T10T: Anthologies On My TBR

July 17, 2018

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly blog meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week’s prompt was to list ten favorite novellas, but 99% of the list would have just been Seanan McGuire titles, so… *ahem*

Anyways! I decided to list 10 anthologies still on my TBR that I’m very excited to read.

As you guys know, I am a HUGE fan of anthologies. I think they’re an amazing opportunity to meet new authors, discover new favorites, and they can be amazing for kicking a slump!

I primarily read fantasy and horror anthologies, but occasionally dabble in sci-fi and contemporary ones as well. ♥ Some of my favorites are composed of multiple genres, which you’ll see a couple of examples for on this list!


 

And now, on to this week’s list!


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1. Worlds Seen in Passing — edited by Irene Gallo
GENRE(S): sci-fi & fantasy

This is a collection of some of the best short stories Tor.Com has published in the ten years they’ve been an imprint, and Tor.Com is one of my absolute favorite imprints ever, so I think this collection is gonna be a real winner. Plus, it’s a ton of bang for your buck, because it’s got, like, forty stories?
(releasing September 4th, 2018)

2. Hark! The Herald Angels Scream — edited by Christopher Golden
GENRE(S): horror
The entire theme of this wintry horror anthology is so bizarre in the best way. I am a lifelong horror addict, and I have a shameless adoration for hilarious, weird horror, so when I saw this, I had to have it. Plus it has a Seanan McGuire story. ?
(releases October 23rd, 2018)

3. Dear Heartbreak — edited by Heather Demetrios
GENRE(S): contemporary
Heather Demetrios got readers to email/mail in stories about their negative experiences with relationships, and then a bunch of YA authors joined up to write stories about them. Yes, please. I talked a bit about my past in my review for Heather’s book Bad Romance (review here), but all I can say is that I need this and I think it will be tremendously cathartic.
(releases December 18th, 2018)

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4. What the #@&% is That? — edited by John Joseph Adams & Douglas Cohen
GENRE(S): horror
I was sold on this monster-themed horror collection the moment I saw it on BookOutlet, but also, like… I would have happily paid the $3 I spent on this just for the fact that it has a Seanan McGuire story in it. Are you seeing a theme here?

5. Summer Days and Summer Nights — edited by Stephanie Perkins
GENRE(S): contemporary
I read the winter version of this, My True Love Gave to Me, shortly before I started blogging, and I liked it well enough, but I hear the summer installment is a lot better!

6. The Starlit Wood — edited by Dominik Parisien & Navah Wolfe
GENRE(S): fantasy, sci-fi, western, horror

This is a collection fully made up of fairytale retellings (check), with multiple genres (check), and stories from some authors I already love (check – Seanan McGuire, Naomi Novik, and Garth Nix, to name a few!).

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7. The Best Horror of the Year, Vol. 8 — edited by Ellen Datlow
GENRE(S): horror

I read a horror anthology edited by Ellen earlier this year (The Devil & The Deep, review here) and enjoyed it tremendously, plus this has stories from some authors I already love (Carmen Maria Machado, for example), as well as lots of authors I’ve been meaning to read work from (Adam Nevill, Tamsyn Muir, etc.).

8. The New Voices of Fantasy — edited by Peter S. Beagle & Jacob Weisman
GENRE(S): fantasy
I just saw Alyssa Wong’s name and 1-clicked this, but in hindsight, it has a ton of other great names, including my favorite story of Carmen Maria Machado’s. ♥

9. Because You Love to Hate Me — edited by Ameriie
GENRE(S): fantasy

I know this got mixed reviews when it came out, and I do have some issues with how the collection was created – I think there’s a lot of discussion to be had RE: publishers favoring “influencers” over hard-working, talented young writers with smaller platforms and lesser privileges – but when I met Victoria Schwab, she said that it was one of her favorite things she’s ever made, so…
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I’m intrigued!

10. The Bazaar of Bad Dreams — written & edited by Stephen King
GENRE(S): horror, fantasy

This is the only same-author anthology I’ve included, and it has been on my shelf for a while, but I’m hoping to pick it up this fall. If you’re not much of a horror reader but want to try out King’s work, I’m told that this collection leans more on the fantasy side.


Do you read anthologies? If so, what anthology is the highest on your TBR right now?


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More about Destiny @ Howling Libraries

Just a horror aficionado/geek girl trying to juggle motherhood, reading, blogging, gaming, and everyday life.

Leave a comment
    1. I love that you wrote that 99% of your list of favorite novellas would be Seanan McGuire titles because…well, almost half of my list is literally that.
      Also, I’ve been meaning to read more novellas recently, so thanks for the recommendations!

    1. This reminds me that I haven’t read Summer Days and Summer Nights yet! I love anthologies but it’s hard to find one that works for me. My favorite is A Thousand Beginnings and Endings which I read recently, and it’s about 12 retellings of Asian myth/folk stories by Asian authors 🙂

      1. I’m glad I’m not the only one who hasn’t gotten to that one yet! I’m so glad you loved ATBAE – that was one of the only anthologies I’ve ever been able to give a solid 5-star rating with no hesitation. ♥ It’s so good!

    1. Honestly I would only rec Because You Love to Hate Me for Victoria Schwab and Cindy Pon’s stories. Marissa Meyer’s story was okay too. But the rest did nothing for me. The book tuber blah blah after each story even less. #sorrynotsorry

      1. Thank you, Aymee, and same here! I have found so many new beloved authors thanks to anthologies like those. In fact, the first thing I ever read by Seanan McGuire was a short story in an anthology, and now I want to buy everything she ever writes haha.
        Thanks for stopping by – I’ll check out yours, too!

    1. I have so many anthologies on my TBR too. The Starlit Wood has been on it for absolutely ages, looks awesome.

      1. It really does look fantastic, and I hear that the short story that Spinning Silver started off as is one of the stories in that one, which makes me want to pick it up even sooner!

    1. So I take it that you’re not a fan of Seanan McGuire ;-).
      Summer Days and Summer Nights is actually available at the library I’m going to tonight. Yay! Most of the YA books I’m interested in have a 5 month wait list to read. I think I’ll get it this evening, as long as nobody snags it between now and the time I go to the library after seeing it on multiple TTT lists this week. But what are the odds of someone in the same library district as I am getting the same idea today?

      1. Bahaha who, me? 😉
        Ooh, that’s awesome, then! You should definitely grab it! (Well, you probably already did by the time I’m seeing this, haha!) I hope you were able to grab it and that you enjoy it!

    1. I can’t ever get enough of anthologies! I seriously need to get my hands on that Tor collection of short stories, I’m practically drooling over it right now haha! I mean 40 Tor stories? Yes, a million times yes please!
      Also that “What The” anthology looks awesome too, I just went and looked it up and I’m here for Jonathan Maberry and Seanan McGuire! Plus if it’s on Book Outlet it’s worth the price.
      AND “The Starlit Wood” has Seanan McGuire and Naomi Novik fairy tale retellings?! Yeah, I need that stat!
      Excuse me while I go add a bunch of new books to my TBR, haha! Great list Destiny, I always feel like I walk away from your lists with a bunch of new TBR books too! 🙂

      1. Dude, right?! They never get old. You should request it, I bet they would give it to you! I honestly didn’t expect them to approve me because at the time I requested it, I already had a few novellas from them I hadn’t reviewed yet (they weren’t at their release dates yet, though), but they sent it right out! I love Tor.com so much lmao. ♥
        Yesss, exactly! I got it during one of the sales a little while back and I think after everything was said and done I literally paid like $2 for it. Can’t beat the price and I love monster stories.
        Yesss! I heard that the short story that Spinning Silver originally started out as, is in the Starlit Wood collection!
        Bahahah YAY! Success! Trust me, your posts do the same thing to my TBR, friend!

    1. I love anthologies, too! I’ve read the winter version of Summer Days. And I’ve read the Stephen King one. I used to have a bunch of best sci-fi/horror anthologies, but I had to get rid of them when I ran out of shelf space. Great list!

      1. Yay! What did you think about the Stephen King one? Have you read other things by him? I read one of his old anthologies and didn’t love it but I like that this one is supposed to be a mix of old and new stuff, or so I was told. Oh no, how sad that you had to get rid of them! 🙁

    1. I haven’t read a lot of anthologies but I’m currently reading A Thousand Beginnings and Endings. I never enjoy all the stories in an anthology equally because I prefer certain writing styles over others..so I end up skimming or skipping a lot of stories. That said, I do love short stories!

      1. Understandable, I do the skimming sometimes with anthologies, too! Especially the rare times that I pick up a fully indie-author horror anthology or something – a lot of those end up being duds so I just skim through or move on to the next story haha. How are you liking A Thousand Beginnings and Endings? That’s one of my favorites! That Alyssa Wong story just about ended me haha. ♥

        1. I’m glad you can relate! I’ve read the first few stories. I really liked that story by Alyssa Wong too!! The descriptions of food started making me hungry. I also love Still Star-Crossed by Sona Charaipotra! The bollywood vibes made it really enjoyable. Also, I understood many of the references and kept getting excited. 😀

      1. It gets mixed reviews but I’m just convinced it will have at least a couple of gems in it! 😀 I just might go into it unafraid to skim some that I don’t like, lol…#noshame

        1. I’m sure it will-I know that Victoria Schwab and Samantha Shannon’s are bound to be great anyway! There is definitely no shame in skipping ones you don’t like.

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