Emron's 2017 Picks

Since nobody seems to finish the novels and other lengthy books that we pick (except, perhaps, the particular manly man who picks the book….but even that is not a guarantee) I’m going to take a different strategy by choosing some works of short fiction the next time my turn comes around. No more excuses for not reading (said to self as much as to others). I’ll provide PDFs and/or links for each selection.

-“The Aleph” by Jorge Luis Borges (We’ll read 2 translations—one by Di Giovanni and one by Hurley) [One of Borges’s beautiful stories of infinity, totality, and revenge]

-“The Murders in the Rue Morgue” and “The Purloined Letter” by Edgar Allan Poe [2 of the 3 stories that gave birth to the ubiquitous detective genre]

-“Axolotl”, “The Night Face Up”, and “The Distances” by Julio Cortázar (Just 1 translation each) [Fantastic or magical real? Three terrific and terrifying stories of doubling]

-“Flowering Judas”, “Noon Wine”, and “María Concepción” by Katherine Anne Porter [Three wonderful stories set in Mexico or Texas by a brilliant modernist writer]

-“The Decapitated Chicken”, “The Son”, and “Juan Darién” by Horacio Quiroga (Just 1 translation each) [Uruguayan/Argentine horror and naturalism from the early 20th century]