Short Stories I Read In February

It’s the twenty-ninth of March. So it’s time to talk about the short stories, miscellaneous posts, and podcast episodes I read or listened to in February.

My Double, My Brother by Averi Kurth (Strange Horizons; Issue: 24 January 2022)

To start this month, I read some poetry over on Strange Horizons. One of my favorites from the bunch was My Double, My Brother by Averi Kurth. I liked the way it was written, as well as the way Kurth handled the theme.

Sestina For A friend Misplaced and Recovered by Katy Bond (Strange Horizons; Issue: 24 January 2022)

This was another good piece of poetry. I really liked what Bond did with it. It was lyrical and emotive, and a treat from beginning to end.

Gentle Dragon Fires by T.K. Rex and Lezlie Kinyon (Strange Horizons; Issue: 17 January 2022)

And finally, the short story I read on Strange Horizons was Gentle Dragon Fires. This story was excellent. The writing had me from the first sentence, and the narrator, Let, was one of my favorite aspects about the story besides the fantastical elements. In a lot of ways, the story felt close and personal, emphasizing things that are forgotten—knowledge, memories, traditions, and etc. that fall through the cracks—it was the changing times and the cost of modernization and the consequences of greed that painted the smoky imagery of Gentle Dragon Fires.

From Around the Web...

• Our Opinions Are Correct Episode #100: Journalist Superheroes
• Book Review: She Who Became the Sun by Shelly Parker-Chan (Aigner Loren Wilson; Lightspeed Magazine, Issue 141: February 2022) 

Music Monday (193): Charli XCX, Beyoncé

Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

Breana: I'm currently listening to Charli XCX's new album, CRASH. Move Me is a phenomenal song, and it's one of the best from the album.

Andrea: Hi all! This week I'm listening to the King Richard soundtrack. Check out Be Alive by Beyoncé. Have an amazing week!

What are you listening to this week?

A Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne

Title: Journey to the Center of the Earth
Series: n/a
Author: Jules Verne
Source/Format: Purchased; Paperback
More Details: Classic; Fantasy
Publisher/Publication Date: First published November 25, 1864

Goodreads     Amazon     Barnes & Noble     

Synopsis from Goodreads...

This high-tension odyssey follows three men in an awesome search for the mysterious center of the earth-as they risk their chances of ever returning to the surface alive.

I’ll admit it: I actually forgot that Jules Verne wrote a book called Journey to the Center of the Earth. But once I came across it while making a different purchase, I knew I had to get it too. While thinking about the movie that came out in 2008 (the one with Brendan Fraser in it)—which adapted the book but didn’t follow it exactly (as I realized later)—the more I got excited about reading Verne’s story.

This book was kind of great. The beginning was a little slow, but there was the initial discovery and a lot of preparation as well as travel involved before the titular journey to the center of the earth could actually begin. I didn’t mind the pace though, as it gave a chance to see the characters in their normal lives and get a feel for their personalities (as well as two others in the side cast that are otherwise uninvolved with the main story) before plunging them—literally and figuratively—into the unknown. It was a travel book through and through, but it was also a fantastical and perilous journey.

Music Monday (192): Banks, Saweetie, H.E.R., Mary J Blige

 Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

Breana: Banks released a new single from her upcoming album, Serpentina. It's called Holding You Back, and I love it.

Andrea: Hi all! I've been busy spring cleaning while listening to Closer by Saweetie featuring H.E.R. and Rent Money by Mary J. Blige featuring Dave East. Have an amazing week!

 

What are you listening to this week?

The Friday 56 (214) & Book Beginnings: A Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading.

Synopsis from Goodreads...

This high-tension odyssey follows three men in an awesome search for the mysterious center of the earth-as they risk their chances of ever returning to the surface alive.

Beginning: "Looking back to all that has occurred to me since that eventful day, I am scarcely able to believe in the reality of my adventures."

56: "All this while we were advancing at a rapid pace."

Comments: I really liked A Journey to the Center of the Earth. What are you reading this week?