August 2024 Book Club: Short Stories

We read 11 short stories for book club in August. I thought most of them were good with a couple of them being just ok. I'll post them in order of favorite to least favorite. Make sure you scroll down to the end to see our themed refreshments.

 

Signal Moon by Kate Quinn

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult, Short Story
Genre: Historical Fiction, Sci-fi, Fantasy
Content:Strong language

 

A short story about an impossible connection across two centuries that could make the difference between peace or war.

Yorkshire, 1943. Lily Baines, a bright young debutante increasingly ground down by an endless war, has traded in her white gloves for a set of headphones. It’s her job to intercept enemy naval communications and send them to Bletchley Park for decryption.

One night, she picks up a transmission that isn’t code at all—it’s a cry for help.

An American ship is taking heavy fire in the North Atlantic—but no one else has reported an attack, and the information relayed by the young US officer, Matt Jackson, seems all wrong. The contact that Lily has made on the other end of the radio channel says it’s… 2023.

Across an eighty-year gap, Lily and Matt must find a way to help each other: Matt to convince her that the war she’s fighting can still be won, and Lily to help him stave off the war to come. As their connection grows stronger, they both know there’s no telling when time will run out on their inexplicable link.

 

I really enjoyed this short story. If you've seen the movie frequency or the short lived TV show that was on the CW then this is similar in that there is a radio that allowed a couple of people to communicate with each other across time. For me this packed just the right amount of an emotional punch along with character development or a short story.

 

 

 

 

Bastard, Sword by Tim Pratt

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Content: Strong language

 

Betrayed by his companion and robbed of everything down to his boots, Rodrick wakes to find himself in the very tomb he meant to rob. Fortunately, Rodrick can still turn a profit—he just needs to slip past a slumbering linnorm, retrieve a talking sword with a wit as sharp as its blade, and return in one piece to his employer. Yet a talking sword may have goals of its own... From Hugo Award-winner Tim Pratt comes a dark comedy of theft and danger set in the award-winning world of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. 

 

This was great fun to read. I loved the talking sword! It's a story based on an RPG, but it didn't feel like I was reading a story based on an RPG. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Veldt by Ray Bradbury

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult, Short Story
Genre: Sci-fi, Horror, Fantasy
Content: Clean

 

The advanced technology of a house first pleases then increasingly terrifies its occupants.

 

I really enjoyed this story. It was a very well crafted short story that somehow packed a lot into just a few pages. And that ending! The house that does everything for you and the theme of technology making people lazy feels very ahead of it's time for 1951. But then again, those ideas were floating around back then. It's where the seeds of the smart home began.

 

 

The Ransom of Red Chief by O. Henry

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult, Young Adult, Children, Middle Grade, Short Story
Genre: Fiction, Classic, Humor
Content: Clean

 

Two men kidnap a mischievous boy and request a large ransom for his return.

 

A fun short story about kidnappers who kidnap a boy who ends up being more than they can handle. I wouldn't be surprised if this inspired Dennis the Menace and Kevin McCallister from Home Alone. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

Rappaccini's Daughter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Category: Adult, Short Story
Genre: Classic, Gothic, Horror, Fantasy, Sci-fi
Content: Clean

 

“Rappaccini’s Daughter” is one of the best-known short stories by the American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804–1864).

First published in 1844, it tells a story settled in medieval Padua, where Giovanni Guasconti, a young student, started to frequent the house of Giacomo Rappaccini, a physician who grows a garden of poisonous plants.
Guasconti is told by another physician to avoid Rappaccini, but he falls in love with his daughter Beatrice…

“Rappaccini’s Daughter” has been the source for several plays and screen adaptations.

 

I find Hawthorne's writing style to be hard to get into, so sometimes it was hard to stay focused on the story. Despite that, I did enjoy this, although not quite as much as would have liked to. There were aspects of this story that I appreciated, and the more I've thought it, the more I like it. There are different theories about what the story means. One being that it parallels the fall from grace, the expulsion from the Garden of Eden, and the original sin, with the genders of Adam and Eve reversed. Another is that mortals should not play God, with the story showing the consequences of interfering with the laws of nature. And yet another is that the story shows that Giovanni, unable to accept Beatrice's uniqueness, attempts to make her normal and then ends up losing her instead. This last one is very similar to the conclusions I drew from another of Hawthorne's short stories, The Birthmark. All three of these theories seem plausible.

On a weird note, if Hawthorne was alive today I can't help but think he would be writing about super heroes and villains. Poison Ivy anyone?

Also, I have to give a shout out to the Youtube channel, The Well Told Tale, for giving voice to this story. Superbly done!

 

 

 

  

The Disk by Jorge Luis Borges

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Category: Adult, Short Story
Genre: Fantasy
Content: Clean

 

A woodcutter who lives in the midst of a deep wood in old England tells the reader of the time a man appeared at his door and asked for lodging. 

 

An interesting story. I liked it but didn't love it. The story illustrates the lengths someone will go to obtain something they want, only in the end to not have it. There's a real irony in the fact that it's there but he can't find it. 

 

We read The Two Kings and Two Labyrinths from this collection. My rating and comments are only for this one story.

 

The Two Kings and Two Labyrinths by Jorge Luis Borges

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Category: Adult, Short Story
Genre: Fantasy
Content: Clean

A Babylonian king orders his subjects to build him a labyrinth "so confusing and so subtle that the most prudent men would not venture to enter it, and those who did would lose their way". When an Arab king visited his court, the king of Babylon told him to enter the labyrinth in order to mock him. The Arab king finally got out and told the Babylonian that in his land he had another labyrinth, and Allah willing, he would see that someday the king of Babylonia made its acquaintance. 

 

Initially I thought this was just a story about two kings being awful to each other, but I like the way the story has two completely opposite things that have the same result.

 

We read the story One Man's Courage from this collection. My rating and comments are for that story only.

 

One Man's Courage from the L5R Fiction Archive

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Category: Adult, Short Story
Genre: Fantasy
Content: Clean

 

In this story, a man has to choose between his two sons which of them is going to receive the ancestral sword of his clan. Who does he choose? The son who knows what it means to win, but he does not know how to lose or the one who keeps trying?

This is a short story based on a fictional game world. I've never personally played this game but my friend has and this is a story she really likes because she likes the Crab Clan, and how they do their duty and persevere. I enjoyed the moral of the story even though I didn't have the connection to it that she had.

 

Certainty by Liane Merciel

 

My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Category: Adult, Short Story
Genre: Fantasy
Content: Clean

Faith is the greatest battle. To fallen paladin Ederras, right and wrong aren't as clear as they once were, and even the forces of good seem tainted by sin. Lost and broken, the formerly righteous warrior joins up with the crusaders of Mendev, the last bastion of civilization fighting desperately against the demonic tides of the Worldwound. There he plans to rediscover his faith—or die trying. Yet even on the edge of total destruction, humanity's base nature runs rampant, leading any crusader to is there anything left worth fighting for? From rising star author Liane Merciel comes a tale of battle both physical and ideological, set in the award-winning world of the Pathfinder campaign setting.

 

There's some good description in this short story but I have a hard time sometimes with stories that are based on role playing games. I felt like I was reading a story of a role playing adventure. The different characters where there to perform their roles as needed. I don't really know how else to explain it other than it has a different feel to it from a regular fantasy novel based on a world that has nothing to do with a game. I also thought this story was a little depressing, but the end was good.

 

Tower of Babylon by Ted Chiang

My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Category: Adult, Short Story
Genre: Fantasy
Content: Clean

 

Together with a crew of other miners and cart-pullers, Hillalum is recruited to climb the Tower of Babylon and unearth what lies beyond the vault of heaven. During his journey, Hillalum discovers entire civilizations of tower-dwellers on the tower—there are those who live inside the mists of clouds, those who raise their vegetables above the sun, and those who have spent their lives under the oppressive weight of an endless, white stratum at the top of the universe.

I'm not sure why, but stories about the tower of Babel or the tower of Babylon just don't usually interest me, and this was the same. I did end up liking the ending of this story but getting there was a bit boring at times.

 

 

 

  

The Crystal Spheres by David Brin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Sci-fi
Content: Clean

 

In a universe filled with habitable worlds why have we had no contact with extraterrestrial intelligence? David Brin's "The Crystal Spheres" offers a fantastic explanation for the Great Silence. Instead of being late-comers - might humanity have come upon the scene too early?

 

This could have been a lot more interesting. It's a story about why we haven't been contacted by any alien species from other planets, and why we can't contact them. Unfortunately, I found it to be a bit dull at times.  

 

 

For our book club meeting I topped this cake with objects that represented each story we read.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One Man's Courage- silver sword; The Two Kings and the Two Labyrinths- labyrinth; The Veldt- lion, Bastard, Sword- blue crystal sword; Certainty- paladin; The Crystal Spheres- small crystal ball; Signal Moon- radio (not the right kind of radio but it worked well enough); Tower of Babylon- tower; The Ransom of Red Chief- two feathers; The Disk- clear disk that's hard to see; Rappaccini's Daughter- ivy vine around the cake and flower in the middle of the cake.

 

 

The sword from the story Bastard, Sword made out of crackers.

With the treasure added. The sword is lying on top of treasure, specifically gold, in the story.

A cheesy Tower of Babylon

 

September 2024 Reading List

In September I have 9 books planned to read, plus September's monthly reading challenge is standalones, so I'll be reading a bunch of those as well. I'm not sure what they will be yet, so they aren't included in this list.

 

 Reading at Fantasy Buddy Reads-

 

Now one hundred years in the future, the Majere twins and their companions set out to challenge Takhisis, the goddess of evil

One hundred years have passed since the fiery Cataclysm that changed the face of Krynn forever. For one hundred years, the people of Krynn have struggled to survive. But for some, those one hundred years have passed in the blink of an eye.

Catapulted forward in time by Raistlin’s powerful magic, Caramon and Crysania find themselves aiding the mage’s unholy quest to master the Queen of Darkness. To his dismay, Raistlin discovers along the way that the annals of Time are not so easily bent to his will—and neither are the longings of his heart.

 

 

 

It has been nearly ten years since the starship Phoenix returned to Alpha, the station orbiting the world of the atevi , which had been abandoned following a rift between a faction of the station's inhabitants and the spacers' Pilot's Guild. The unexpected return of the Phoenix has forever changed the lives of both atevi and Mospheirans, for over the ensuing decade, the captains of the Phoenix have brought both species into space. Their motivation seemed Reunion Station, a human station in another sector of space, had been destroyed by aliens.

But on his deathbed, the senior captain of the Phoenix admits that he lied to the crew—that Reunion was merely damaged, not destroyed, and many people may have survived. At this disclosure, the crew rebels and forces the Phoenix to undertake a rescue mission to Reunion.

Onboard the rescue mission are Bren Cameron, brilliant human paidhi representing the atevi ruler Tabini-aiji, and Tabini's grandmother Ilisidi, a fearsome and ambitious atevi leader with an agenda of her own. Trapped in a distant star system with little fuel left, facing a bellicose alien ship, how can Bren help to avoid interspecies war when the notoriously secretive Pilot's Guild aboard Reunion Station refuse to cooperate, and may have kept the inhabitants of their own station ignorant of their true situation?

The long-running Foreigner series can also be enjoyed by more casual genre readers in sub-trilogy installments. Explorer is the 6th Foreigner novel, and the 3rd book in the second subtrilogy.

 

  

Monsters breed legends… and legends breed monsters. This is the way of things. This is the way of the Ranger.

Turned from the path of the assassin, Asher roams the world no better than a nomad, with naught to offer but his sword and grit. But woe betide the monster that believes his sword and grit will not be enough…

In a twisted chance of fate, the brash actions of Doran Heavybelly — a dwarven hunter with a lot to say — forces Asher back into the world of man. And so the ranger is brought into the light, into the gaze of Illian’s greatest crime guilds and onto the lawless island of Dragorn.

A deal must be made, and with a creature far worse than any of the fiends Asher has put to his sword. To save those who cannot save themselves, the ranger must choose between his life and theirs. Should he make such a deal, 'tis not his life that would be forfeit but the man he has worked so hard to become.

In the end, it will all come down to blood and coin…

 

 

Verra, Vlad's patron goddess, hires him to assassinate a king whose country lies outside the Dragaeran Empire, resulting in increased tension between the two places. Meanwhile, the peasant Teckla and the human Easterners persevere in their fight for civil rights. As Vlad's wife Cawti is a firm partisan of the movement, and Vlad is not, their marriage continues to suffer, causing Vlad to make some decisions that will change his life forever.

 

 

Reading with the Mystery Book Club-

   

Charlotte Holmes is accustomed to solving crimes, not being accused of them, but she finds herself in a dreadfully precarious position as the bestselling Lady Sherlock series continues.

Charlotte’s success on the RMS Provence has afforded her a certain measure of time and assurance. Taking advantage of that, she has been busy, plotting to prise the man her sister loves from Moriarty’s iron grip.

Disruption, however, comes from an unexpected quarter. Lord Bancroft Ashburton, disgraced and imprisoned as a result of Charlotte’s prior investigations, nevertheless manages to press Charlotte into service: Underwood, his most loyal henchman, is missing and Lord Bancroft wants Charlotte to find Underwood, dead or alive.

But then Lord Bancroft himself turns up dead and Charlotte, more than anyone else, meets the trifecta criteria of motive, means, and opportunity. Never mind rescuing anyone else, with the law breathing down her neck, can Charlotte save herself from prosecution for murder?

 

  

Margot’s clients all lie to her, but one lie could cost her family and freedom.

Psychologist Margot Scott has a picture-perfect life: a nice house in the suburbs, a husband, two children, and a successful career. On a warm spring morning, Margot spots one of her clients on a busy train platform. He is looking down at his phone, with his duffel bag in hand as the train approaches. That’s when she slams into his back and he falls in front of the train. Suddenly, one tragedy leads to another leaving her, her family, and her patients in danger. As misfortune unfolds, listeners will soon question Margot’s true role in all of these unfortunate events.

Tell Me Lies is a fast-paced, psychological, whodunit mystery that will leave listeners wondering if anyone can actually be trusted.

 

 

Reading with my Book Club-  

Ambassador Mahit Dzmare arrives in the center of the multi-system Teixcalaanli Empire only to discover that her predecessor, the previous ambassador from their small but fiercely independent mining Station, has died. But no one will admit that his death wasn't an accident—or that Mahit might be next to die, during a time of political instability in the highest echelons of the imperial court.

Now, Mahit must discover who is behind the murder, rescue herself, and save her Station from Teixcalaan's unceasing expansion—all while navigating an alien culture that is all too seductive, engaging in intrigues of her own, and hiding a deadly technological secret—one that might spell the end of her Station and her way of life—or rescue it from annihilation.

 

 

My pick it for me book- 

  

Violet is all about the holiday season this year — her first one as owner of Blue Heron Cottages. But what she isn’t expecting for Christmas is meeting Danny Parker - no relation to the Moonbeam Parkers. Danny and his daughter come to stay at the cottages for the holidays and his daughter is not pleased. At all.


Rose returns to the cottages to be surrounded by friends, but her heart aches as she prepares to spend her first Christmas without her beloved Emmett.


Aspen is sure Walker is hiding something. Or maybe he’s losing interest in her… Then, to make things worse, her sister cancels plans to come to the cottages for Christmas.
 

Can Moonbeam and the Blue Heron Cottages weave their magic and provide the perfect Christmas for everyone?


Continue on with the Blue Heron Cottages series, a touching saga of love, resilience, and the profound connections we stumble upon in the unlikeliest of places. It's a journey through love, loss, and ultimately, the transformative power of friendship.

 

 

The Hercule Poirot book-

Famed private eye Hercule Poirot tackles international intrigue and espionage in this classic Agatha Christie mystery.

Framed in the doorway of Hercule Poirot's bedroom stands an uninvited guest, coated from head to foot in dust. The man stares for a moment, then he sways and falls. Who is he? Is he suffering from shock or just exhaustion? Above all, what is the significance of the figure 4, scribbled over and over again on a sheet of paper?

Poirot finds himself plunged into a world of international intrigue, risking his life—and that of his "twin brother"—to uncover the truth.

 

 

 

 

 

August 2024 Reading Wrap-Up

 After some time off I'm back with my August reading wrap-up. I read 13 books in August, plus 10 short stories, and started two more books that I'm still reading. I'll post the short stories in a separate book club post instead of including them here.

 

 

 

Love for the Spinster (Women of Worth #2) by Kasey Stockton

4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Romance, Clean Romance, Historical Romance
Content: Clean

This was my pick it for me book. I was looking forward to reading more in this series and I ended up really enjoying this one, so much so that after I was done with this book, I read the rest of the series.

 

 Nightfall (The Kingfall Histories #4) by David Estes

4.5 of 5 stars

I loved this book and am excited to get to the last book in the series, hopefully within the next couple of months.

Review to come.

 

Love in the Wager (Women of Worth #4) by Kasey Stockton

3.5 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Romance, Clean Romance, Historical Romance
Content: Clean

I started this series out of order and had already read book 3, so I skipped down to book 4. This was another good book, but it was a bit slow at first.

 

 

Love in the Ballroom (Women of Worth #5) by Kasey Stockton

4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Romance, Clean Romance, Historical Romance
Content: Clean

The last book in the series and one of my favorites. I'm going to miss this series, but I'm looking forward to moving onto a new one by this author in a couple of months.

 

 

 

Curtain (Hercule Poirot #33) by Agatha Christie

3 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Mystery
Content: Clean

 

This was a bitter-sweet end to the series. I was surprised at something in this book, and I'm not sure how I feel about it. Since I read this series a little out of order, this isn't the last book I have to read. I skipped The Big Four because I heard negative things about it, so I'll be reading it last. Then I'll get to all the short stories. 

 

 

Sanctuary (Roman's Chronicles #1) by Ilona Andrews

3 of 5 stars

Review to come.

 

 

 

Time of the Twins (Dragon Lance Legends #1) by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Content: Clean

I enjoyed this reread. I originally gave this 4 stars and I'm keeping my rating the same. I was surprised at how much I had forgotten about this book, or remembered differently.

 

 

Garden of the Midnights by Hannah Linder

4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Romance, Clean Romance, Historical Romance
Content: A character is kidnapped and treated very roughly

I've read a lot of Regency romance and I've read a lot of romantic suspense, but this is the first time I've read a Regency romantic suspense novel. It was different from what I was expecting, mainly that it included some traumatic events that I wasn't expecting in a Regency book. Nothing too dark or disturbing though. I'm not sure how historically accurate some of this book is, but I liked it.  

 

 

A Deceptive Composition (Lady Darby #12) by Anna Lee Huber

4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Mystery
Content: Clean

This was another good installment. Nothing surprising or new, just a nice familiar comfy read. 

 

 

Lilacs by the Sea (Blue heron Cottages #5) by Kay Correll

3 of 5 stars

Review to come.

 

 

Flower Shop on Magnolia (Blue Heron Cottages #6) by Kay Correll

3 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Romance, Clean Romance
Content: Clean

 

 

 

Defender (Foreigner #5) by C.J. Cherryh

4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Sci-fi, Space Opera
Content: Mild language

 

 

 

Distress Signals by Catherine Ryan Howard

4 of 5 stars

Review to come.

 

 

 

The Captivating Lady Charlotte (Regency Brides: A Legacy of Grace #2) by Carolyn Miller

Still reading so no rating yet.

 

 

Court of Assassins (The Ranger Archives #1) by Philip C. Quaintrell

Still reading so no rating yet.