I came across a few short stories on Amazon last year and loved them. Amazon has commissioned a series of original short stories by prominent writers. These stories are categorised by genre and are only available as digital books on Amazon or as audiobooks on Audible.  

If you have a subscription to Kindle Unlimited, then you can read most of these for free. The narrators on Audible are often celebrities, so that’s something you might consider when choosing which format to get.

The stories are short but impactful. They take you on a journey and make you see the world differently. 

This year, since I’ve committed to reading (listening to) the Wheel of Time series, I haven’t been in the frame of mind to read any other significant book. These short stories have been an excellent palette cleanser.

Each collection has a few stories. I am not sure how many I will read, but I’ll update each collection as I go.

The Faraway Collection

Faraway is a collection of retold fairy tales that take the happily-ever-after in daring new directions

The Princess Game by Soman Chainani: 

When young women in high school end up murdered in different fairy tale costumes, a young undercover detective tries to find the killers. But does he entangle himself too much? I liked the ending of it more than the lead-up.

What else can a person ask except to meet someone who lets them be more themselves.

The Cleaners by Ken Liu: 

It’s a novel thought…extracting memories from all objects just by touching them. On one end is someone who cannot retain any memory, including his own, and at the other end of the spectrum is someone who can sense the memories of an object even from a picture of it. When something gets too much to handle, you can take it to the cleaners to have all its associated memories wiped clean.

The art was always better than the explanation of the art. 

The Prince and the Troll by Rainbow Rowell: 

I’m not sure what the story was about (climate change?) or if Starbucks sponsored it, but it was a poignant little tale of love between two people from opposite sides of life. You feel the emotions of trepidation, warmth, comfort, and heartbreak in the few pages even though you have no clue what they’re going on about!

You think I’m at my most useful when I’m being useful to you?

The Wickeds by Gayle Forman:

The premise of this one was kind of funny. Often mothers (or any parent) become villains in the eyes of their teenagers. The twist in the classic fairy tales is presented in a way parents all over would empathise with. Also, the commentary on how women/mothers are expected to do and be much more than their male counterparts lends a serious touch to the story.

Why had she asked a mirror—or anyone for that matter—to tell her who she was?

Hazel and Gray by Nic Stone:

Two teenagers lost in the woods stumble upon a private party house. Unable to resist, they enter to find help getting home but leave with more answers about their lives. The premise is based on a fairy-tale, but the story is more of a suspense thriller, not fantasy.

The better you fit in, the less you stand out.

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