Saturday, December 30, 2017

Deal Me In 2018 Roster



Goal: Read 54 short stories in 2018.

Here’s the general guide from the host (for more details, ideas, and sources visit Jay’s site): "Before you get start reading, come up with a roster of fifty-two stories (you can use any source) and assign each one to a playing card in a standard deck of cards.... Each “week,” (if you’re like me, you may occasionally fall a story or two behind – that’s okay) you draw a card at random from your deck and that is the story you will read. You can add your own twist...to make it even more challenging."

2017 was my first Deal Me In attempt and overall it went well (my 2017 Roster). However, I’ve made some changes for 2018. I’ll use the same themes for each suite, but will concentrate on fewer sources. For Spades and Hearts I'll use only anthologies and collections from my shelves (gotta tackle the TBR shelves). For Diamonds I’ll use the Gutenberg sources I found in 2017. Clubs will be limited to essays and a graphic anthology.
   
In 2017 when I drew a Joker I selected a story from another participants roster. This year the two Jokers will be wild cards with no limits on sources. When I draw a Joker I will also draw another card and read two stories that week.

I will not be searching for card images to go with the stories. It was fun but took a lot of time from reading and "I've been there, done that." I'm thinking of doing something else to augment the stories. Perhaps author or setting background. Or Googling something that the story suggests to me. Or not.

I will note the date in red when I read each story. 
        
My 2018 Roster

SPADES (translated into English)
A    On the Steppe by Samanta Schweblin (in The Future is Not Ours) (2/10/18)
K    Twin Beds by Giovanna Rivero (in The Future is Not Ours) (12/30/18)
Q    G-text by Răzvan (in Best European fiction 2015) (2/17/18)
J     The brown dog and the yellow flower from China by Nicolas Ancion (in Best European fiction 2015) (7/14/18)
10   The fire by Birutė Jonuškaitė (in Best European fiction 2015) (3/24/18)
9     Vertical Motion by Can Xue (in Vertical Motion; Stories) (12/30/18)
8     The gentleman from Cracow (in Singer Collected Stories I) (2/24/18)
7     The wife killer (in Singer Collected Stories I) (9/15/18)
6     Afternoon of a Faun by Jung Young Moon (in A most ambiguous Sunday, and other stories) (4/14/18)
5    Way of Remembrance  by Jung Young Moon (in A most ambiguous Sunday...)(5/26/18)
4    Together With Chicken by Jung Young Moon (in A most ambiguous Sunday...) (6/9/18)
3    At the Amusement Park by Jung Young Moon (in A most ambiguous Sunday...) (9/29/18)
2    On the Beautiful Blue Danube by Georgi Tenev (in Bat City Review, Issue 10) (6/30/18)
HEARTS (Original language English)
A   Drone  by Miles Klee (in Watchlist : 32 stories by persons of interest) (2/3/18)
K   Transcription of an eye by Carmen Maria Machado (in Watchlist) (12/12/18)
Q   The taxidermist by David Abrams (in Watchlist) (8/4/18)
J     Second chance by Etgar Keret (in Watchlist) (5/12/18)
10  Strava by Steven Hayward (in Watchlist) (7/21/18)
9    We are the Olfanauts by Deji Bryce Olukotun (in Watchlist) (12/12/18)
8    Viewer, violator by Aimee Bender (in Watchlist) (10/13/18)
7    The provincials by Daniel Alarcón (in The best American short stories, 2013) (9/1/18)
6    Bravery by Charles Baxter (in The best American short stories, 2013) (1/13/18)
5    Malaria by Michael Byers (in The best American short stories, 2013) (4/21/18)
4    Nighttime of the city by Robert Coover (in Watchlist) (12/12/18)
3    Sleeping where Jean Seberg slept by Katherine Karlin (in Watchlist) (7/28/18)
2    Testimony of Malik, Israeli agent, prisoner #287690 by Randa Jarrar (in Watchlist) (8/18/18)

DIAMONDS (Gems from Project Gutenberg)
Q    Brothers by Sherwood Anderson (in The Best Short Stories of 1921)  (12/26/18)
J     The Venial Sin (in Droll Stories, Complete, by Honore de Balzac)  (12/26/18)
10   The She-Wolf (in  Beasts and Super-Beasts by Saki) (8/25/18)
9     Bartleby (in The Piazza Tales  by Herman Melville)(10/6/18)
8     Fanutza by Konrad Bercovici (in The Best Short Stories of 1921) (8/11/18)
7     The Excursion by Edwina Stanton Babcock (in The Best Short Stories of 1917) (1/27/18)
6     Onnie by Thomas Beer (in The Best Short Stories of 1917 (12/26/18)
5     The Last Asset (in The Hermit and the Wild Woman and Other Stories, by Edith Wharton) (3/31/18)
4     The Shadows on the Wall (in The Wind in the Rose-bush and Other Stories of the Supernatural,   by Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman) (1/20/18)
3     De Amicitia (in Orientations, by W Somerset Maugham) (7/7/18)
2     Old Man Savarin (in Old Man Savarin and Other Stories, by Edward William Thomson) (4/7/18)

CLUBS (something different - not short stories)
A   Mohammad Tolouei, Someone Without Peers Translated from the Persian by Farzaneh Doosti (3/18/18)
K   Chung Wenyin, Flesh and Bone Translated from the Chinese by Jennie Chia-Hui Chu (6/23/18)
Q   Bernard Hœpffner, Portrait of the Translator as Chameleon   (12/31/18)
J    Ricardo Piglia, On the Threshold Translated from the Spanish by Robert Croll (5/5/18)
10  Yasujiro Ozu, The Unexpected Scent of Salad Translated from the Japanese by Adam Kuplowsky (4/28/18)
9   The Other Chile (Cecilia and Patricia)  by Angie Cruz (1/6/18)
8   Modern Uses of Language (The Oxford Harriet Beecher Stowe reader) (3/3/18)
7   Uncle Enoch (The Oxford Harriet Beecher Stowe reader) (3/10/18)
6   The Old Meeting-House: Sketch from the Note-Book of an Old Gentlemen (The Oxford Harriet Beecher Stowe reader) (5/19/18)
5   The Canal-Boat (The Oxford Harriet Beecher Stowe reader) (6/16/18)
4   Elizabeth Strout: ‘If I ever return to a small town, I want you to kill me  (9/8/18)
3   Muqtatafat : a comics anthology featuring artists from the Middle East region: Part one: English language. Manal and Alaa : a love story / by Lena Merhej -- Breath underwater / by Mike V. Derderian -- Anomaly / by Omar Khouri --Time travel / by Maya Zankoul --Liberty gone wild / by Nidal El Khairy --Filsteezy / by Mahdi Fleifel and Basel Nasr --Birdie mania / by Ghadi Ghosn --
Noûs somme / by Sandra Ghosn -- The genie of the throne / by Wassim Maouad -- (6/2/18)
Muqtatafat: Part two: Arabic language (translated into English). Slop / by Magdy el Shafee -- Where our stories collide / by Jana Traboulsi -- Gauche droite & estamba / by Mohamed el Shennawy -- Nap before noon / by Barrack Rima -- The bike / by Mohamed Tawfik. --(9/22/18)

  
JOKERS (2) - Wild Cards (3/24/18 and 5/26/18)

4 comments:

  1. Great list of stories & essays! I was unfamiliar with almost all the authors until I got to your diamonds suit, which I know several of. If this Daniel Alarcón story is your first, you’re in for a treat. I have his story collection “War by Candlelight” which I’ve really enjoyed. Good luck with the challenge & happy reading in 2018!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Jay.
      I loved Alarcón's novel At night we walk in Circles and his graphic City of Clowns. He's certainly on my "read more by this author" list.

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  2. I <3 this list :-) (though the real title of my short story is "The brown dog and the yellow FLOWER from China". Enjoy your reading!

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  3. Oops. Thank you for letting me know. I'd much rather read about a flower then a fever. I made the correction.

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