I love that this is a short story about death and truth, a great twist on creationist myths. The how and why of our creation. It starts with someone who is elderly and has a whole heap of stories to tell. Then continues to their past and the decisions that led her here. At least, I think the narrator was female. That wasn’t really the stand out point of the character – their gender, it was all of the reflections on a life well lived and the many stories that led to this point.
There is always that idea that the bright points of life are made all that much brighter because of the darkness. I loved that this short story took that theme and ran with it. That it was about creators who created humanity and made them mortal. That this wasn’t quite the tragedy and disservice that it’s purported to be. It’s a reminder that even though we die and there are so many sucky parts to life, it makes the life that we do live all that much sweeter.
Having recently lost someone very close to me, and then reading this short story. It made me think a lot about life, death and the lives that we live. A bit of reflection and self-examination that I found intriguing.
At least to a degree, everyone is aware of death knocking at the door. At least, that’s how I’ve always felt. And I really enjoyed the fact that this story focused on that fear. And took it to a whole new level. There’s knowing in an abstract way, and then having an existential crisis over it.
This whole short story is about finding a ‘cure’ for the fear of death. I really like that although there wasn’t a complete cure for this fear, it was also hinted at. Particularly as the story closes – just an idea of curing a paralysing fear.
Part of the ‘cure’ found throughout this is all about stolen moments in time. I like that instead of not being afraid of death, there is a focus on the moments in life that make it worth living. The moments that you return to when you’re having a moment of fear.
This was a beautiful short story. One that reminds you to stop and take in the world around you. The fact that it’s done through food just made it all that much more tantalising.
Title: When Breath Becomes Air Author: Paul Kalanithi Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect) My Bookshelves:Death, Medical, Memoirs Dates read: 2nd – 13th October 2021 Pace: Slow Format: Novel Publisher: Vintage Books Year: 2016 5th sentence, 74th page: The surgeon got to work, passed a small endoscope through Matthew’s nose, and drilled off the floor of his skull.
What do you do when life is catastrophically interrupted? What does it mean to have a child as your own life fades away? 8 What makes life worth living in the face of death
At the age of thirty-six, on the verge of completing a decade’s training as a neurosurgeon, Paul Kalanithi was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. One day he was a doctor treating the dying, the next he was a patient struggling to live.
When Breath Becomes Air chronicles Kalanithi’s transformation from a medical student in search of what makes a virtuous and meaningful life into a neurosurgeon working in the core of human identity – the brain – and finally into a patient and new father.
I knew that I was probably going to shed at least a few tears at the end of this book. I mean, it’s a book written by a man who is terminally ill. It’s going to make you cry. I didn’t quite expect how much I cried though. Partly because I didn’t think that it would be the epilogue written by Kalanithi’s wife that would really set me off… maybe not the best book to read when you’re pregnant and hormonal.
When Breath Becomes Air is incredibly humbling. It is filled with reminders that your world can change in a moment and everything you worked towards can just be ripped away. Yet, even though Paul was writing this in his final months and knew what was coming for him, he writes in such a way that you feel… at peace with his fate. Having been around numerous people with a terminal illness, reading about someone who faced their diagnosis head on like this… as I said, humbling.
The first part of this memoir focuses on Kalanithi’s decision to become a neuroscientist. About his constant battle to find a meaning in life where he isn’t entirely sure there is one. I love that he talks about his love for both literature and science. And how instead of being independent of each other (an assumption I’ve often come up against), they build upon one another. You can feel the passion for both fields streaming off the page as you read about Kalanithi’s numerous experiences and a life well lived.
This is one of those amazing memoirs that makes you feel… well, everything. It definitely left me feeling a little bit raw. But, mostly it just made me feel humble and aware of all of my own faults. But not in a bad way. I know that I couldn’t go through a terminal diagnosis like Kalanithi with the kind of calm and grace that he shows. And it’s kind of nice to read the words of someone who actually was capable of doing so.
Title: Forget Us Not Author: Nancy Kilpatrick In: The Mammoth Book of Ghost Stories by Women (Marie O’Regan) Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!) My Bookshelves:Death, Ghosts Dates read: 18th November 2020 Pace: Medium Format: Short story Publisher: Robinson Year: 2012 5th sentence, 74th page: The back lanes of this city are full of strays and it breaks your heart that they live outdoors in such frigid weather.
You’ve just lost the man that you love and you’re struggling to move on with life. But, a chance encounter with a cat acts as a great reminder that you may never forget, but you should still live.
At first I found the first person point of view of this story to be a little clunky. Although, that may be partially because I didn’t want to be thrown into the point of view of someone who has lost their husband. That’s a pretty terrifying thought.
I was honestly waiting for a tragedy to occur right throughout this story. It didn’t, actually, ultimately this was kind of uplifting. In the end, rather than being about tragedy, this was a short story that was about what happens after a tragedy.
The end of this story was hopeful. It was a reminder that even after people have left our lives, we still need to live and experience our own happiness and bliss. And it’s also important to stop and mourn the loss of a loved one, or two. No matter how crappy that might feel.
Madison doesn’t like that she had to move to a small town to spend time with her Dad. She doesn’t like her school. And she doesn’t like that she was forced to go to a lame, pirate themed prom. But she’s going to like what happens next even less…
Well, this story certainly features the worst birthday and prom ever. Yet, it was also the best kind of prom to read about. After all, it involved death and reapers and all sorts of mysteries that I can’t wait to stop and unravel. There’s most definitely a reason for my current obsession / love of Kim Harrison…
There is something about world building that always draws me in completely. Particularly when it is done so beautifully and succinctly in a novella. I’m already drawn into the world of Madison Avery and all of its law. And, even though the lead character is a girl that would usually just frustrate the heck out of me (she’s so against being a part of anything that she’s coming off as snobbish), it somehow all works together brilliantly.
I love that there is a whole heap of reaper lore in this story. There’s good reapers and bad reapers. And then all sorts of mystery and backstory that I really, really want to dig into! I can’t wait to find more stories which feature this lore and world building.
It sucks to die on your birthday, but the greater mystery in this story is one that fascinates me….
Title: Looking for Alaska Author: John Green Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect) My Bookshelves:Book to Film, Contemporary, Death, Young adult Dates read: 24th September – 4th October 2020 Pace: Medium Format: Novel Publisher: speak Year: 2005 5th sentence, 74th page: She only goes home over Christmas ad the summer, when Jake is there.
before. Miles “Pudge” Halter’s whole existence has been one big nonevent, and his obsession with famous last words has only made him crave the “Great Perhaps” (Francois Rabelais, poet) even more. He heads off to the sometimes crazy, possibly unstable, and anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is Alaska Young. The gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, self-destructive, screwed-up, and utterly fascinating Alaska Young, who is an event unto herself. She pulls Pudge into her world, launches him into the Great Perhaps, and steals his heart.
after. Nothing is ever the same.
I had to choose a banned book for a reading challenge. And I absolutely love the fact that this is the banned book that I chose. It was freaking awesome. And didn’t make me cry like The Fault in Our Stars which was a nice side benefit. Don’t get me wrong, I came close. But it didn’t quite get me…
It was obvious from the very beginning of this book that there was a pretty serious “before” and “after”. I did guess what the event was in this circumstance. But I didn’t guess the how of the event. I won’t give any spoilers here, you should read this and see if you too can guess what it is. I’d be interested now to see the Netflix (?)show that is based on this. They normally do good adaptations and I wonder how they would take all of the different issues covered in this and use that on the screen…
One of my favourite things about this book was the total open-endedness of the ending. Pudge had questions and tried to find answers. But in the end, he didn’t get any certainty. Which is kind of the way life is anyway. So it made for a nice, slightly more realistic ending. That, combined with his obsession with last words and the vagueness of whether or not the reports are correct… I really liked how this story dealt with endings and final moments.
Even though there were some fairly sad moments throughout this story. I absolutely adored the whole idea of the Great Perhaps. Apparently (reading the final words of John Green) it was actually something to do with famous last words. But, I just loved that sense of hope. That idea that there is always a great perhaps out there for us, we just have to be willing to take the risk…
Ultimately, this story has a whole heap of themes throughout it. But the one that I enjoyed the most was the creation of friendships, loves and memories. It might have sad moments throughout. But it was also filled with those friendships, that even if they don’t last a lifetime, they’re remembered for a lifetime.
Morrie is not your average godfather. And he’s not one that you should cross… until David finds a way.
This story seriously made me think about a Discworld novel. I THINK it was Mort. The personification of death, his presence in a young man’s life and just the general humour which comes with such a story. Alright, it also painted death as somewhat cruel and petty. But mostly, I really enjoyed the light humour which wove it’s way through this short story.
I vaguely remember the original fairy tale upon which this short story was based. And I’m fairly positive it didn’t have the same happy ending that this one had. Instead of being a horrible, cruel ending… there was a nice sense of life coming full circle and the happiness of family being completed. I actually really liked that this had a happier ending… it was a nice change to some of the other fairy tales in the Black Thorn, White Rose collection.
This short story is about death, life and, sometimes risking it all because you love someone. It’s a good short story that left me feeling happy and complete at the end of the story. I actually kind of loved this tale, and the more I think about it, the more I love it.
Title: Last Rites Author: Louise Cooper In: The Mammoth Book of Dark Magic (Mike Ashley) Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!) My Bookshelves:Death, Fantasy, Magic Dates read: 30th April 2020 Pace: Medium Format: Short story Publisher: Robinson Year: 1994 5th sentence, 74th page: Again the warning gesture, but now the sly humour was back.
They’re in a world surrounded by chaos. And their leader is about to pass on… who will perform the last rites?
This was a seriously tripped out story. I did enjoy it. But I can’t really remember much of what happened… I suppose many of the more trippy stories that I read are like that though. They have this ethereal quality that makes you feel like you’ve forgotten what you’ve read… even though you only just turned the last page. And it’s kind of suited that a story about chaos does this so well…
I think that this is one short story that I’m going to want to read again and again. It is intriguing and was most certainly enjoyable. But I felt like I was constantly missing things as I went through the story. There were so many symbolic moments interwoven throughout the story and tales of chaos. Moments that may have a little more clarity to them after I read through this story a second time.
Definitely an enjoyable short story. One that I look forward to reading again in the future. It is the kind of story that will intrigue and enthral. The world of chaos and the questions it raises at the end… well, it was really quite intense.
Title: PS I Love You Author: Cecelia Ahern Series: PS I Love You #1 Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Chic lit, Contemporary romance, Death Dates read: 8th – 29th March 2020 Pace: Medium Format: Novel Publisher: Harper Collins Year: 2004 5th sentence, 74th page: Oh, I teach her English.
Some people wait their whole lives to find their soul mates…
But not Holly and Gerry. Childhood sweethearts, they could finish each other’s sentences. No one could ever imagine them without each other.
When Gerry dies, Holly is devastated. But Gerry has left her a bundle of notes, one for each month of her year, each signed PS, I love you.
As the notes are opened, the man who knows Holly better than anyone teaches her that life goes on. With some help from friends and family, Holly laughs, cries and finds that life is for living – but it helps if there’s someone watching over you.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book. I saw the movie years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. But it was only recently that I realised that it was a book first. Plus, the movie has Gerrard Butler, so I wasn’t optimistic about the books chances of improving drastically on such a great man. But, as I normally end up discovering – this book was better than the movie. And although I didn’t really cry as much as I expected, it certainly helped me to grow a heart and seriously think about my own loved ones.
This story may be a romance, but, for me, it was definitely a lot more about Holly’s family and friends. Yes, throughout the entire tale, she is dealing with grief over losing the love of her life. But mostly she does this with the help from her friends and family. A big family I might add. With some great, distinct personalities that constantly move and clash against each other. I love that although there is such love and support throughout this whole story, it’s not just about that. There is also a lot of conflict and difficulties that they each face. And, the most poignant thing about all of these relationships? That moment when they start to move on before Holly and just how difficult that is… for everyone.
Being in isolation, you tend to think a little more about thinks. And this book certainly makes you do that. I spent most of the time in which I was reading this thinking about what I would do in this situation. How I would deal with knowing that I was terminal. What I would say to my other half. It’s incredibly morbid. But it’s also the sweetest thing – finding a way to help that one person you love above all else actually move on and forwards in life.
This is an amazing book. Nowhere near as sad as I was expecting. Not that it’s an uplifting story either… but it could be much more tragic and scaring. Instead, it’s hopeful. The whole novel ends on a nice, hopeful note that makes you think that death isn’t necessarily the end, just the beginning of something new.
Title: A Wife of Acorn, Leaf, and Rain Author: Dave Smeds In: Sirens and Other Daemon Lovers (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling) Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect) My Bookshelves:Death, Fae, Lust Dates read: 18th March 2020 Pace: Fast Format: Short story Publisher: EOS Year: 1998 5th sentence, 74th page: But your word is enough as far as I’m concerned.
He misses his wife, and a desperate attempt to get closure has him making a deal with The Outsiders. But will this beautiful doppleganger truly fill that whole in her heart?
I can’t imagine suddenly losing my other half. It’s actually what makes up my greatest fears – waking up one day to find out that he wasn’t part of my life anymore. So this story hit a little too close to home. And it took an interesting approach to getting over one’s grief. Hiring a fae doppelganger to take her place… it felt somewhat creepy.
Yet, as the story unfolded, I actually understood the man’s motivations WAY more than I would have liked. I can imagine wanting just one more moment with that one person that I love more than anybody else. I can understand needing just a few more moments to finally get that closure that you need.
As much as this story kind of started out creepy… it had a great sense of closure at the final conclusion. There was a sense of farewell and moving on that was healing and sweet. A great way to end a story that started out a little uncomfortably…
Earth and Skye 