Title: Five Tuesdays in Winter. Stories
Author: Lily King
Pages: 240
Publisher: Grove Atlantic
Publishing Date: 9the November 2021
Genre: short stories
Format: ebook
Rating: 3.5*
Five Tuesdays in Winter was my first Lily King book. For some reason I was expecting a novel, but this was a good read for me. I don't usually gravitate towards short stories as it's sometimes difficult to keep them apart. I always feel they subtly interconnect, and it's up to me, the reader, to figure out how. I basically ruin short story collections for myself.
I liked most of the short stories in this collection. There are ten stories, each focusing on different characters. Some are told in the third person, others in the first person. The characters are of different ages, both men and women. Some of the stories are closer to the present day feel, while others are set decades ago. I found that to be a factor that helps differentiate between them, not get them all confused. The theme that connects them all is love, in its different aspects: love for a partner or a crush, the love needed from parents, love for children. Some are full of sadness, while others are more hopeful.
My favourite was the one that also gave the title of the collection, Five Tuesdays in Winter. It's the story of a single father who falls in love with the employee at his small bookshop. It reminded me of the LoveActually movie, for some reason. I also liked the story When in Dordogne about a teenage boy who, along with the house he and his parents live in, is babysat by two college boys while the teenager's parents are in France. The last one, The Man at the Door, is a fitting end for the collection. A young mother of three fights her self-doubts about publishing her writing. She finds the inner strength and the value of her writing as she faces the man's cruel scrutinizing.
I mostly liked the first part of the collection, namely the first four-five stories. I am proud of myself for taking notes about each one. This helped me remember what each story is about; just seeing "who" was in the story will be helpful if/ when I want to refer back to it. Having read this collection and since it's my first immersion into the Lily King world, now I'm curious to read more from her. I do want to read Writers and Lovers at some point.
It reads pretty fast, but it's perfect for when you don't have that much time to read. Lovers of short stories will enjoy this one as well, as it offers a plethora of characters and issues.
I received a free e-book copy of the book from the publisher via Net Galley. All thoughts expressed here are my own.
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Title: A Terrible, Horrible, No Good Year: Hundreds of Stories on the Pandemic
Author: Six-Word Memoirs
Pages: 168
Publishing Date: 15th October 2021
Genre: Non-fiction
Format: ebook
Rating: 3*
I like reading about education and about how other people make school better. Well, the spring of 2020 was something else for everyone, whether they had to do with education or not. Reading A Terrible, Horrible, No Good Year, a collection of short memoirs reminded me that it's never just us.
Some of the poems/ stories/ memoirs are relatable, some are gut-punchingly true, others are funny, others very sad. The entire collection captures what school has been like since the pandemic started. Although the entries are from people in US, I can vouch it's been the same for educators in many other countries. I personally saw myself in many of them, as well as my students.
This idea is also wonderful to implement in the classroom atany level, in any subject. It gave me something to think about and I can't wait to get my students writing. After all, six words can tell a story.
I received a free e-book copy of the book from the publisher via Net Galley. All thoughts expressed here are my own.
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