Continuing the monthly summaries of what I’ve been reading and writing.
BOOKS
To keep my numbers consistent with what I have listed on Goodreads, I count completed magazine issues and stand-alone short stories in e-book format as “books.” I read or listened to 13 books in December: 9 in print, 4 in e-book format, and 0 in audio. They were:
1. Lightspeed Magazine #115 (December 2019 issue), edited by John Joseph Adams. The usual fine assortment of sf and fantasy short stories. This month’s favorites for me were T.L. Huchu’s “Njuzu,” Rick Wilber’s “Today Is Today,” Cat Rambo’s “The Silent Familiar,” and KT Bryski’s “The Path of Pins, The Path of Needles.”
2. Faux Ho Ho by ‘Nathan Burgoine. Another wonderful holiday m/m romance novella from one of my favorite authors. This time, the story involves a fake relationship to appease nosy family members, and a gathering of conservative family members at a sibling’s Christmas wedding. The two leads are adorable (I may be crushing on Silas still, weeks after reading the book), the supporting cast wonderfully varied. Read my Full Review HERE.
3. From Sea to Stormy Sea: 17 Paintings by Great American Artists and the Stories They Inspired edited by Lawrence Block. The paintings range from naturalist to abstract, the stories range from noir to science fiction. Favorites include Charles Ardai’s “Mother of Pearl,” Jerome Charyn’s “The Man From Hard Rock Mountain,” Janice Eidus’ “You’re A Walking Time Bomb,” Christa Faust’s “Garnets,” and Gary Phillips’ “A Matter of Options.”
4. The Dead Girls Club, by Damien Angelica Walters. One of my most-anticipated books of the year came out in early December, and Walters did not disappoint. Time-jumping between the narrator’s present adult life and the summer when she was 12 and her best friend went missing, the story is a multi-layered supernatural mystery.
5. Kolchak: The Last Temptation by Jim Beard. In this novella, Beard digs back into a mystery from the very first Kolchak TV movie and gives the reporter some closure. The story also involves investigating a charity organization called “Sons of the Morningstar,” so there’s some devilry afoot.
6. Rawhide Kid: The Sensational Seven by Ron Zimmerman, Howard Chaykin, and more. The trade collection of the second Rawhide Kid mini-series from Marvel teams the character up with Annie Oakley, Doc Holliday, Billy the Kid, Red Wolf, Kid Colt and the Two-Gun Kid to rescue Wyatt and Morgan Earp. Tons of fun in the old West. Also pretty bloody.
7. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. My annual reread of the print edition signed for me by Dickens’ great-great-grandson was accompanied by a listen to the audiobook version narrated by Tom Baker. Baker struggles with some of the character voices, but as Scrooge and the Narrator he’s wonderful.
8. Into Bones Like Oil by Kaaron Warren. A troubled woman checks into a seaside hotel that promises to help her sleep – but is also haunted by the ghosts of a shipwreck.
9. A Family for Christmas by Jay Northcote. Another truly wonderful “fake relationship” gay Christmas romance, this one between an awkward young man and the somewhat anti-social coworker he takes home to his family for Christmas. Bonus cute kittens.
10. Fearless by Seanan McGuire, Claire Roe, Rachelle Rosenberg (main story), various creators (backup stories). The trade collection of a four-issue mini-series from earlier this year with stories told completely by female creators. The main story involves Sue Storm, Captain Marvel, and Storm as guest-speakers as a science-based summer camp for girls which Ms. Marvel and a few teenage mutants are attending. One back-up pays tribute to the unsung female comics creators of the Golden and early Silver Ages.
11. Lumberjanes Volume 13: Indoor Recess by Shannon Watters, Kat Leyh, Dozerdraws, Maarta Laiho, Aubrey Aiese. The Janes find themselves stuck in the dining hall during a particularly bad storm. Jo and Molly find themselves helping Athena Cabin with play-testing a new board game, while April, Mal and Ripley unexpectedly explore caverns underneath the camp.
12. If Dragon’s Mass Eve Be Clear and Cold by Ken Scholes. A beautiful novelette that explores grief after the loss of a parent and why we continue to uphold traditions in which we no longer believe. Print edition also includes a prequel short story. Longer review HERE.
13. Christmas with the Dead by Joe Lansdale. A fun short novelette about a guy just trying to get in the holiday mood after a zombie apocalypse.
STORIES
I have a goal of reading 365 short stories (1 per day, essentially, although it doesn’t always work out that way) each year. Here’s what I read this month and where you can find them if you’re interested in reading them too. If no source is noted, the story is from the same magazine or book as the story(ies) that precede(s) it:
1. “A Bad Day in Utopia” by Matthew Baker, from Lightspeed Magazine #115 (December 2019 issue), edited by John Joseph Adams.
2. “Njuzu” by T.L. Huchu
3. “Motherhood” by Pat Murphy
4. “Today is Today” by Rick Wilber
5. “The Mocking Tower” by Daniel Abraham
6. “End of the Sleeping Girls” by Molly Gutman
7. “The Silent Familiar” by Cat Rambo
8. “The Path of Pins, the Path of Needles” by KT Bryski
9. “Help Wanted” by Seanan McGuire, on the author’s Patreon page.
10. “The Eight People Who Murdered Me” by Gwendolyn Kiste, in Nightmare #86 (November 2019), edited by John Joseph Adams.
11. “The Prairie Is My Garden” by Patti Abbott, from From Sea to Stormy Sea: 17 Paintings by Great American Artists and the Stories They Inspired, edited by Lawrence Block
12. “Mother of Pearl” by Charles Ardai
13. “Superficial Injuries” by Jen Burke
14. “The Man From Hard Rock Mountain” by Jerome Charyn
15. “Adrift Off the Diamond Sholes” by Brendan DuBois
16. “You’re A Walking Time Bomb” by Janice Eidus
17. “Garnets” by Christa Faust
18. “He Came In Through the Bathroom Window” by Scott Frank
19. “On Little Terry Road” by Tom Franklin
20. “Someday, A Revolution” by Jane Hamilton
21. “Riverfront” by Barry M. Malzberg
22. “Silver at Lakeside” by Warren Moore
23. “Get Him” by Micah Nathan
24. “Baptism in Kansas” by Sara Paretsky
25. “A Matter of Options” by Gary Phillips
26. “Girl With An Axe” by John Sandford
27. “The Way We See The World” by Lawrence Block
28. “The Doom of Love in Small Spaces” by Ken Scholes, included in the print edition of If Dragon’s Mass Eve Be Cold and Clear.
So that’s 28 short stories in December. Slightly under “1 per day,” but still enough to keep me way ahead for the year so far. (December 30th was the 365th day of 2019.)
Summary of Reading Challenges:
“To Be Read” Challenge: This month: 0 read; YTD: 3 of 14 read.
365 Short Stories Challenge: This month: 28 read; YTD: 402 of 365 read.
Graphic Novels Challenge: This month: 3 read; YTD: 35 of 52 read.
Goodreads Challenge: This month: 13 read; YTD: 144 of 125 read.
Non-Fiction Challenge: This month: 0; YTD: 5 of 24 read.
Read the Book / Watch the Movie Challenge: This month: 0; YTD: 0 of 10 read/watched.
Complete the Series Challenge: This month: 0 books read; YTD: 0 of 16 read.
Series fully completed: 0 of 3 planned
Monthly Special Challenge: I didn’t set a mini-goal of any kind for December, other than trying to get some recently-acquired books in before the end of the year. 11 of the 13 books read were books acquired in the past 3 months.
I’ll be posting a full 2019 Round-Up as soon as I’m able to crunch numbers and put it all together. Ditto a post about my Reading Challenges for 2020!