Day 75 Recent Reading: Likes by Sarah Shun-lien Bynum

For about the last year and a half I have been reading quite a few story anthologies. My best source for finding recent collections has been looking at nominees and winners of @thestoryprize That is where I first heard of Sarah Shun-lien Bynum’s Likes. My favorite story in the follection was “Many a Little Makes.” The story starts with Mari sending a text to her friend which causes her to remember her experiences in junior high and high school with her friends Bree and Imogen. By the end of the story, the three give themselves the nicknames Pickle, Brick, and Mickle.

I listened to the story while walking around my neighborhood and found myself caring deeply about Pickle, Brick, and Mickle. Let me just say that the nicknames, alone, make the story worth the price of admission. In this story, Shun-lien Bynum demonstrates a remarkable ability to encourage the reader to care about these three teenage girls.

I marked a few of my favorite sections in the book. Let me just say that I enjoyed the whole book and especially this story, “Many a Little Makes.”

I have said it before. But the best way to read a story collection is to limit the reading to one story at a time. Take the time to savor the characters, the language, and the plot before moving on to another story the next day.