One of my favorite things to do is recommend reading. Books, journals, authors, individual pieces. If a friend asks me for a recommendation, they will often receive a list. So here’s my list for you!

I’ve separated my list into five sections, and limited myself to only a few of each, else I’d go on forever. Novels and such I’m saving for a different time, or else I’d really go on forever.

Micro-Prose

Flash Fiction International: Very Short Stories From Around the World 

edited by James Thomas, Robert Shapard, and Christopher Merrill

This collection has been a staple on my bookshelf for a number of years, and is near and dear to my heart. Read more about it in last week’s review!

Ghostographs: An Album 

by Maria Romasco Moore

A recent discovery, this nostalgic collection accomplishes something I am working toward in my own writing—a cohesive collection of flash pieces that can also stand on their own. Ghostographs is ethereal, spellbinding, and vivid. 

Sing To It

by Amy Hempel

Amy Hempel is an idol of mine, and this was the first book of hers that I read. The economy of language in each piece is incredible. Every word is vital. 

Poetry

American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin 

by Terrence Hayes

I was lucky enough to attend a reading by Terrence Hayes at my first undergraduate college. It was before this book was published, though he did read a couple of these poems to us. I was absolutely captured by the power of his voice and his words. I actually bought this book in England, since that’s where I was when I first saw it on a shelf.

Our Numbered Days 

by Neil Hilborn

This was the first book of poetry I ever bought. So many of these poems make me feel raw and turned inside out, feel seen. There is a truly awe-inspiring vulnerability. 

Phantom Noise 

by Brian Turner

Purchased originally for a class, I have read this collection more than once now, and each time am taken with it’s heartbreaking detail. So many of these poems hold me in totally in sway when I read them.

Books On Writing

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft 

by Stephen King

I found this book senior year of high school, near the same time as Flash Fiction International, when I was truly discovering that this is what I wanted to do with my life. This book was the only craft book (amongst many that my mother found and gifted to me) that seemed to make a lick of sense.

Imaginative Writing 

by Janet Burroway

My first-ever creative writing text book! My copy of this is one of the only books I have that I’ve truly sticky-noted and marked up. Every time I feel stuck with where to begin, or what to do, it’s the first place I turn.

Tell It Slant 

by Brenda Miller and Suzanne Paola

To keep on trend, this book was my true introduction to nonfiction. I have sentimental attachments to beginnings, apparently! It really is a great one though, and went a long way to helping me build my confidence in the genre.

Literary Journals and Magazines

SmokeLong Quarterly

Again with the beginnings, this was the first online journal I found. Postage by Kate Peterson in Issue Fifty Five is still my favorite piece to share when introducing people to micro and flash fiction.

Brevity: A Journal of Concise Literary Nonfiction

Flash nonfiction is a particular fascination of mine, and this journal has a truly sprawling collection. And, they don’t always publish the same authors, so the collection is vast in both size and scope. I can always find something inspiring to read in these pages.

Club Plum Literary Journal

As I mentioned in my review, this journal is a house party, and my first publication outside of a school journal. Thea Swanson is incredibly kind and fun, and this project of hers mirrors that energy. 

Variant Literature

This journal is a recent discovery of mine that has me in a choke hold. I am slowly working my way through back issues. This journal is characterized by incredibly vivid details and pieces that invoke all the emotions.