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Now my list of “to read” is even longer. If I started now and never slept, I still wouldn’t finish the list before I died. Unless I lived to 120 and my dry eye syndrome was magically cured. Not to complain, but that, along with the attention span of a flea, are the main reasons my book reading has dwindled considerably.

So short stories are often my jam now. Here’s 5 collections I love.

George Saunders - Civilwarland in Bad Decline

Alan Heathcock - Volt

Kurt Vonnegut - Welcome to the Monkey House

Alice Munro - The Lives of Girls and Women

Mary Gaitskill - Bad Behavior

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Yep, I'll die LONG before my to-read list is completed. I've read the Saunders and Vonnegut collections, but none of the others. I'll put them on THE LIST. To add to yours, check out Jesus' Son (Denis Johnson) and Ray Bradbury's Collected Stories Vols 1 and 2.

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"The Deep South might be wretched, but it can howl."

B. Hannah, Captain Maximus

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I really like Hannah - and Harry Crews, too. Thanks to you for introducing me to both of them!

And, of course, one can't forget the immortal description by Goodie Mob of the South: 'Yea, I'm from the dirty, filthy nasty dirty south ...'

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Bryan, you've added three books to my TBR, damnit. I'm not a Christie fan, although I kinda liked that one, but the Bester is one of my favorite Sci-Fi books ever! It wasn't until I was in my late forties that I realized it's based on The Count of Monte Cristo, and in fact, I think it's better.

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I'd say sorry, but ...

I loved Christie when I was in 7th/8th grade - something about her gripped my mind and I enjoyed trying to puzzle out the solution to the murder before it was revealed. Not that I ever really did, of course ... The Powers book is great, but - like all great writers - you'll just have to add more of his to your list (especially The Time of Our Singing and Galatea 2.0).

But as for the Bester book - I had no idea it was based on The Count of Monte Cristo. But it makes total sense! Wow! Thanks for that info!

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Well these are off the beaten path: I’m going to take you up on the Richard Power’s book, one of his I haven’t read. Overstory is still the most impressive book I’ve read in many years.

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Yes - Overstory is brilliant. But my favourite Powers is The Time of Our Singing. Something about it gripped me absolutely - I couldn't put it down. We were in the Dordogne for my mother-in-law's 70th birthday - lovely place, the whole extended family, etc. - and I kept slipping away to read it. Gripping from start to finish. Highly, highly recommended.

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