Wicked Wonders

Klages‘ collection of short stories was my favorite read this month. It‘s making me miss my Short Stories Book Club something fierce! The members, though (my high school friends), are all in the throes of raising young children and competing in fitness & body-building competitions (What? 😅 That one wasn‘t in the “Most Likely to” section of our yearbook!), so (sadly) I don‘t expect its revival.

#ReadingBracket2024
#2024ReadingBracket
@CSeydel

39 likes

monalyisha

Wicked Wonders | Ellen Klages

pick

Ellen Klages is a new favorite! 🤩 I kept thinking, “These stories capture girlhood (especially queer girlhood) in the same way that Ray Bradbury captured boyhood in Dandelion Wine.” Lo and behold, in the notes for “Amicae Aeternum,” Klages celebrates the fact that a reviewer once compared her writing to Bradbury‘s, which she says, “thrilled [her] beyond belief.” See? It‘s not just me! It‘s just simply - & gloriously - true. 👇🏻

monalyisha 1/2: I came to Ellen Klages by way of an incredibly funny Instagram video, which shows her telling the true story of “The Scary Ham” while a contestant on Jeopardy. Her name struck me as vaguely familiar and I realized I‘ve had this collection on my bookshelf for ages! As it turns out, the final story is “The Scary Ham.” 3mo

monalyisha 2/2: My favorites in the collection are “The Education of a Witch”, “Echoes of Aurora”, “Caligo Lane”, and “Woodsmoke.” She promises to continue the characters‘ stories in the last on the list; I hope she does them justice and that they find a progressive, inclusive, and affirming ending. I can‘t wait to find and devour more of her writing! (edited) 3mo

monalyisha *Possibly some concerns about cultural appropriation. Without knowing more about Klages‘ bio, I can‘t really say. I‘m also willing to give her a bit of a pass; sensibilities have changed rapidly since 2017, and I get the impression that she‘ll strive to keep up. 3mo

52 likes2 stack adds3 comments

monalyisha

Wicked Wonders | Ellen Klages

Look at all these books!!!

The top 3 are from my TBR; the bottom two are surprise gifts. You did a great job shopping for me, @nestlera ! I loved “The Kite Runner” & haven‘t been utterly DESTROYED by a book in awhile so I think I‘m due. 😅📖😭

The adorable bun on top was also a part of my #easterbasketbookswap.

JoeStalksBeck

PenguinInFlight ♥️Alice Hoffman! 6y

Bookish_AF Yay!!! I put the little notecards in the front covers of the two surprises to say why I picked them (besides the fact that I love them both!), in case you didn‘t find them . I realized they were the most (unintentionally) well hidden of all the note cards 😜 6y

monalyisha @nestlera I didn‘t realize! Thanks for the heads-up! 6y

monalyisha @PenguinInFlight I love her. 💖 6y

80 likes4 comments

brownekr

Wicked Wonders | Ellen Klages

This morning's book and breakfast combination.

I bought WICKED WONDERS in Asheville on my way to my parents' earlier this winter as kind of a gentle queer talisman because I had recently finished and adored Klages's PASSING STRANGE. It sat around for a few months because I was afraid it wouldn't live up to my magical hopes.

BUT IT'S SO GOOD; I only have a couple of stories left and I'll miss it when I'm done.

brownekr WELP, should've stopped where I was; Woodsmoke is such a wonderfully atmospheric coming-of-age story completely covered in the pseudo-Indian traditions of white American midcentury summer camps, and then it has a cheap gutpunch of an ending that, in stopping where it does, utterly robs a character of her actual girlhood. 7y

11 likes1 comment

thereadingwomen

Wicked Wonders | Ellen Klages

First up in the #ReadingWomenMonth challenge: short story collections! Just received this amazing book mail yesterday. I'm all here for some magical realism. And guys, we need to talk about this creepy cover. 😱 - K

#thereadingwomen

82 likes8 stack adds

kdwinchester

Wicked Wonders | Ellen Klages

First up in the #ReadingWomenMonth challenge: short story collections! Just received this amazing book mail yesterday. I'm all here for some magical realism.

87 likes8 stack adds