It's Thursday!
This week, the book chat co-host is the awesome Erinn of It's the Journey.  Erinn is a fellow military spouse and book lover.  She has a bold and honest quality to her blog that I adore.  The first post I read by her, she was standing on a toilet, and I knew right away she was going to be awesome and hilarious.


This week's book chat topic was suggested by Erinn, and I think it's a great one.  This was perfect timing for me personally because this is the first book chat when I don't talk about someone else's writing.  Next week, I turn in my first short story for class.  Eeek!  (In case you don't know yet, I just started pursuing a creative writing degree)

For some reason, I have always dreaded the short story.  It's probably from being spoon-fed so many in school, but I just never thought of reading them on my own.  I think we can all relate to the school assigned Poe and Hawthorne stories, like The Tell-Tale Heart, Rappacini's Daughter, and Young Goodman Brown.

...ringing a bell yet?

Yeah, the short stories of our history certainly have their benefit.  And any Reader's Digest subscriber will admit to loving them, I'm sure.  I just can't get into a story that fast.  And on top of that, my own assignment is only 300 words.  300 words!  That's shorter than most blog posts.

And for the record, I'm dreading it, but I'm not nervous about it.  I thought I would be nervous, writing (and sharing) my creative writing for the first time.  Elementary school poems don't count.  But so far, the class has gone fairly well.  I received my first constructive criticism and a B last week, which may have warranted a few tears, but I learned what I could and moved on.  The important thing is that I'm enjoying it, and I'm learning.

So, I haven't written the story yet, and I'm honestly clueless at this point what it will even be about.  Whether or not I share it, depends on how well I think it turns out.  I know it's not a big deal, and many of you have probably had to do it before, but it's a big deal to me.  It finally means a step in the right direction.

Okay, I can't not mention at least one short story I love (I guess it's actually a novella).


This is a great example of a big message getting across in a small space.  You can find a mountain's worth of other works written about this novella and how it was the landmark of early feminism, but honestly, I just loved it.  It was the first time I could really relate to a woman of historic literature.  I didn't always like her, and I don't necessarily agree with her, but she still got to me.  I have read it at least three times and I gain something different every time.  If you're a woman who has ever struggled with what it means to be a woman, you need to read this.

What are your favorite short stories/novellas?  Have you ever written a short story?

Grab a cup of coffee and come book chat with us!!

To join in...
1. Please follow the host and co-host 
2. Visit a few other book chat links and show some support.
3. Link back here in your post.  Or use the button provided.
4. Old posts are always welcome if you have blogged on the topic before.

Next week's topic: Re-reading.  Do you like re-reading your favorites?  What book have you read the most?
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Don't forget to enter my giveaway to win this great book!