Emma Types Stuff

One of the absolute joys in life is finding appreciation for something you didn't previously 'get'. For me, short story collections are that thing.  Whilst I have no issues reading short stories in general, collections and anthologies used to defeat me. I found them more exhausting than novels, much in the same way tapas can be more filling than a large meal. But after trialling a method of reading multiple collections and once, hopping between them as the mood struck, I have become an anthology devotee.  And so we come onto my Spring challenge. I actually intended to post this at the start of April, and keep it updated as I went, but life took a bit of a turn and so I chose to read the books and round them up later.  I had expected the books I chose to take the majority of the month, but a combination of three short page lengths and four very easy reads meant I was done in less than two weeks. See what I read below... The Collections The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by ...

When revealing my terrifying list of my TBR Books , it was with the caveat that it did not include a few old bags of books that are kept in my bedroom in my mother's house.  Technically I own these books, and bought them with an intent to read them, but honestly, I doubted there was much there to hold my interest in 2024. Many of them were 50p classics picked up in charity shops ten-to-fifteen years ago, and I'd much rather grab a digital copy than poke through a yellowed, cobweb-covered reminder of my years of trying to better myself in poverty. But I was home for Christmas and I thought I'd take an opportunity to go through and see if there was anything worth rescuing. Alongside the brick-sized Dickens and Tolstoy paperbacks, I discovered there were three short story collections just sitting there, waiting to be read.  Since my recent Short Story Advent really opened me up to a new way of consuming short stories, this seemed an ideal opportunity to find something meanin...

Believe it or not, despite being a massive chocolate fiend, I don't like chocolate Advent calendars. Nor do I like the over-the-top-ones for adults filled with gin, or jewellery or make-up (usually costing a ridiculous amount of money.) For me, Christmas begins more simply, with either an Advent candle or paper Advent calendar (with the only treat behind each window being a little picture.) But the latter is hard to find these days, and the only space I have to put a candle makes them gutter so badly that burning them evenly becomes a complex act of turning and timing.  As my Christmases are increasingly bleak ( no decorations either at home or work, some unhappy memories, little time for friends, extra work responsibilities, body issues, and the prospect of going home not being appealing ) I wanted something to bring me at least a little Christmas joy. So this year I've decided to do something different.  I own five collections of short stories with a festive theme, all havi...