Wendy's Challenge Plan and List

January 1 - December 31, 2008

UPDATE October 22, 2008:

I am happy to report I have completed this challenge! I read 8 individual short stories (2 more than my goal) and 3 collections of short stories. What a fun challenge this turned out to be. Thank you, Kate for hosting!

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Could you resist this button? Come on, be honest. You couldn't. And neither could I...that, and I love the art of the short story.Kate at Kate's Book Blog (and A Curious Singularity) has come up with the 2008 Short Story Challenge. And she's made it flexible and individualized...AND she's given it its own blog. So there you go. I'm in.

I've chosen option #5 - the custom option. And here is my plan:

I. Read six (6) individual short stories by authors I have not read before and which I will choose as I go along.

1. Black Ice, by Cate Kennedy (finished January 21, 2008; rated 3.5/5; read my review)
2. The Overcoat, by Nikolai Gogol (finished March 1, 2008; rated 4/5; read my review)
3. Landscape With Flatiron, by Haruki Murakami (finished April 21, 2008; rated 4/5; read my review)
4. The Kiss, by Anton Chekhov (finished May 14, 2008; rated 5/5; read my review)
5. Free Radicals, by Alice Munro (finished May 25, 2008; rated 4/5; read my review)
6. Mr. Bones, by Paul Theroux (finished June 28, 2008; rated 3.5/5; read my review)
7. Natalie, by Anne Enright (finished July 26, 2008; rated 2.5/5; read my review)
8. An Ex-Mas Feast, by Uwem Akpan (finished August 24, 2008; rated 4.5/5; read my review)
   

II. Read a minimum of three (3) collections chosen from these books:

1. Springtime on Mars, by Susan Woodring (finished June 28, 2008; rated 5/5; read my review)
2. The View From Castle Rock, by Alice Munro (finished September 26, 2008; rated 4/5; read my review)
3. Months and Seasons, by Christopher Meeks (finished October 22, 2008; rated 4.5/5; read my review)
   
4. Selected Short Stories of William Faulkner, by William Faulkner
5. The Country of Pointed Firs and Selected Short Fiction, by Sarah Orne Jewett (let it be noted that I have already read The Country of Pointed Firs and won't re-read it, but all the other stories in this collection are up for grabs)
6. Open Secrets, by Alice Munro
7. Tooth and Claw, by T.C. Boyle
8. A Private State, by Charlotte Bacon
9. Friend of My Youth, by Alice Munro
10. All Aunt Hager's Children, by Edward P. Jones