shortstories

Welcome to the Monkey House | Kurt Vonnegut

pick

5 Stars • Welcome to the Monkey House is a 1968 collection of 25 short stories by Kurt Vonnegut Jr., blending science fiction, satire, and social commentary. The title story depicts a dystopian world with overpopulation and government-enforced anti-sex drugs. Rebel Billy the Poet kidnaps a Suicide Parlor hostess to restore human connection, critiquing societal control. ⬇️

suvata Other stories, like "Harrison Bergeron" and "EPICAC," explore themes of government overreach, technology‘s impact, and human resilience through sharp humor and irony.

#WelcomeToTheMonkeyHouse #KurtVonnegut #Bookish 5h

17 likes1 comment

GingerAntics

Different Seasons | Stephen King

Not a fan of the random tangents with the narrator‘s supposed published works. It just pulls me out of the story. I don‘t see the point of them. The language is certainly aged. Absolute over use of “can you dig it?” This dragged on way too long. This is supposed to be Gordie‘s memoir? I don‘t know why, but that made me roll my eyes. Reading this has caused me to question if I really want to see this movie or not. Sorry Wil.

GingerAntics #StephenKing #DifferentSeasons #Audiobook #SpookySeason #TheBody #StandByMe 1d

Ruthiella I‘ve not read it but the movie is pretty good. 23h

GingerAntics @Ruthiella this may be another case of the movie is better. Dunno 10h

20 likes3 comments

stretchkev

Sandkings | George R. R. Martin

pick

An imaginative sci-fi novella that explores the dark side of power, cruelty, and hubris. When a wealthy man acquires alien creatures that worship him and wage wars for his amusement, his sadistic games spiral out of control. Martin masterfully blends psychological horror with speculative science fiction, delivering a story that‘s both disturbing and thought-provoking.

16 likes

AshleyHoss820

The Spook House: Terrifying Tales of the Macabre | Ambrose Bierce

pick

I will die with maybe one-ish regret: That I never could‘ve met Ambrose Bierce. This is a short freaking story and I‘m still thinking about it. Like, I want to throw up just thinking about it. I can‘t even tell you about it because you just need to read it. Consider me genuinely spooked, man. *shudders*

Billypar I just read it and agreed! 💀 1d

AshleyHoss820 @Billypar Right!? For such a quick story, it really burrows under the skin. 1d

24 likes1 stack add2 comments

Jari-chan

The Voyages of Cinrak the Dapper | A.J. Fitzwater

pick

Pirates are cool. Pirates with magic are cooler. Pirates, magic and a capybara? An a chinchilla? And a marmot? Well, that' more than cool. I didn't always get what's going on, but I didn't really care. Why should I if I can spend time with a capybara pirate captain? And the sweetest chinchilla boy?
Thanks at @PuddleJumper for letting me steal this book 😉

PuddleJumper Glad you enjoyed it! I too found it a bit confusing 😅 2d

Jari-chan @PuddleJumper It's totally confusing - but I didn't really care 😅 2d

AnnCrystal Epic 👏🏼🤩📚💝. 2d

Jari-chan @AnnCrystal 💖 💖 💖 2d

27 likes4 comments

AshleyHoss820

Dark Tales | Shirley Jackson

pick

The deadliest thing about Shirley Jackson is her ability to take the absolutely normal and make it mind-numbingly terrifying. Is that man following you on your extremely predictable walk home? What *is* your spouse thinking about while reading the paper, even though they haven‘t turned a page in a dreadfully long time…Jackson is an absolute master of horror. I‘m so glad I read these.

22 likes

bookandbedandtea

The Mousetrap: A Play in Two Acts | Agatha Christie

This afternoon I saw a local production of Agatha Christie's Mousetrap, apparently the longest running stage production in the world. It was such a fun play!

AnnCrystal 🆒👏🏼🎭👍🏼💝. 2d

Jeg I‘ve seen it in London and not so long ago here in my home town. 2d

majkia I saw it in London in the 70s. 2d

39 likes3 comments

Robotswithpersonality

Never Have I Ever: Stories | Isabel Yap

pick

Add another to my list of books proving that my personal one-author-short-story-collection-is-superior-to-most-multiple-author-anthologies hypothesis is sound.
As the majority of these stories take place in the Philippines, with an appreciable sprinkling of words I've never heard of, I can't say how much of the legends/creatures featured are of the author's invention versus adaptations of existing mythologies/traditional storytelling. 1/?

Robotswithpersonality 2/? There does appear to be a beautiful imagination at play.
While the deep blue cover is a good indication of tone, there is a thread of melancholy and darkness in each story, repeated themes of loss, there are also positive, even happy representations of queerness, a couple stories that suggest demisexual characters, a couple stories that suggest gender nonconforming characters. 2d

Robotswithpersonality 3/? More of the collection leans fantasy than horror, with maybe one or two qualifying for a mix with sci-fi. I think every story but the first one is just the right length, first one felt like a bit of a fragment, not that I'd want it to be longer given the body horror involved. 😬 Yap is skillful at presenting a full narrative, a complete moment, in a short space, to the extent that I'm not sure what a novel by this same author would look like 2d

Robotswithpersonality 4/? though since I can't find one under her name, I guess I'll have to wait to find out!
Wasn't a fan of the few stories that leaned horror, with one exception.
Below are the ones I loved (which make up most of the collection).

A Cup of Salt Tears
Grief, connection with a monster?, darker fairy tale, somewhat sensual 2d

See All 9 Comments

Robotswithpersonality 5/? Milagros
Future of bioengineering, food security; what is lost, denying the environmental crisis, nostalgia for youth, home, cultural traditions, celebrations

A Spell for Foolish Hearts
Queer love story -witch and magical being - classic misunderstanding but definitely HFN if not guaranteed HEA
2d

Robotswithpersonality 6/? Have You Heard the One About Annamaria Marquez
Good old-fashioned school girl ghost story playing on the kind of variants that happen when stories are told by many over time - quality chills

Syringe
An impactful five pages, shortest of the bunch. Illness of loved ones a recurring theme, sci fi elements, grief for love lost but also for futures eliminated by introduction of robots in various health care roles 2d

Robotswithpersonality 8/? Asphalt, River, Mother, Child
A different version of the underworld and its inhabitants than I'm familiar with, justice more than forgiveness, a focus on what it means to do the right thing 2d

Robotswithpersonality 9/? Hurricane Heels (We Go Down Dancing)
Haven't actually ever watched/read Sailor Moon, but I think that's where the 'magical girl transformation' thing came from? Anyways this is 'what if sailor moon type group were ambushed by a monster on th eve of one their member's marriage/bachelorette party, which sounds like a blast but it's definitely darker, slightly more reflections of traumatized veterans than bad ass women action montage 2d

Robotswithpersonality 10/? Only Unclench Your Hand
Dealing with corrupt or ineffectual systems of justice, class system, where only some feel protected, and it's not by the law but their power, vengeance, curses and healers, cycles of violence? Also, there are bugs, *shudders* 😖

How to Swallow the Moon
Possibly my favourite, don't want to give too much away, queer love story with strong fantasy elements ♥️ 2d

Robotswithpersonality 11/11
⚠️SA, child death, suicide attempt, body horror, child abuse, paedophilia, internalized misogyny 2d

9 likes9 comments