I love reading. And I love short stories. So I HAD to get the 2016 Short Story Advent Calendar. The people behind this awesome little box full of words also made one last year that I sadly missed. Never fear, I ordered this collection at the beginning of October and I received it right when Halloween was gone. At the time of this mini-review, there was still some calendar available.
The concept is the same as any Advent Calendar. Each day in December, you open a door (this time is a booklet) and you enjoy the goody. This calendar was 55$CAN + shipping (15$CAD to Canada).
Some of this year’s writer have already been revealed:
- Anakana Schofield (Martin John)
- Daniel Handler (Adverbs, Lemony Snicket)
- Sheila Heti (How Should a Person Be?)
- Charles Demers (Vancouver Special, CBC’s The Debaters)
- Katie Coyle (Vivian Apple at the End of the World)
From what I managed to see, the longest short story is about 28 pages. And even if it says “24 short stories”, there’s actually 25 of them. Don’t forget about Christmas Day!
Each booklet is sealed with a clear sticker. You can barely see it on this picture, but it’s in that semi-circle right there. Also, on the cover of the booklet, there’s little drawing that hint to the short story for that day. For the first day, we have bones and chicken tight. Let’s see if we can cheat a bit…
(Look at the “No Cheating” sign on the box. NO ONE can tell me what to do!!!!)
So, spoiler : the first story is titled “Hunger Strike” by Kevin Wilson and is 16 pages long.
On the last page of every booklet, there’s a short author’s bio. Every day on the Short Story Advent Calendar website, there will be a short interview with the author. How awesome is that?
So let’s see if we can find one of the listed authors.
Yes, this is how I open the seals, with a wine bottle opener. And also, what could the design on this booklet hint to? One H and three C?
Under the Taps by Anakana Schofield, one of the author already revealed. Oooh, the Taps, that explains the design!
This one was only 12 pages long, but it was a fun read, and had nothing to do with Christmas (oops, spoiler!!!) (Yes, I totally cheated! I promise, I won’t read any more of the stories before December!)
I can’t wait to read more of the stories and to read about the author. I’m looking forward to discover new authors and also to have my craving for short stories satisfied around Christmas. December is always a very busy month for most of us, and having a little short story to read over breakfast to start the day is awesome. Once I’m done reading the story, I can give it to my husband for some quick and fun reading during his commute to work.
This is such a great idea for anyone who likes to read, and those who complains they don’t have enough time to read a lot of books!
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