Sorry to all for missing my post today - am out in DC, running around like crazy and have worn myself out. Spent the morning at Oak Hill Cemetery getting a beautiful and moving tour - will share photos from this and the National Book Festival on Thursday. Flying back home VERY early tomorrow.
In the meantime, I am declaring a break. Until Thursday. :)
See you then and thanks to those of you were were in the audience at the Festival.
A sincere thank you for all the love here today! Believe me when I tell you that the project was super fun for me. I'm very touched by your comments. Thanks again for being so great.
A quick note: for the most part, i did not double-check titles of stories or the spelling of author's names. (I relied on you all to be correct when you named a story/author.) There are going to be errors--from my end and from yours. Please send any corrections to George at storyclubwithgeorge@gmail.com Put "Correction to Story List" in the subject line. Remember: There will always be more stories! So maybe don't send George MORE stories at this time! Let's stick with the original list for now, if you can stand it.... This means that if i missed your story the first time around (apologies), write to George and let him know.
Mary, thanks so much. What a labor of love! And so intriguing. I will be digging in. But . . . my nomination of Reynolds Price's Michael Egerton isn't on it. No need to add it. You've done so much work. Just wanted to give my old teacher a shout out again.
You know Mary, and yes maybe it's not surprising but it has been to me... what's really been another unexpected joy for me, already mere days since your 'alphabetasized listing struck into our lives' - not so unlike Ted Hughes famous poetic hawk striking into that, back in the day but as fresh as ever to any first reading or re-reading eye - is what we might label the 'serendiptous second wave of stories it has brought a-popping and a-pinging up on my literary radar screen. I'm sure I;m not alone, and I do truly mean 'serendipitous'.
Here's a first case in point, a single story from what I know realise is a standout collection of short stories: 'Secretary' from Mary Gaitskill's 'Bad Behaviour'. All I knew about 'Secretary' is that is film in which Maggie Gyhlennhall (?) appears. Have the film, on DVD, still wrapped in cellophane, yet to be watched, back in Middle England. Having happened upon the story, the real-words-thing, what can I say but Wow! and can't wait to get back home to funwrap and feed the DVD into a player!
I'm not so much trying to add to the list of suggestions Mary as to raise the issue of whether there needs be a cut-off moment for responses to George's Call Out and if so when should the it be, and be confirmed as being?
I'm a dyed-in-the-wool Geographer by Nature & Nurture... spatial and temporal boundaries are, simply, natural considerations for me and my ilk 😊
As far as your question about a "cut off date" for responses to George's query: The cut off date has come and gone! The list that's been put together was compiled using responses to the original post from George. Perhaps we will add more stories in the future to the list but, for now, we are simply making corrections to the list as it stands (correcting misspellings and adding stories that were in the original threads but which were mistakenly left off the list). George can answer for himself, but I'm pretty sure this was just a fun exercise for all of us to find out the depth and breadth of this group's favorite stories and authors that have been, up until now, under read or under acknowledged. There's no official publication coming out (that I know of) that will list all of these. It's just a list put together by and for the Club. So, the list is done--corrections will be made and the list will eventually be sent out again with those corrections in place. If we ask for more stories at this point, we may be deluged! Again, it's all up to George. That being said, if there's a story you don't see on the list that you feel must be there, then let me know and I'll add it to the official Google doc.
Deluged! The very word. Noah hoped, I hear tell on reliable authority, for exactly such when he'd built and populated - 2 by 2, by 2 by 2, etcetera etcetera - his Ark.
I did say I was not trying to add but rather to confirm temporal boundaries Mary and I meant what I said (which rules me out as prospective politician 😂) Quite rightly you've genially ruled the three further suggestions I - sort of tongue-in-cheek - offered "out of bounds"!
But what a blast Mary, so many suggestions, some - a minority known to me / us - most as previously unacquainted with us as lumps of searing hot lava were to the citizens that perished back in the day when Mount Vesuvius eruptively disgorged the magma that had been giving the Gods indigestion for who knows how long?
So, I'm wondering, just what may be made of the fruits of this exercise that George has sown the seeds of and your have so adroitly harvested the fruits of?
I've taken the Churchillian route and am attempting to rise to the challenge of "Action this Day"... of at least as soon as possible!
Just three captures short of being in position to share 'Rob's Rough Cut Take on How to Create and Read a New Radical Short Story Anthology" (Absolutely, Ever & Always, Resolutely "UnOfficial")
I can see this work germinating and growing into The Definitive Short Story Reference Book, featuring essays on the form by George Saunders, and others.
George and Mary (and all of the well-read list contributors and story writers) just made it impossible for anyone on Substack to ever again say, "I have nothing good to read right now." Generous gratitude to this collective, each making the world a better place one great story at a time.
Wow! What an amazing list, and also want to say that I’m thrilled to be one of the authors included on it! However, you will need a small amendment if you are keen on looking up any other stories of mine - it’s Cate Kennedy with a C, not Kate Kennedy with a K. Like my fellow Australian Cate Blanchett! I love this Story Club newsletter and anything at all associated with the brilliant George Saunders, and have published two collections of short stories, “Dark Roots” (2006) and “Like a House on Fire” (2012). Thank you so much for putting this fantastic list of stories together, and for whoever chose mine! Go well, my fellow hunter-gatherers! Cate with a ‘C’.
Mary G, you are a rock star! Thank you so much. All those stories I haven’t read yet... like seeing a pile of presents under the tree, just waiting to be opened. 💕
Wow🌷 Just terrific, Mary. I just reread Amy Hempel's "In the Cemetery..." & forgot how beautiful and hard and heartbreaking is it. I'll keep going with the available stories. Thank you, SClubbers, for all the resounding recommendations💞 Have a good trip, George🧿
Thank you Mary! Thank you George! I love all the links. And I am strangely comforted by this collection. It's not often I feel my middle-aged-mother voice is heard. To see my small contributions in print gave me a little burst of dopamine satisfaction. Turned my day around.
"Of All the Story Clubs, in All the World, it is only in THE George Saunders Story Club that I'm sure of finding something totally unpredictable come gobsmacking me right out of left field... time after time... and this Mary G captured and combed through list gift is a corker!"
It's looking like some form of 'rationing' is going to be required Denise, underpinned by some kind of 'ratio rationale'... 'so much reading time begets so much writing time' kinda' thing... maybe some marketing imagineer will come up some nonsense-speak catchy jargon label for it... 'The Balanced Literary Scorecard A: Read a Bit / Write a Bit' or 'The Balanced Literary Scorecard B: Write a Bit /Read a Bit'... The Choice is Yours / Both Options Just $99 plus Tax 😅
Sorry to all for missing my post today - am out in DC, running around like crazy and have worn myself out. Spent the morning at Oak Hill Cemetery getting a beautiful and moving tour - will share photos from this and the National Book Festival on Thursday. Flying back home VERY early tomorrow.
In the meantime, I am declaring a break. Until Thursday. :)
See you then and thanks to those of you were were in the audience at the Festival.
A sincere thank you for all the love here today! Believe me when I tell you that the project was super fun for me. I'm very touched by your comments. Thanks again for being so great.
A quick note: for the most part, i did not double-check titles of stories or the spelling of author's names. (I relied on you all to be correct when you named a story/author.) There are going to be errors--from my end and from yours. Please send any corrections to George at storyclubwithgeorge@gmail.com Put "Correction to Story List" in the subject line. Remember: There will always be more stories! So maybe don't send George MORE stories at this time! Let's stick with the original list for now, if you can stand it.... This means that if i missed your story the first time around (apologies), write to George and let him know.
Thanks everybody!
xoxo mary g.
You rock!
Indeed! Mary G, might I add, rocks and rolls!! Thank you, Mary G!
Brilliant! Thank you.
Many thanks Mary G! You’re the best
Thank you so much, Mary and George. Great job!
Thanks for being the person that rolled the rock up the hill. There are doers, and those who say, wouldn't it be nice if.
merci, mary g !
This is awesome! Thank you so much ❤️
WOW! This is so amazing, Mary! Thank you, thank you!
Mary, thanks so much. What a labor of love! And so intriguing. I will be digging in. But . . . my nomination of Reynolds Price's Michael Egerton isn't on it. No need to add it. You've done so much work. Just wanted to give my old teacher a shout out again.
I'm adding it to the Google doc now. It will appear in future iterations of the list! My apologies that it is missing from the current version.
Many thanks Mary!
Thank you mary
@mary if you need help in the future with something like this I am a software engineer and could write a script for it : ) lmk
Oh, thanks, Tyler!
A fabulous list for my next interstellar journey.
You know Mary, and yes maybe it's not surprising but it has been to me... what's really been another unexpected joy for me, already mere days since your 'alphabetasized listing struck into our lives' - not so unlike Ted Hughes famous poetic hawk striking into that, back in the day but as fresh as ever to any first reading or re-reading eye - is what we might label the 'serendiptous second wave of stories it has brought a-popping and a-pinging up on my literary radar screen. I'm sure I;m not alone, and I do truly mean 'serendipitous'.
Here's a first case in point, a single story from what I know realise is a standout collection of short stories: 'Secretary' from Mary Gaitskill's 'Bad Behaviour'. All I knew about 'Secretary' is that is film in which Maggie Gyhlennhall (?) appears. Have the film, on DVD, still wrapped in cellophane, yet to be watched, back in Middle England. Having happened upon the story, the real-words-thing, what can I say but Wow! and can't wait to get back home to funwrap and feed the DVD into a player!
And then I dumb-stumble-bummed across this... https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2016/apr/06/10-inspiring-female-writers-you-need-to-read ... what a thought provoker , for we early engagers with George's idea of "Structuring a New Radical Anthology of Short Stories"?
And just now, typing I've found Hilary Mantel's - in my view - masterclass if not masterpiece 'The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher! (to be found just a click away at https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/sep/19/hilary-mantel-short-story-assassination-margaret-thatcher )
I'm not so much trying to add to the list of suggestions Mary as to raise the issue of whether there needs be a cut-off moment for responses to George's Call Out and if so when should the it be, and be confirmed as being?
I'm a dyed-in-the-wool Geographer by Nature & Nurture... spatial and temporal boundaries are, simply, natural considerations for me and my ilk 😊
Rob, you may be interested in this: https://lithub.com/read-mary-gaitskills-sequel-of-sorts-to-her-classic-short-story-secretary/
As far as your question about a "cut off date" for responses to George's query: The cut off date has come and gone! The list that's been put together was compiled using responses to the original post from George. Perhaps we will add more stories in the future to the list but, for now, we are simply making corrections to the list as it stands (correcting misspellings and adding stories that were in the original threads but which were mistakenly left off the list). George can answer for himself, but I'm pretty sure this was just a fun exercise for all of us to find out the depth and breadth of this group's favorite stories and authors that have been, up until now, under read or under acknowledged. There's no official publication coming out (that I know of) that will list all of these. It's just a list put together by and for the Club. So, the list is done--corrections will be made and the list will eventually be sent out again with those corrections in place. If we ask for more stories at this point, we may be deluged! Again, it's all up to George. That being said, if there's a story you don't see on the list that you feel must be there, then let me know and I'll add it to the official Google doc.
Deluged! The very word. Noah hoped, I hear tell on reliable authority, for exactly such when he'd built and populated - 2 by 2, by 2 by 2, etcetera etcetera - his Ark.
I did say I was not trying to add but rather to confirm temporal boundaries Mary and I meant what I said (which rules me out as prospective politician 😂) Quite rightly you've genially ruled the three further suggestions I - sort of tongue-in-cheek - offered "out of bounds"!
But what a blast Mary, so many suggestions, some - a minority known to me / us - most as previously unacquainted with us as lumps of searing hot lava were to the citizens that perished back in the day when Mount Vesuvius eruptively disgorged the magma that had been giving the Gods indigestion for who knows how long?
So, I'm wondering, just what may be made of the fruits of this exercise that George has sown the seeds of and your have so adroitly harvested the fruits of?
I've taken the Churchillian route and am attempting to rise to the challenge of "Action this Day"... of at least as soon as possible!
Just three captures short of being in position to share 'Rob's Rough Cut Take on How to Create and Read a New Radical Short Story Anthology" (Absolutely, Ever & Always, Resolutely "UnOfficial")
I can see this work germinating and growing into The Definitive Short Story Reference Book, featuring essays on the form by George Saunders, and others.
George and Mary (and all of the well-read list contributors and story writers) just made it impossible for anyone on Substack to ever again say, "I have nothing good to read right now." Generous gratitude to this collective, each making the world a better place one great story at a time.
This is such a cool group of people. So happy i found this place. Thanks all.
Me, too!
Wow! Stupendous! As a retired librarian, I know the work that went into this! Thanks
Wow! What an amazing list, and also want to say that I’m thrilled to be one of the authors included on it! However, you will need a small amendment if you are keen on looking up any other stories of mine - it’s Cate Kennedy with a C, not Kate Kennedy with a K. Like my fellow Australian Cate Blanchett! I love this Story Club newsletter and anything at all associated with the brilliant George Saunders, and have published two collections of short stories, “Dark Roots” (2006) and “Like a House on Fire” (2012). Thank you so much for putting this fantastic list of stories together, and for whoever chose mine! Go well, my fellow hunter-gatherers! Cate with a ‘C’.
I'm so very sorry for the error, Cate! I will ask George to fix it on the google doc and when the revised list is done, it will be corrected.
Hi Mary, Thank you for putting in so much effort into creating this document. Many many thanks and regards.
Mary G, you are a rock star! Thank you so much. All those stories I haven’t read yet... like seeing a pile of presents under the tree, just waiting to be opened. 💕
Ah yes... The Unlikely Ever To End Literary Present Opening Party!
First day on this app and I am so delighted to see such amazing sharing. Thank you for a wonderful list
Thank you, George! And of course thank you to the incomparable SC T.A. - Mary G. You’re the best!
Wow🌷 Just terrific, Mary. I just reread Amy Hempel's "In the Cemetery..." & forgot how beautiful and hard and heartbreaking is it. I'll keep going with the available stories. Thank you, SClubbers, for all the resounding recommendations💞 Have a good trip, George🧿
Thank you Mary! Thank you George! I love all the links. And I am strangely comforted by this collection. It's not often I feel my middle-aged-mother voice is heard. To see my small contributions in print gave me a little burst of dopamine satisfaction. Turned my day around.
"Of All the Story Clubs, in All the World, it is only in THE George Saunders Story Club that I'm sure of finding something totally unpredictable come gobsmacking me right out of left field... time after time... and this Mary G captured and combed through list gift is a corker!"
👍
There's some writers I really love here (Patricia Highsmith, Charles Bukowski, TC Boyle, Raymond Carver) and a lot of others I've never heard of.
Same! I am crazy about Lucia Berlin, William Trevor, Lorrie Moore to name just a few on this list...look forward to exploring the others.
Mary G., thank you! You have made it so easy for me to read instead of writing!!! :)
It's looking like some form of 'rationing' is going to be required Denise, underpinned by some kind of 'ratio rationale'... 'so much reading time begets so much writing time' kinda' thing... maybe some marketing imagineer will come up some nonsense-speak catchy jargon label for it... 'The Balanced Literary Scorecard A: Read a Bit / Write a Bit' or 'The Balanced Literary Scorecard B: Write a Bit /Read a Bit'... The Choice is Yours / Both Options Just $99 plus Tax 😅
Rob, you’re an innovation strategist!
Or maybe a strategic innovator?
Easy elision of any incipient identity dilemma could be to just have two button badges made up?
'Innovation Strategist' worn on the left lapel, 'Strategic Innovator' on the right?
Never both worn at the same time... that could get confusing!
🤣
Haha! So many good excuses now...
Oh, oh 😕
Wonderful. Thanks, Mary!