I’ve always been a voracious reader. When I was a kid, my parents had to ask the local library for a special dispensation for me on the number of books I could check out at a time. We often left with two stuffed bags just for me.
To augment library offerings, we also had subscriptions to Ellery Queen’s and Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazines. My mom was the mystery buff in the house, but I’d read anything and started in on those when I was a tween. Pretty soon I was reading my mom’s leftovers as I’d been bitten by the mystery bug.
As much as I enjoy stand-alone and series novels, short stories are still among my favourites to read. They are tight, often covering topics that are experimental or unusual, and I can finish them in one go. I can get that full story hit in fifteen minutes or half an hour, great for commuting or a quick break. (Though I sometimes find myself planning to read just a story and then find myself having ploughed through most of an anthology.)
Short fiction can also be a great way to find new authors whose books you love. My first taste of Lawrence Block‘s work was in Ellery Queen and I’ve now read almost all of his books. Short stories are a great way to expand your reading without a huge time commitment.
I hope that you’ll help me keep bringing great short fiction every two weeks here at Plan B. For just a few dollars, you can get a some amazing stories and help keep us going for another year. I hope you’ll consider supporting our campaign to make Plan B even better in our third year.
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Three cheers!