Short Stories: Dostoyevsky

The book I would like to mention is one that's downloadable from Gutenberg.org by clicking on the following link:

Short Stories by Fiodor Dostoievski

I have read only half the stories so far, but they are written in that unique Dostoyevsky style that some will enjoy and others will probably find maddening. If nothing else, they are intriguing and unpredictable. I think he writes beautifully for short stories, but that's hardly surprising. After all, this is Dostoyevsky.

Some are quite long for "short" stories, but they vary considerably in length. "The Heavenly Christmas Tree", the shortest one, is to me the Russian version of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Match Girl". Which came first? The era is the same. Who cares?

But I don't want to focus on that. The longer the story, the better. What a film scriptwriter he would have made in our day!

It's free, and downloadable in a variety of formats to suit anyone, or could be read online, but I must admit it's more fun to read on a Kindle Reader or in a Kindle or Calibre program for your Mac or PC. 

Instructions on how to do that, if required, are on my Gutenberg blogsite, together with the latest books available for September 2012.

CONTENTS                                         PAGE 

AN HONEST THIEF                                    1 

A NOVEL IN NINE LETTERS                           21 

AN UNPLEASANT PREDICAMENT                         36 

ANOTHER MAN'S WIFE                               101 

THE HEAVENLY CHRISTMAS TREE                      151 

THE PEASANT MAREY                                156 

THE CROCODILE                                    163 

BOBOK                                            205 

THE DREAM OF A RIDICULOUS MAN                    225

Denis Wright

@deniswright on Twitter

A Modest Proposal for Book Club

Live book clubs have several vital advantages over online ones.

• They have a set time and place, which 'makes' people do their homework
• They are very interactive on a group basis
• They are social occasions amongst a special group, usually friends

It is obvious why online ones often fail – the environment is just the opposite from the above. Priorities change. The book doesn’t get finished or if it does, writing a review gets pushed down the list. 

Obviously, it's easier to sit round and discuss it over coffee and forbidden treats.

These failings of online book clubs are recipes for collapse, and that’s what seems to happen. It's understandable. Those who have been dutiful online club members get disappointed. The others get embarrassed about their failure to complete their mission. It all goes silent.

Death of the club is usually swift, even though the corpse remains.

Anne Powles [@Qyntara] offered a possible kiss of life by providing an example of the model for the only online alternative, namely:

Conversion of the approach to a 'random' book review/comment site – short, long, whatever.

There are no pressures, no deadlines, no real 'club' in the sense that you need to join. You don't.

But how to post?

Here's an option.

Submit any reviews to readerbook7@gmail.com

 These will be posted as a blog piece and can be mentioned and retweeted on Twitter.

Presently there is only one person who can do that, but several people can [and should] have the email address and blogger password, can check for any new reviews, and can post on behalf of those who write an email.

If that doesn’t work, then it's been an interesting but failed experiment. So what? No harm in trying....

Any comments?

@deniswright

The Moral Molecule

I have just finished reading an exciting book by Paul Zak called "The Moral Molecule". It is an exciting romp through the hormones which influence our moods, trust, happiness. While the author takes us through many of his interesting experiments it is not presented as an account in scientific terms (though he does provide sample numbers). It is a personal account, very amusing at times, roller coasting through vampires, New Guinea natives, Greek philosophers and religion, how to beat some of the problems of experimenting with humans. He comes over as a fascinating man. I recommend this book. It is available in hard copy or on Kindle. It is a very easy read despite its title. 

Anne Powles
@Qyntara