The 23 page short story The Wrong Grave is from the anthology Pretty Monsters by Kelly Link.

Short Synopsis

A boy regretting his decision to bury some of his poetry with his deceased girlfriend decides to dig her up and get them back, but receives a shocking surprise when he does.

My Thoughts on The Wrong Grave

I didn’t know what to expect from Kelly Link’s writing, but having read this story I can say it was a pleasant experience. This story was so many things—comical, dark, and poignant—and her writing style and subject matter aligned well with my own morbidity. (Dealing with Death has a way of skewing one’s personality; what one, who has not dealt with Death, might find disturbingly dark another may find amusingly dark.)

Each of the characters’ personalities were delineated, naturally flawed, and none of them seemed stock. I even found myself wanting to know more about the story’s anonymous narrator who had me chuckling every few pages.

As far as a plot or point to the story, there really wasn’t one that I could discern, but that was OK. It was just a charming sliver of another, longer story that I won’t ever know—unless, of course, Link ever decided to write it, at which time I would eagerly read it. Instead, I’m left to wonder and speculate and dwell on what happened to Miles and that girl he dug up.

Final rating: B+

Happy Tuesday! It’s time again for another edition of Teaser Tuesdays…

Here are the rules:

• Grab your current read
• Let the book fall open to a random page
• Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• You also need to share the title of the book where you get your teaser from…that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given
• Please avoid spoilers

This week’s teaser:

“She stared at the problem silently a moment, her pale eyes nearly colorless and very cold. They moved finally from the problem in midair to Tessera, who felt their cold like a frost in her bones.” pg. 131 Alphabet of Thorn by Patricia A. McKillip

It’s been too long since I’ve read any true lose-yourself-in-another-world fantasies, so I’m finding this book to be truly enchanting. I also love the lush writing style. Since I just started the book there isn’t much by way of character development and it jumps around a bit, but I’m hoping that all will become clear by the time I turn the final page.

Happy Tuesday! It’s time again for another edition of Teaser Tuesdays…

Here are the rules:

• Grab your current read
• Let the book fall open to a random page
• Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• You also need to share the title of the book where you get your teaser from…that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given
• Please avoid spoilers

This week’s teaser:

"That was the beginning of the Sullivan family fortune–a fortune built on lies and vice. Evil, if you will." pg. 143 Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters by Natalie Standiford

My sister read it and enjoyed it immensely and I trust her judgment. Plus, the synopsis sounds intriguing enough, so I’m hoping this is one of those nice, light reads that everyone needs once in a while because I do need one of them right about now.

I don’t remember where I first heard about The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield, but I remember immediately heading to Amazon and adding it to my Wishlist. When I saw the book for only $3 one day, I couldn’t resist.

Twenty pages in I set the book aside, went to Amazon’s website, and searched for Setterfield’s other works because I knew I wanted to read anything else she wrote. Imagine my eyes when I learned that this was her debut novel. (I’m nowhere near finished with this book—only on page 57—and I’m already hoping it won’t be her last.)

Setterfield’s prose is so languid that I wanted to drown in it. From the first page it was like I was standing at the edge of something great, staring out into the vastness of it and knowing there was something more lurking just beneath the surface, and I had to dive in—a leap of faith if you will—and allow myself to be dragged down deeper until all is revealed. It’s so rare nowadays that I find a novel like that.

This is one of those books that I want to read fast, but am forcing myself to read slowly, so I can savour it.

(As an aside: If the actual story turns out to be a dud when I turn the final page, I’m going to be upset. I’ll want to weep because such beautiful prose should not be wasted on a substandard story.)

Last year I selected 9 books I was glad I read and decided to make it an annual feature. This year is was difficult to select only 9, so I ended up cheating a little—rather than list each book in two series which I loved I listed only the first book, but assume I liked the whole series.

Books I Wish I Read As a Kid

• Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt: It makes me wonder how my views about immortality would have varied between childhood and adulthood.
• Siberia by Ann Halam: I could read Stephen King and not get frightened, but this book…I’ll admit that this book would have scared younger me. There’s a realness that would have warped my young mind.

Series Which Held Me In Thrall

• Amulet by Kazu Kibuishi: This graphic novel series was just pure fun. Well illustrated, beautifully colored, entertaining story, and good editing make this an exemplary series.
• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins: Words still fail me. This series left me wounded and raw.

Books That Lingered

• Still Missing by Chevy Stevens: Every so often I’ll think about this book and Annie and her ordeal and I’ll wonder if a book will come along that will grip me as tightly as this one has.
• Mrs. Kimble by Jennifer Haigh: I don’t care what anyone else says, Mr. Ken Kimble was an opportunistic sociopath. But every cloud does have a silver lining even if it’s not readily apparent.
• Broken by Karin Fossum: I don’t understand why this was pegged as a mystery, but it’s an excellent character (and philosophical) study.

Odd Books Out

• The House of Dead Maids by Clare B. Duncle: The first book in a very long time that scared me. A good old fashioned scare, one that made me double check my doors and windows.
• The Clearing by Heather Davis: This book restored my faith in good old fashioned romance.