First things first: I love that cover. It's not only appealing, it's also perfect thematically.
Weirdo Simpatico by Katy Bourne is a book of flash fiction containing 50 stories (and a few more photos of those tiny books). The author asked friends to give her a single word to use as a story starter and then gathered the stories she came up with and self-published them in one slim volume.
One of my favorite stories is "Boom," the first in a series of stories about two typical little boys getting into all sorts of trouble. You should be able to click on the photograph to enlarge.
Cosmo and Dexter appear in several of the stories and, of course, as a mother of boys they remind me of what it was like having two young rapscallions to deal with. I'm hoping Katy will write an entire book starring Cosmo and Dexter. They're a hoot.
Another favorite is the story of a man who can't decide which container is the right one for his empty coffee cup and mutters, "This is all propaganda," before throwing his cup on the ground.
Highly recommended - Clever, funny, sharp stories about everyday people that feel like real-life anecdotes. While I can zone in on a few personal favorites, the truth is that I loved them all -- a very unusual occurrence. I haven't read as much as I normally do, this year, but Weirdo Simpatico is one of my favorite reads, so far in 2016, and I'll be reading it over and over and over, again. I adore flash fiction when it's done well.
Full disclosure: The author was in my high school graduating class and sent me a copy of Weirdo Simpatico but only after I'd read an excerpt and told her I was planning to buy a copy. Her writing is consistently first rate and my opinion would not have changed if I'd forked out the money.
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It's rare to read a book of short stories and like every single one of them. I love her idea of getting one word from each friend.
ReplyDeleteIt is definitely rare to like all of the stories in a book! They're all brilliantly written. With flash fiction, you'd think you wouldn't get to know anyone well enough to like or hate them but because Cosmo and Dexter are recurring characters, that didn't entirely hold true. It's a super fun read. I love that idea about gathering words, too!
DeleteThis is my first time reading s blog. And omg its you Nancy. You have some of my fav books also. Just finished All the light we cannot see
ReplyDeleteWhich was amazing. I pretty much only read before bed soooo not the fastest of book readers.
I will keep in touch.
Ginger Plum
Oh, how funny, Ginger! How did you find me? Yep, loved All the Light We Cannot See. I'm not a particularly fast reader, either, just a determined one. :) Love you!!!
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