What I read in 2019: Short Fiction
/In 2018, I made a major effort to read more short science fiction, something I really enjoyed doing. I ended up reading more than 74 across a bunch of magazines and websites that year, and this year, I set out to do the same.
I failed pretty miserably at that, petering out around July. I’m not entirely sure why, but I know I didn’t spend as much reading in general this year. Part of it was just being busy with a bunch of things, and short fiction, sadly, fell by the wayside — I only count 28 stories in my list this last year. Still, that’s better than prior years!
Most of the stories come from online sources, like Clarkesworld, Daily Science Fiction, Slate, or Vice (as well as a bunch from The Verge’s Better Worlds project). One reason why there’s fewer is probably a practical one: I didn’t spend as much time this year on physical house projects, during which I did a lot of listening while doing things like sanding or scraping paint. I picked up a bunch of copies of Asimov’s and The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, but never really got around to reading them.
Still, 28 is better than what I’ve read in years past. I’m going to once again make it a goal to read more this year, and I’ve got a stack of magazines to catch up on.
Here’s what I read this year:
The Psychology Game by Xia Jia (translated by Ken Liu and Emily Jin).
What the South Wind Whispers by H. Pueyo
The Light Brigade by Kameron Hurley
A Theory of Flight by Justina Ireland
Online Reunion by Leigh Alexander
A Model Dog by John Scalzi
The Day Our Ships Came In by Ginger Weil
Monsters Come Howling In Their Season by Cadwell Turnbull
Aces-High Frontier by Jeffrey Becker
St. Juju by Rivers Solomon
Thoughts and Prayers by Ken Liu
The Burn by Peter Tieryas
The Love Letters by Peng Simeng (translated by S. Quioyu Lu)
The Sun Will Always Sing by Karin Lowachee
Skin City by Kelly Robson
Articulated Restraint by Mary Robinette Kowal
Move the World by Carla Speed McNeil
Overlay by Elizabeth Bonesteel
Machine of Loving Grace by Katherine Cross
East of the Sun, West of the Stars by Brit E. B. Hvide
Okay, Glory by Elizabeth Bear
Early Adopter by Kevin Bankston
The Butcher of New Tasmania by Suo Hefu (translated by Andy Dudak)
A Full Life by Paolo Bacigalupi
Flicker On by Bishop Garrison
Mother Tongues by S. Qiouyi Lu
The Well by Laura Hudson (published in Resist: Tales from a Future Worth Fighting Against)
Search History for Elspeth Adair, Age 11 by Aimee Picchi
