New Release: The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories, Volume 1

I don't usually start a post with a video but this one is the perfect introduction for this original little volume. hitRECord (said like you're pushing a button on a recording device, not like a popular song on the charts) is a collaborative online art community that's headed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who you might recognize as an actor but he goes by RegularJOE online. This first volume, The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories, Volume 1 represents the work of 67 writers and artists. Most of the stories are a single sentence (and at most three) and are truly flash fiction.
Here are a couple of the stories in the book that I liked --

Not all of the stories are so dark in tone though. In fact, there are some that are quite uplifting and beautiful. My favorite story, one that I'm sure you all will also love is this one --

His hands were weak and shaking
from carrying far too many
books from the bookshop.
It was the best feeling.

Another cool thing I saw in the fine print at the beginning of the book is this --

The work may be further edited, sampled, or remixed at www.hitRECord.org according to the posted terms of service.

I love the idea that, as this was a collaborative effort in the first place, the collaboration never truly ends. One idea may spark another or a different artist may want a chance to illustrate a story in a whole 'nother way. Art doesn't have to be static and lonely and I like that.

So, if you're interested, go out and buy this palm-sized gem and support a whole community of writers and artists as 50% of the profits go to the contributors. And if you're even more motivated, go to this page on the hitRECord site to submit an entry for Volume 2!

Her heart rejoiced at the beauty of the tales but sank a bit at the final closing of the tiny book --
K


Yes, I received a copy of this book for review but my thoughts are honest.

New Release: Not So Perfect

I'm thinking it might not surprise you that I've already made my second foray into flash fiction since I enjoyed my first outing so much.  This is another one that was featured in RobAroundBooks' Flash Clash Challenge.  Actually, it was Nik Perring's Not So Perfect that inspired Rob to start his challenge in the first place.  It took me a while to get a copy though because I had to get it from The Book Depository as it's not available in the states yet.  Luckily, I won a blog contest for any book and I chose this one to be sent to me.

Perring's tiny book, barely the size of my hand, contains twenty-two stories that take the reader through an impressive range of emotions.  It journeys from fertility woes through old age and death and leaves the reader breathless at the end.  Many of the stories are sad but, because of their brevity, they don't necessarily wallow in that sadness.  Instead, they give you a glimpse into a distress that you hope never to feel but that might not be so unfamiliar after all.  And yet, a few of the stories scattered throughout the collection are mood-lifting and seem to come at just the right time to remind you that life can be beautiful as well.

I found myself re-reading some of the stories mere minutes after I had finished the book and was thinking about them for days to come.  I jotted down one word reviews again this time but instead of writing out the story titles and linking them together, I thought I would just list the words here.  It's hard to believe that I went through all of this in just over an hour -- tear-jerker, chilly, distant, ironic, explosive, sad, intense, dark, fated, unexpected, denial, symbolic, rebirth, truthful, universal, unobserved, pathetic, myopic, release, lovely, literal, heart-breaking.

I'm incredibly glad that my favorite story of the collection, Watching, Listening, is available to read online at 3:AM Magazine.  I hope that you will take a moment and go read it.  I doubt you will be able to stop thinking about it.

Brevity reveals the soul of humanity,
K


Buy Not So Perfect at The Book Depository.  We own our copy.

A Flash of Brilliance

I've been on the look out for a genre that I was unfamiliar with for the Take Another Chance Challenge, Challenge 6: Genre Switch-Up --

Go to this list of book genres and pick a genre that you have NEVER read before. Find a book from that genre, read it, and write about it. Note: If you seriously cannot find a genre that you have never read, then pick the genre that is as far away from what you normally read.

I went to the list but I'm a pretty diverse reader so I had trouble finding something I had never read before.  Then, a couple of months ago, Rob of Rob Around Books started a challenge he calls the "Flash Clash" where he has been comparing five different works of flash fiction with ratings and one word reviews.  It's a great idea and I highly suggest you check it out!

If you aren't familiar with flash fiction (and before Rob's challenge, I wasn't), it is fiction of "extreme brevity" or "short short stories".  Usually, it's considered to be stories of 300 to 1000 words.  Of course, some of the classic short stories I've read may fit into this category but I've never read a book entirely of these very short tales so I chose one from Rob's list.  Israeli author Etgar Keret's The Bus Driver Who Wanted To Be God & Other Stories was one that I could get from my library system so I decided to start with this one.

I had a great time with this book for so many reasons.  First, I don't think I've ever read an Israeli author before and the subject matter of some of these stories was entirely unique for me.  Even the feel of some of them was just different from what I'm used to reading.  It was refreshing.

Next, I think I'm really a fan of flash fiction.  Many times I have an issue with short stories because I feel they have ideas that beg to be fleshed out.  But somehow with these stories, they are a brief enough glimpse that they feel complete.  I don't know if this is the feel for the entire genre or just for Keret's work.  It's definitely something I want to explore.  One place to start will be Flash Fiction Online and another will be some of the other volumes that Rob has been reading.

Finally, I think there must be a definite advantage to a writer to be able to just get an idea down on paper and then move on.  The stories may be brief but they are polished and there is a very wide variety of topics that are touched on in this one small volume.  It definitely keeps the reader on their toes!

One thing I love from Rob's posts are his one word reviews.  I asked permission to borrow his idea and here are my very brief thoughts on the stories in this volume.

The Story About a Bus Driver Who Wanted to Be God - touching

Goodman - ambiguous

Hole in the Wall - depressing

A Souvenir of Hell - disturbing

Uterus - queasy

Breaking the Pig - sweet

Cocked and Locked - gritty

The Flying Santinis - unbending

Korbi's Girl - accountable

Shoes - thoughtful

Missing Kissinger - hurtful

Rabin's Dead - symbolic

Plague of the Firstborn - biblical

Siren - honorable

Good Intentions - good

Katzenstein - ironic

The Mysterious Disappearance of Alon Shemesh - mysterious

One Last Story and That's It - strong

Jetlag - strange

The Son of the Head of the Mossad - inevitable

Pipes - hopeful

Short and sweet (and sometimes very disturbing),
K


Support our site and buy The Bus Driver Who Wanted To Be God & Other Stories on Amazon or find it at your local library.  We borrowed our copy from the library.