Deal Me In 2014 is a reading challenge hosted by Jay from Bibliophilopolis. The goal is to read 52 short stories, which have been selected upfront and chosen randomly through the help of a standard deck of cards. It is a fun and ingenious way of discovering new authors and fantastic stories. Jay also posts weekly wrap-up threads with everyone’s links for easy access to new stories to add to your list and new reading blogs to visit.
You can learn more about the challenge here.
Most of the stories I’ve selected are from specific short story collections. Anything that Neil Gaiman touches is gold, and as an avid fan of the master storyteller, I’ve decided to include pieces from Unnatural Creatures. Lysley Tenorio made a bold entrance with Monstress, which delivers eight tales about the beautiful and the damned. Nine Stories by J.D. Salinger promises to be an illuminating experience and I can’t wait to get started. Haruki Murakami curates an anthology entitled Birthday Stories, which presents dark and cynical perspectives on birthdays.
I’ve included interesting pieces from some of my favorite authors such as Ray Bradbury, Roald Dahl, Neil Gaiman, and Francesca Lia Block. There are also stories from writers whom I’ve never read or read very little of such as Amelia Gray, Mieko Kawakami, Matt de la Peña, Kelly Luce, Ali Simpson, Lucy Corin, Dorothy Parker, Luis Joaquin M. Katigbak, and Lorrie Moore.
Here is my list for Deal Me In 2014:
CLUBS (Stories from Unnatural Creatures: Stories Selected by Neil Gaiman)
A [inksplot] by Gahan Wilson
2 The Griffin and the Minor Canon by Frank R. Stockton
3 Ozioma the Wicked by Nnedi Okorafor
4 The Sage of Theatre by Diana Wynne Jones
5 Gabriel-Ernest by Saki
6 The Cockatoucan; or, Great-Aunt Willoughby by E. Nesbit
7 Movable Beast by Maria Dahvana Headly
8 Prismatica by Samuel Delany
9 The Manticore, the Mermaid, and Me by Megan Kurashige
10 The Compleat Werewolf by Anthony Boucher
J The Smile on the Face by Nalo Hopkins
Q Or All the Seas with Oysters by Avram Davidson
K Come Lady Death by Peter S. Beagle
SPADES (Stories from Monstress by Lysley Tenorio and Nine Stories by J.D. Salinger)
A Monstress
2 The Brothers
3 Felix Starro
4 The View from Culion
5 Superassassin
6 Help
7 Save the I-Hotel
8 L’amour, CA
9 A Perfect Day for Bananafish
10 Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut
J Just Before the War with the Eskimos
Q The Laughing Man
K Down at the Dinghy
HEARTS (Stories from Nine Stories by J.D. Salinger, Birthday Stories: Selected and Introduced by Haruki Murakami, and selections from Ray Bradbury)
A For Esme – with Love and Squalor by J.D. Salinger
2 Pretty Mouth and Green My Eyes by J.D. Salinger
3 De Daumier-Smith’s Blue Period by J.D. Salinger
4 Teddy by J.D. Salinger
5 Timothy’s Birthday by William Trevor
6 Forever Overhead by David Foster Wallace
7 The Bath by Raymond Carver
8 The Veldt by Ray Bradbury
9 Kaleidoscope by Ray Bradbury
10 The Last Night of the World by Ray Bradbury
J The Laurel and Hardy Love Affair by Ray Bradbury
Q All Summer in A Day by Ray Bradbury
K A Sound of Thunder by Ray Bradbury
DIAMONDS (Stories by Roald Dahl, Francesca Lia Block, Amelia Gray, Mieko Kawakami, Matt de la Peña, Kelly Luce, Ali Simpson, Lucy Corin, Dorothy Parker, Luis Joaquin M. Katigbak, Lorrie Moore, and Neil Gaiman)
A Genesis and Catastrophe by Roald Dahl
2 Pig by Roald Dahl
3 Safe Love by Francesca Lia Block
4 These Are the Fables by Amelia Gray
5 A Once-Perfect Day for Bananafish by Mieko Kawakami
6 Passing Each Other in Halls by Matt de la Peña
7 Amorometer by Kelly Luce
8 The Monster by Ali Simpson
9 Godzilla Versus the Smog Monster by Lucy Corin
10 A Telephone Call by Dorothy Parker
J Subterrania by Luis Joaquin M. Katigbak
Q Dance in America by Lorrie Moore
K Nothing O’Clock by Neil Gaiman
The Exchange 