How to Love a Black Hole by Rebecca Fishow

How to Love a Black Hole by Rebecca Fishow

I reviewed Rebecca Fishow's latest collection for MicroLit Almanac - read it here!

How to Love a Black Hole is a haunting, profoundly emotional collection that explores the fragility of human relationships, the weight of trauma, and the search for meaning in a world often defined by contradictions. Each story in the collection leaves a lasting impression, lingering in the mind long after you turn the final page. Fishow’s writing is surreal yet grounded, rich in symbolism and vivid description that blurs the lines between reality and the supernatural.

A New Day by Sue Mell

 

A New Day by Sue Mell

This has been one of my favorite books read recently, so please check it out!

In A New Day, Sue Mell delivers a collection of short stories that feel honest and familiar. The book follows three women—Rachel, Emma, and Nina—through the highs and lows of relationships, creative pursuits, and life’s everyday disarray.

What stands out most about these stories is how real they feel. Mell doesn’t sugarcoat or neatly resolve everything. Instead, she gives us glimpses of decisions that ripple through later stories, sometimes offering closure but more often reflecting how life works—messy, unpredictable, and full of loose ends. It’s like catching up with old friends through mutual acquaintances, where you slowly piece together what’s been happening in their lives.

Read the full review here!

The Miro Worm and the Mysteries of Writing by Sven Birkerts

I spent weeks with this book, letting my thoughts wander on Birkerts-inspired tangents, much like he did for other writers he mentions in his essays. It cracked open my mind at a time when I was needing inspiration. Yet even with pages of notes, I couldn’t seem to shape a review. I looked back at some of my reviews for flash and short story collections, but none of those formats seemed right...

Read the full review here.

First Law of Holes by Meg Pokrass

First Law of Holes by Meg Pokrass

In First Law of Holes, Meg Pokrass showcases her flash fiction, micro fiction, and prose poems that feel like brief, almost voyeuristic peeks into the lives of strangers. Reading these stories seems like looking through apartment windows, catching small yet powerful moments in the characters’ worlds.

Read the full review here.

The Ill-Fitting Skin by Shannon Robinson

The Ill-Fitting Skin by Shannon Robinson

The twelve stories in The Ill-Fitting Skin by Shannon Robinson feature women navigating everyday, often unsettling situations. This collection explores relationships through the lenses of surrealism and magical realism, presenting a series of tales that are as imaginative as they are reflective.

Read the full review here.

So as Not to Die Alone by Lisa Johnson Mitchell

 The book club I run with two friends focuses on short fiction - typically flash fiction in chapbook or novella-in-flash form. These books come from independent presses, so it's basically the opposite of the big-name children's/YA/adult books I share on this blog. However, I love shining a spotlight on good writing no matter what form it's in. And if I help other people discover flash, small presses, or specific authors, then YAY! Win-win!

Since I love this form, I like to write reviews of the books to help spread the word. This month, I reviewed So as Not to Die Alone by Lisa Johnson Mitchell.

In So as Not to Die Alone, Lisa Johnson Mitchell shares stories of people yearning for a human connection to, arguably, not die alone. The stories are filled with quirky characters who are off-putting yet endearing and full of potential. 

The characters show the author’s skill in capturing the complexities of the human experience with compassion. Each person is portrayed with depth and subtlety as they carry their own burdens, allowing readers to empathize with their struggles and root for them despite their flaws. 

Read the full review here.

Gridlock by Brett Biebel

The book club I run with two friends focuses on short fiction - typically flash fiction in chapbook or novella-in-flash form. These books come from independent presses, so it's basically the opposite of the big-name children's/YA/adult books I share on this blog. However, I love shining a spotlight on good writing no matter what form it's in. And if I help other people discover flash, small presses, or specific authors, then YAY! Win-win!

Since I love this form, I like to write reviews of the books to help spread the word. This month, I reviewed Gridlock by Brett Biebel.

Brett Biebel’s stories always have a deep sense of place, and that is true in Gridlock, even when the place is a 200-mile-long traffic jam. His latest collection explores the kaleidoscopic view of the human condition through a satirical yet poignant exploration of the American experience.

The collection starts with the contained setting of the congestion on I-94 before taking “an on-ramp to America and all the little shards that might somewhere still be left.” That includes a group of roommates who pool their resources to invest in a robot sex doll, a University of Minnesota student who hacks the United Nations website, and a community of men who move into stadiums and post about their lifestyle on Reddit.

Read the full review here.

A Brief Natural History of Women by Sarah Freligh

The book club I run with two friends focuses on short fiction - typically flash fiction in chapbook or novella-in-flash form. These books come from independent presses, so it's basically the opposite of the big-name children's/YA/adult books I share on this blog. However, I love shining a spotlight on good writing no matter what form it's in. And if I help other people discover flash, small presses, or specific authors, then YAY! Win-win!

Since I love this form, I like to write reviews of the books to help spread the word. This month, I reviewed A Brief Natural History of Women by Sarah Freligh.

“You Come Here Often / And often alone” but you won’t feel that way after diving into the first story in Sarah Freligh’s collection A Brief Natural History of Women. These twenty-three pieces examine women’s lives through their relationships with men, mothers, friends, children, and alcohol. You may be a singular reader but the “we” of characters addressing everyday issues like lipstick, kissing, reputation, and pregnancy welcomes and understands flawed, realistic people in ways society often overlooks.

Read the full review here.