Thursday, September 16, 2010

Psst! Wanna see my short story display case?

Regular readers will know that I occasionally post pics of "my" short story display case. (Of course, when I say "my" I mean books selected by me and displayed for sale at Waterstone's bookshop in Brighton.)

So, here's how it looks RIGHT NOW!

On the top we have Just When Stories all profits of which go to WildAid and the David Shepherd Foundation. Next up is Fame by Daniel Kehlmann, and then Stories to get you Through the Night which is the most perfect gift book I can think of. It's beautifully done and offers quality stories from Katherine Mansfield, Alice Munro, Anton Chekhov, Oscar Wilde, Haruki Murakami, Wilkie Collins, Kate Chopin, Elizabeth Gaskell, The Brothers Grimm, John Cheever, Arthur Conan Doyle, Virginia Woolf, Rudyard Kipling, Helen Simpson, Richard Yates, James Lasdun, Martin Amis, Angela Carter, Somerset Maugham and Julian Barnes.

On the first shelf we have, as we always will as long as I am running this, the wonderful Collected Stories of Janice Galloway. I'm not sure if you'll be able to read my review card in the picture, suffice to say I truly believe Galloway's prose to be perfect. Next along is The Collected Stories of Lorrie Moore - another MUST for any short story fan. Then A. L Kennedy What Becomes (seriously people, this top shelf is chock full of awesome talent.) Then there is The Stories of Breece D'J Pancake, which contains the 6 stories published during his life, and 6 unpublished. It's harsh knowing that's all there ever will be. These are such vivid stories, rooted deeply in the place of his birth, rural West Virginia.

On the second shelf is Delicate Edible Birds by Lauren Groff,  The Bristol Short Story Prize Anthology 3 (which we had to reorder almost as soon as it came in!), Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout  and If I Loved You I would Tell You This by Robin Black (the title story is wonderful.)

The third shelf begins with Simon Van Booy The Secret Lives of People in Love which I haven't read yet but am looking forward to, David Vann Legend of a Suicide which is one of those rare, special books that people urge on each other: Have you read? No? You should...
I have just added Virginia Woolf A Haunted House and other stories, it seems such an autumnal book. Then there is the inimitable (tho' plenty try) Irvine Welsh with Reheated cabbage. 

The bottom shelf begins with The Collected Stories of Deborah Eisenberg, then the splendid Instruction Manual For Swallowing by Adam Marek, the much praised (and still on my list to be read) Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned by Wells Tower and finally Wilful Creatures by Aimee Bender.




Pretty darn enticing, huh?





















5 comments:

Sarah Salway said...

Great collections here! And lots to put on my reading list too. Thanks.

Nik Perring said...

Very, very cool!

E.P. Chiew said...

A bookshelf to make me drool!! Brilliant choices, Sara.

Group 8 said...

So Goddamn beautiful! Well done, Sara. I want you to be MY local bookseller.

Unknown said...

Thanks all. It *is* a great selection innit!

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