begin with one of America's prolific short story writers, known for his experimental style?
No One Belongs Here More Than You by Miranda July
It's always interesting to me when artists of one medium switch it up and try another. This might just be as fun as July's (Me and You and Everyone We Know, 2005) films!
Training School for Negro Girls by Camille Acker
Described as "a complicated love letter to Washington DC," this collection sounds like a book Little Me could have really enjoyed.
Gorilla, My Love by Toni Cade Bambara
Bambara came on the scene with Toni Morrison and Alice Walker, and it would be interesting to see if her writing style reminds me of her contemporaries.
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
OK, so I'm cheating, because Cisneros' book is technically a novel told in vignettes. However, each vignette can be absorbed like a short story, and would definitely ease you back into reading.
Heads of the Colored People by Nafissa Thompson-Spires
Confession: I borrowed a copy of this book right before lockdown in a final attempt to get myself to read again. It might still be among my possessions, so might as well pick it up.
Slapboxing with Jesus by Victor LaValle
How great is the title for these NYC-based stories? On that alone, you might be coaxed out of your reading slump!
Drifting House by Krys Lee
If, like me, you straddle two distinct cultures (as the child of immigrants), Drifting House's protagonists will seem familiar.
Trinidad Noir published by Akashi Books
This is a collection of detective and mystery stories, featuring one of my favorite Caribbean writers, Tiphanie Yanique (Land of Love and Drowning).
The Man Who Shot Out My Eye Is Dead: Stories by Chanelle Benz
In this collection is the O. Henry prize-winning story, "The West of Known," and is filled with stories featuring true and fleshed out characters. That might wake you (us!) up!
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