DEAL ME IN CHALLENGE
2023
A few days ago, Moonlight Reader and Lillelara discussed the Deal Me In Short Story Challenge, where you select 52 short stories to read over the course of the year. This looked fun. It also looks like something I would like to use to explore the work of some more authors while also including works by authors I love and which are “safe” to bring me joy in reading them.
Rather than select entire collections of stories from four different authors, I am looking to include a few stories from any author’s collection that I already have on my kindle or shelves.
My selection process will literally be to draw a card from a deck.
And the stories I am going to include are:
| Card | Story | Author | Book |
| ♣︎ Ace | The Merchant and The Alchemist’s Gate | Ted Chiang | Exhalation |
| ♣︎ King | Exhalation | Ted Chiang | Exhalation |
| ♣︎ Queen | Omphalos | Ted Chiang | Exhalation |
| ♣︎ Jack | The Great Silence | Ted Chiang | Exhalation |
| ♣︎ 10 | The Universal Story | Ali Smith | The Whole Story and Other Stories |
| ♣︎ 9 | Gothic | Ali Smith | The Whole Story and Other Stories |
| ♣︎ 8 | Being Quick | Ali Smith | The Whole Story and Other Stories |
| ♣︎ 7 | The Book Club | Ali Smith | The Whole Story and Other Stories |
| ♣︎ 6 | A Week in the Country | Ursula K. Le Guin | The Unreal and the Real |
| ♣︎ 5 | Unlocking the air | Ursula K. Le Guin | The Unreal and the Real |
| ♣︎ 4 | The Diary of the Rose | Ursula K. Le Guin | The Unreal and the Real |
| ♣︎ 3 | Direction of the Road | Ursula K. Le Guin | The Unreal and the Real |
| ♣︎ 2 | Rain | W. Somerset Maugham | Collected Stories Vol. 1 |
| ♦︎ Ace | The Three Fat Women of Antibes | W. Somerset Maugham | Collected Stories Vol. 1 |
| ♦︎ King | The Luncheon | W. Somerset Maugham | Collected Stories Vol. 1 |
| ♦︎ Queen | The Ant and the Grasshopper | W. Somerset Maugham | Collected Stories Vol. 1 |
| ♦︎ Jack | The Overcoat | Nicolai Gogol | The Overcoat and Other Short Stories |
| ♦︎ 10 | The Nose | Nicolai Gogol | The Overcoat and Other Short Stories |
| ♦︎ 9 | The Tale of How Ivan Ivanovich Quarrelled with Ivan Nikiforovich | Nicolai Gogol | The Overcoat and Other Short Stories |
| ♦︎ 8 | Old-Fashioned Farmers | Nicolai Gogol | The Overcoat and Other Short Stories |
| ♦︎ 7 | The Necklace | Guy de Maupassant | The Necklace and Other Short Stories |
| ♦︎ 6 | Ball-of-Fat | Guy de Maupassant | The Necklace and Other Short Stories |
| ♦︎ 5 | A Piece of String | Guy de Maupassant | The Necklace and Other Short Stories |
| ♦︎ 4 | Where There’s a Will… | Cyril Hare | The Best Detective Stories |
| ♦︎ 3 | A Life for a Life | Cyril Hare | The Best Detective Stories |
| ♦︎ 2 | Name of Smith | Cyril Hare | The Best Detective Stories |
| ♥︎ Ace | Weight and See | Cyril Hare | The Best Detective Stories |
| ♥︎ King | Philomel Cottage | Agatha Christie | The Complete Short Stories (Miss Marple) |
| ♥︎ Queen | Swan Song | Agatha Christie | The Complete Short Stories (Miss Marple) |
| ♥︎ Jack | Next to a Dog | Agatha Christie | The Complete Short Stories (Miss Marple) |
| ♥︎ 10 | A Shot at Goal | Dorothy L. Sayers | In the Teeth of the Evidence |
| ♥︎ 9 | Dirt Cheap | Dorothy L. Sayers | In the Teeth of the Evidence |
| ♥︎ 8 | Bitter Almonds | Dorothy L. Sayers | In the Teeth of the Evidence |
| ♥︎ 7 | False Weight | Dorothy L. Sayers | In the Teeth of the Evidence |
| ♥︎ 6 | The Professor’s Manuscript | Dorothy L. Sayers | In the Teeth of the Evidence |
| ♥︎ 5 | The Milk Bottles | Dorothy L. Sayers | In the Teeth of the Evidence |
| ♥︎ 4 | The Blue Lenses | Daphne Du Maurier | The Breaking Point |
| ♥︎ 3 | Ganymede | Daphne Du Maurier | The Breaking Point |
| ♥︎ 2 | The Alibi | Daphne Du Maurier | The Breaking Point |
| ♠︎ Ace | The Landlady | Roald Dahl | |
| ♠︎ King | What We Talk About When We Talk About Love | Raymond Carver | |
| ♠︎ Queen | A View from the Observatory | Helen Dunmore | |
| ♠︎ Jack | The Daughters of the Late Colonel | Katherine Mansfield | The Garden Party and Other Stories |
| ♠︎ 10 | The Garden Party | Katherine Mansfield | The Garden Party and Other Stories |
| ♠︎ 9 | At the bay | Katherine Mansfield | The Garden Party and Other Stories |
| ♠︎ 8 | Sonny’s Blues | James Baldwin | Going to Meet the Man |
| ♠︎ 7 | The Man Child | James Baldwin | Going to Meet the Man |
| ♠︎ 6 | This Morning, This Evening, So Soon | James Baldwin | Going to Meet the Man |
| ♠︎ 5 | Minutes of Glory | Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o | Secret Lives and Other Stories |
| ♠︎ 4 | The Elephant | Sławomir Mrożek | |
| ♠︎ 3 | The Kreutzer Sonata | Leo Tolstoy | |
| ♠︎ 2 | The Death of Ivan Ilych | Leo Tolstoy |
Broken Tune's Blog 
On an unrelated note, do you think you’ll be posting on a monthly basis for ’23 or is it going to be another “when I feel up to it” kind of blog year? Or are you staying busy at your other place?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m really hoping that the slump ( reading and posting) is over.
Ideally, I’m hoping to get back to posting weekly reading updates.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Have you read Gogol before?
LikeLiked by 1 person
No, he is a new author for me. Have you?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am currently working through one of those “complete collections of….” things. He won’t be an author I re-read 😀
I found his short stories to be particularly odd and of a brand of humor that I simply didn’t understand. I didn’t know if it was because of culture or personality 😀
but they were quite interesting. Do you think you’ll be talking about any of them? I’d be interested to know what you think of The Nose, because that story just weirded me out AND left me scratching my head.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, now that I know you have thoughts on it I will make an effort to write up my thoughts.
I received a notification from my library that the Gogol is ready for collection but didn’t manage to pick up the book today as I spent my morning at the vets’. I am hoping to pick up the book on Monday.
LikeLiked by 1 person
My only suggestion is to not read too many of his shorts in a row. I kind of overwhelmed myself and I think that detracted.
But yeah, The Nose. I guess I just want to know if I was totally missing something or if Gogol really WAS that weird 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am fairly sure that I have seen an adaptation of The Overcoat, and that it was both weird and intriguing.
LikeLiked by 1 person
There is a lot excellent reading here ahead of you. Awesome to see so many great authors and works make your list, especially Ted Chiang. “Omphalos” is on my DMI list as well and I’m curious about your thoughts on it. He is quickly becoming one of my favorite short-story writers. Great choices with Baldwin, Le Guin, Carver. Also nice to see Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, who is underrated and rarely ever see mentioned.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you. I wanted to mix up the stories as best I could, but was too lazy to actually look for more diverse authors… maybe next time.
LikeLike
You have some absolute treats listed! Love Sayers and Le Guin and Tolstoy, and, and, and ….. Best of luck with the challenge!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you! I love Sayers and Le Guin, too. They were some of the authors I added in because I trust that I will enjoy their stories. 🙂
LikeLike