[READ: December 15, 2022] “Punchline”
This year, S. ordered me The Short Story Advent Calendar. This is my fifth time reading the Calendar. I didn’t know about the first one until it was long out of print (sigh), but each year since has been very enjoyable. Here’s what they say this year
Like we always do at this time: the Short Story Advent Calendar is back for 2022. We had such a great time last year working with our first-ever guest editor, the one and only Alberto Manguel. This year, however, we’re bringing things back to basics. No overarching theme or format, just 25 top-class short stories, selected in-house, by some of the best writers in North America and beyond. It’s December 15. Rebecca Watson, author of little scratch, is wondering if you’ve heard the one about two people who walk into a bar.
I really enjoyed this delightfully odd story of getting to know someone, sort of.
The narrator, whose name is not Briony, met a man at a her friend Amy’s birthday party. Their eyes didn’t meet across a crowed room. Rather they met in a mirror.
They didn’t introduce themselves, but they did wind up spending the night together. The fact that they didn’t know each others’ names was part of the thrill.
The next morning he said he knew her name (were they really drunk enough not to ask each other last night?) He said it was Bryony (It isn’t). She replied that it was coincidence how similar their names are since his name was clearly Brian. he said he would call her Brian, short for Bryony. (more…)