The Reading Life Review - August - 2021-

 

Column One

1. Claire Keegan - Ireland - Irish writer Claire Keegan’s debut collection of stories, AntarcticaIn 2007, her second collection, Walk the Blue Fields, was published to huge critical acclaim and went on to win The Edge Hill Prize for the strongest collection published in The British Isles. The prize was adjudicated by Hilary Mantel. 
2. Isabel Fonseca- US- author Bury Me Standing-The Gypsies and Their Journey- great narrative non-fiction
3. Pat O’Connor - Irish -  Pat O’Connor lives in Limerick in the southwest of Ireland. He was a joint winner of the 2009 Best Start Short Story Competition in Glimmertrain, and in 2010  he was shortlisted for the Sean O’Faolain International Short Story Prize. In 2011, he was shortlisted for the RTE Francis MacManus Award for radio stories, and won the Sean O’Faolain Prize. In 2012 he was shortlisted for the Hennessy New Irish Writing Award and the Fish Short Story prize.  In 2013 he was longlisted for Over the Edge New Writer of the Year.
4. Jean Stafford- USA- classic short stories. First time featured 

Column Two

1. Lilly King - USA- author Writers & Lovers- first appearance 
2. Barbara Pym - UK- I hope for a full read through
3. Isabel Wilkerson - USA - author The Great Migration and Caste - first appearance  - highly illuminating historical works 
4. Jean Stanfford - USA - classic Short stories - first apperance - recent Library of America Collection 

Column Three

1. Donald Barthelme- USA - classic short stories. High art. First appearance - new Library of America Collection
2. Catherine Lowell - USA - The Madwoman Upstairs- A Novel of the Last Bronte- first apperance 
3. Elizabeth Hardwick  - USA - first apperance.essential Short stories.new Library of America Collection 
4. Nella Larsen - USA - Harlem Renaissance - author Passing and Quicksand and several Short Stories. I hope to read more of her work

Column Four

1. Colum McCann - Irish - Colum McCann is the author of seven novels and three collections of stories. Born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, he has been the recipient of many international honours, including the U.S National Book Award, the International Dublin Literary Prize, a Chevalier des Arts et Lettres from the French government, election to the Irish arts academy, several European awards, the 2010 Best Foreign Novel Award in China, and an Oscar nomination. In 2017 he was elected to the American Academy of Arts.  I have posted on all Seven of his novels 
2. Vladimir Nabokov - Russia
3. Alistair MacLeod - Canada - powerful Short stories 
4. Steve Wade - Irish - debut collection - In The Field of Butterfly Dreams and other stories.  He has been featured numerous times in Last eight years.

Birth Countries of Authors 

1. USA - 7
2. Ireland - 4
3. UK - 2
4. Russia - 1
5. Canada - 1

Works by women were featured nine times, men six.  Eight writers are living, six were featured for the first time.

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Home countries of visitors

1. USA
2. India
3. Phillippines
4. Germany
5. Vietnam
6. Russia
7. Canada
8. UK
9. Faroe Islands - first time on this list 

All of The top five most viewed posts are on Short Stories.  Among The top five is Day 21” - A Short Story by Ruby Cowling - first published in Wasafiri - A Journal of Contemporary International Writing - May 21, 2018 - By the Author of This Paradise was in the top most viewed posts for August.

Ruby Cowling is a Thresholds Short Story Forum Member

Works I read but did not post upon

1. Kindred- Neanderthals, Life, Love, Art and Death by Rebecca Sykes 
2. The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry 
3. 30 of The stories in 52 Short Stories by Anton Chekhov - 

Our thanks to Max u for kind provision of Amazon gift cards 

To our readers stay safe.  

Ambrosia Bousweau  ( managing editor)

Mel u