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48 of 2023!

Excellent from the first page to the last. I liked every story—there wasn‘t a dud among them. It‘s a compelling collection with stories about grief, rage, agency, identity, belonging, race, love, information/disinformation, and there is no escaping the bright light the author shines on historical & current controversies. Character-driven, raw, humorous, & emotional, this is a fantastic book, one I really enjoyed. I‘ll be reading more by Evans.

This short story collection is excellent.

#OutAndAbout #ReadingOnTheTrain

I listened to the audiobook, was ok.

I really am NOT a fan of short stories, which is something to note for the future.

There were only 2 interesting stories really 👎🏻

Read for reading challenges.

3.5/5

I picked this one for our family bookclub this month. The title novella was my favorite. But I enjoyed most of the other stories as well. As with every short story collection you always have some that you do not like as well as others. This sparked some really good discussions with my Mom and Brother. I will most likely read her other book.

Exceptional

having a #readingdate with a friend #shortstories #fantasy

Several short stories and a novella about race in today‘s America. The stories were beautifully written but painful stories. My favorites in the book were Richard of York Gave Battle in Vain, Alcatraz (which includes the quoted text), and the title - The Office of Historical Corrections.

Happy that I was finally able to concentrate enough to read without audio on this blustery cold day. Missy Jo wasn‘t ready to open her eyes this morning.

I‘m kind of conflicted on this one. I loved a few of the stories, and the title novella is excellent, but some of the stories fell flat for me. I also can‘t shake the feeling that I‘m not who this book was written for. Evans is an excellent writer, this just didn‘t go all the way for me. 3.75⭐️

Perfect #BlackHistoryMonth (or anytime) read! The ending packs a punch! It‘s a collection of stories/novella about “grief and loss, and about women unwilling to diminish their desires to live full and complex lives.” (Author‘s words) It‘s fantastic and tough to put down!

Thanks @erinreads for the #NewYearWhoDis recommendation! I have a few more library requests out for some of the others. @monalyisha matched us so well! 💗

My top 10 favorite reads of 2021! Hoping to discover more new favorites in 2022.

My #top21of21 ! I saw this tag going around and it's great seeing everyone's yearly favorites, so here are mine! I feel like I was lucky to read so many awesome books this year 😊

Thought-provoking and a good look into the rawness and realness of being human.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

#botm

The short stories were great but especially loved the titular novella.

This book gets a solid pick from me. These stories are powerful and thought-provoking as Danielle Evans explores the impact of history - who gets to tell it, how it haunts us, why some confront it and some look the other way. Anything Could Disappear may have been my favorite story in the volume, but I found all to be excellent.

“Besides the tablecloths, the decor is all old photographs and postcards that they scrounged up from wherever, because you know how white people love their history right up until it‘s true.”

I‘ve been resisting this one because short stories are hit or miss for me. I‘m glad I gave it a try because wow, what a gut punch each of these stories were. I was struck by the racial themes, which are present throughout most of the stories, but I was totally unprepared for the daughters-losing-mothers veins that ran through the first two stories. Amazing how the author crafted these snippets which had such an impact on me. Recommended 🌟

This novella and collection of short stories was definitely worth a #reread! Anything Could Disappear has been a memorable story since I first read this, and I was glad to enjoy it just as much this time. This is a book I would recommend to any reader not just the story lovers out there. 👍🏻👍🏻

whew, that last story is just... wow. it's only in my reading that i enjoy surprises.

overall, an enjoyable collection.

When Lyssa was seven, her mother took her to see the movie where the mermaid wants legs, and when it ended Lyssa shook her head and squinted at the prince and said, “Why would she leave her family for that?“ which for years contributed to the prevailing belief that she was sentimental or softhearted, when in fact she just knew a bad trade when she saw one.

#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

I really wanted to like this book.
The best short story, in my opinion is the one that it‘s named after.

An affecting literary collection about the identities society gives us and the identities we create for ourselves. The title story was definitely my favorite (about a government agency trying to correct incorrect facts) followed by "Why Won't Women Just Say What They Want" about a terrible artist going on an apology tour. Some variation in quality & how much I enjoyed them, but the good ones were good enough to make the whole collection worth it.

I'm loving the title story of this collection almost as much as the pup's adorable sleepy positions

A bit late but better than never!

1. The Office of Historical Corrections, African Europeans, and The Gilded Ones

2. Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee (absolutely adored Phoenix Extravagant by him)

3. Chai latte

#WeekendReads

Excellent collection (and a mini-slump buster for me during a stressful week. I should remember short stories more when feeling slumpy!). Did not know the novella would prominently feature academia and Wisconsin (two of the places I‘ve called home), which made me love it even more. I‘ve heard so many good things about her first collection too and would love to get to that soon.

I‘m not always a short story fan, so some of these were hits and some were misses for me. Excellent writing to be sure. I would love to see her write a full length novel.

Very enjoyable collection of short stories and a novella centered around the experiences of Black women in the current cultural and political climate in the US. Great characters and good variety of situations and themes. 4⭐️

...what was a sibling but a person you stayed tied to whether or not you liked them.

This was a really good collection of short stories, even if I did think the novella was the weakest of the bunch. Thematically it was timely and interesting but structurally I was more impressed by her shorter pieces.

Reading a short story every day or so in Office of Historical Corrections. Y‘all - I genuinely dislike short stories. But this collection can so far so no wrong. Here‘s hoping the little guy is so tired from our tiny snow that I get some nap time reading done!

"It felt unfair, how absurd someone could be and still be terrifying."
-"The Office of Historical Corrections"

"It seemed characteristic of the present that everyone, even the worst of us, was practicing being famous."
-"The Office of Historical Corrections"

"This, I thought, was one of those times it would be easier to be male, or a smoker, to have a ready excuse to remove myself from emotional proceedings without anyone making an issue of it."
-"Alcatraz"

"He smiles like someone who has just won second place."
-"Boys Go to Jupiter"

"Lyssa thought she would talk to her mother about it, and then she remembered. She had to keep remembering, even after she‘d seen the body and signed the paperwork and arranged a funeral. Somehow she‘d expected the dying to be the worst part, that after it was over she could go home and tell some healthy living version of her mother about the terrible thing that had just happened to her."
-"Happily Ever After"
Right in the gut. ??

When I read short stories, I pretty much always wish they were developed into novels. I just don‘t connect with the genre. These stories were well done but didn‘t change my mind. If you‘re a short story fan you will probably like this collection.

Carried over my #DoubleSpin from January, which was my first read of February, so now I‘m already 1 down for #BookSpinBingo this month!

This collection of short stories and the novella is FANTASTIC. I enjoyed every single piece for its uniqueness and captivating story. FAVORITES: Richard of York Gave Battle in Vain, Anything Could Disappear, and the novella of the same title of the book. So, so good. Can‘t wait to read more from Danielle Evans!

January reading wrap-up! I made it through 10 books this month, my favorite of which was The Office of Historical Corrections. I've made a solid start on my #botm reading challenge with 3 books and also read two 2021 eARCs. Overall a great reading month!

I thought this was sharp, funny, and thought provoking. It was written from interesting perspectives and I would definitely read more from this author!

This is really good stuff! I‘m not a huge fan of short stories. I don‘t usually connect to the characters in story collections, but Evans is so adept that I was completely invested. The novella was excellent and “Boys Go To Jupiter” is an absolute winner. I‘ll be buying all the things Evans sells from here out 🏆

I have not been one to read short stories, but I enjoyed this one. I listened to the novella and that just broke my heart. This was so good.

Thanks to @britt_brooke for this Christmas gift. I really enjoyed reading short stories in January and this is 7 short stories and a novella dealing with many aspects of race, being female under a male gaze, and my favorite, the titular novella - oh if there were such a government department to certify truth - but at what cost to delusion and hatred based on lies- and whose lies? Thought provoking - 1/2 were 4⭐️ for me- a good collection.

Some stories are uneven, some are great. They might need to sit with you a while before moving on. My favorite was Richard Of York Gave Battle in Vain. I found Anything Could Disappear to be the most heartbreaking.

There isn't a connecting thread, but once I was done reading the novella, I could see that the stories built up to the novella.
After finishing, I felt empty. I didn't want novella to end where it did, but it was also very fitting

The title novella is the best (and last) of the bunch and the first short story is the worst. Admittedly, I‘m not much of a short story person but overall these stories were great and I can‘t wait to read more of Evans‘s work.

As a history teacher, the novella gave me a lot to think about and made me really interested in “public history” programs and what that all means for us and society.

This book of stories is fantastic. Thought provoking, heartbreaking, simply a must read.

Tagged a favorite in my first full 3x3 grid of 2021. And oh my goodness, give praise to the book fairies that every grid of 2021 will have so many books I want to discuss further!

5* = Loved It, want non-reader IRL friends to read. I do/will own a physical copy. A+
4*= I liked it, would love to discuss. Solid B
3*=Meh, no need to discuss. Average C
2*=Nope D
1*=DNF F

Next up this lovely Christmas swap gift from @britt_brooke Look how pretty the naked hardcover is under the jacket! Ready to dive right in!🥰

If you don‘t read books of short stories, this one will change your mind. Each short story is a jewel, with no two alike, making it easy to read the book straight through. But, you will want to pause and contemplate the meaning contained within each short story. Don‘t miss this book. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I usually like my short stories weird but this one is living up to all the hype. The voice is SO good. Almost to the eponymous novella.