Hellooo!

So we are one month down! How was your reading? Fresh start or just slowly warming up? Its been brisk on mutliple fronts for me and time is rushing past me.

Tidy The TBR

So for January I read 20 books 15 ARCs and 5 TBRs a lot of that is down to me reading a novella range so don’t feel I’m a reading machine. I’ve got one from January’s Challenges to finish this week it’s a comfy chair and blanket read and so guess what I will be doing Friday evening? Sometimes you need the right time for a book to work and you can quickly sense what kind of setting will work best for you.

February Challenges

So the first challenge is about a reading allowing themself to read a new book when you get it - the biggest issue of any TBR. This month aptly is all about smaller reads. The joys of short fiction and novellas. A short story or novella needs a different type of craft to tell you plot, character, story and theme in just a few pages. It’s an area we tend to forget about as novel readers and yet a good short story we could probably finish with one cuppa. The short story market is in flux with magazines and online outlets and I totally also include podcasts where stories are read and dramatised to us. This month needs us to learn to give a little time to having fun.

the Main challenge is to read 28 short stories - you can use anthologies, collections, podcasts and magazines and any online sites you choose. That is practically one a day.

For my main challenge I’ll be choosing from four on the TBR

Africa Risen: A New Era of Speculative Fiction, a new anthology of African and Diasporic speculative fiction edited by Sheree Renée Thomas, Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki, and Zelda Knight.

2084 edited by George Sandison - an anthology of dystopian fiction - notice the year in the title!

Stories of Your Life And Others by Ted Chiang - his first short story collection that includes the one that led to the movie Arrival

Of Sorrow and Such by Angela Slatter - a collection of tales all linked together by the strange world of sourdough

For the stretch challenge you need to read four novellas in a month. Novellas are something I love and they don’t just come from Tor again a slightly different way of storytelling and can be a full tale in an hour or so.

For me it’s a choice of

Penric’s Demon by Lois McMaster Bujold - everyone tells me I should try this series

A Taste of Honey by Kai Ashante Wilson - a sequel to a tale I’ve wanted to get round to for ages

The Apple Tree Throne by Premee Mohamed- an author I hugely enjoy reading and this sounds fascinating

Servant Mage by Kate Elliott - an author I have kept trying to give myself time to read and it’s way overdue

So they’re my challenges - what are your picks? Tell me in the comments or online