Crib Notes-In Short...

Short stories are perfect for an attention span suffering from fatigue, whatever the cause; incessant news looping the same information, constantly soothing ourselves over missing friends and family, or just plain malaise.  The best of them are fully transformative digestible bites of fiction to give a reader a brief respite from reality.

HER BODY & OTHER PARTIES – Carmen Maria Machado

In this collection the author blithely demolishes arbitrary genre borders. She bends them to shape startling narratives that map the realities of women’s lives and the violence visited upon their bodies. Both by their own hand and by those of others.  

If you liked…On Earth We Are Briefly Gorgeous, My Year Of Rest & Relaxtion

SECRET LIVES OF CHURCH LADIES – Deesha Philyaw

The stories that make up this collection explore the raw and tender places where Black women and girls dare to follow their desires and pursue a momentary reprieve from the worlds’ expectations.  Featuring four generations of characters grappling with who they want to be in the world, this is an absolute gem!

If you liked…Office Of Historical Corrections, Always Happy Hour

NEVER HAVE I EVER – Isabel Yap

Captivating stories that entwine fantasy, horror and science fiction to create vivid, gritty and dark contemporary fairy tales. Sliding from shy witches to bloody monsters, from goddesses to hapless children, from the everyday to the not of this world, the reader will find something utterly unexpected at every turn of the page. 

If you liked…Man Who Shot Out My Eye Is Dead, The Dark Dark

LOT – Bryan Washington

The son of a black mother and Latino father is coming of age, working at his family restaurant, weathering his brothers blows, resenting his sisters absence.  And discovering he likes boys. Around him, others live and thrive and these stories offer the reader the chance to eavesdrop. Vibrant, wise and witty! 

If you liked…What Is Not Yours Is Not, Dinner Party & Other Stories