First of all, I love Jay’s penchant for short stories. He has encouraged me to pick up a genre I rarely do, and it has been a rich reading experience in years past to partake in the Deal Me In Challenge.
This year, I noticed a variation on the theme. There is an option for reading one short story a month called the Full Moon Fever Version in which the reader chooses to read one short story a month.
I have a great passion for Raymond Carver, and after watching The Twilight Zone Marathon on Sy-Fy over New Year’s Eve, I am especially eager to read from the collection of short stories by Richard Matheson (who wrote sixteen Twilight Zone episodes including “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet“).
So, choosing the suite of Hearts, I plan to read the following short stories in 2020:
❤️A “Counterfeit Bills“ by Richard Matheson
❤️K “Button, Button“ by Richard Matheson
❤️Q “Dress of White Silk“ by Richard Matheson
❤️J “Haircut“ by Richard Matheson
❤️10 “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet“ by Richard Matheson
❤️9 “Chef’s House” by Raymond Carver
❤️8 “A Small Good Thing” by Raymond Carver
❤️7 “The Train” by Raymond Carver
❤️6 “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver
❤️5 “Bernice Bobs Her Hair” by F. Scott Fitzgerald
❤️4 “The Rich Boy” by F. Scott Fitzgerald
❤️3 “Last Kiss” by F. Scott Fitzgerald
❤️2 “The Captured Shadow” by F. Scott Fitzgerald
I have simplified the list to include just three authors, but you know I will sneak in some stories by Haruki Murakami. “Birthday Girl” still haunts me from last January…and you? Will you be reading any short stories in 2020?
Dolce Bellezza 
I have a couple of short story collections in translation waiting, and I’ll probably read the whole book in each case. I could certainly do with going back to Fitzgerald, though!
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What are your stories in translation?! I may have to join you…Fitzgerald so rarely disappoints. Bernice Bobs Her Hair is a reread for me, but I love it.
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A new collection from NYRB from Julio Ramon Ribeyro and a collection from Fitzcarraldo by Clemens Meyer. Both of which look really fascinating! 😀
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Ah, thanks for getting back to me! It is so hard for me to get Fitzcarraldo Editions here in the States. I treasure every copy they’ve ever sent me, so I will look forward to your thoughts.
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They do produce such lovely books. I’ll hope to be getting onto it relatively soon! 😀
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Matheson is a favorite of mine too. The TZ marathon on SyFy is one of the few events that make me wish I still had some kind of cable/internet tv… 🙂
Happy Reading, and thanks for playing along again this year!
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Thanks for hosting! We bought a set of cd’s from a Used Book sale at the library for The Twilight Zone, and one of my dear friends said, “But, you can watch them every year at the New Year’s Eve Marathon!” I am of the opinion, however, that one can never have enough of those mind-bending stories. Burgess Meredith in Time Enough at Last is a personal favorite.
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I think I will read Mansfield finally.
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I don’t know that I ever have read Mansfield…you will ‘have’ to give me an introduction. 😉
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LOL. The blind leads the blind. 🙂
I may chicken out, she seems depressing. I may be wrong. I will try.
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What a great idea! I’ve been meaning to get into reading more short stories, but somehow that just hasn’t happened in the past few years. So, considering this is a new decade, and also that I’m only just learning about this challenge on your blog (your blog has been a wonderful source of reading inspiration, Meredith), I think I’ll take it up, starting today!
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Your words touch me, Michelle, that you would find inspiration here. Thank you for that, and isn’t starting a new decade exciting? It is filled with such promise and hope. Let’s read a lot together.
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I don’t read a lot of short stories but last year I read two collections and I was really excited about that so hopefully I’ll make room for more again this year. Good luck with your short story reading and can’t wait to see what you’ll recommend!
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I don’t normally read a lot of short stories, either, Iliana. Other than O. Henry, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Edgar Allen Poe, I’m not familiar with them at all. (I do remember Arsenic and Old Lace from High School, somehow!) I hope I find good ones to share with all of you.
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I remember my mom and dad watching The Twilight Zone when I was growing up. My mom especially loved the show. I have watched a number of them myself. I didn’t know there were episodes actually based on short stories! Will you be posting about any of the short stories you read?
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Absolutely! I believe Jay does a round up on them for his blog, but I will certainly be posting on them here. I’m looking forward to some short stories for their very brevity, but also for their tremendous impact. Will you be reading some this year?
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I am! I recently bought an anthology of American short stories that I will be reading for the challenge. But I may try to read some of these Twilight Zone short stories you talked about!
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