I just realised that I never wrote a post about what the idea behind the 100 short stories challenge was. Please note that this post has been back-dated to show up a logical place in the stream. It was written on May 20 2014.

Here is what I wrote in my New Year’s resolutions 2014

“I I have already decided that I want to join the #100ShortStoriesin2014 reading challenge next year, that is two short stories a week, that should be very doable. I will of course blog about that here. I had a lot of fun reading for my 25 short stories in 25 days challenge, so think I will have fun with this. Goal 2: Read 100 short stories in 2014.”

The challenge was suggested by Eric Christensen on twitter as a challenge to himself. I jumped on.

What have I read?

I will link to the reviews in the list but you can see all the reviews here. The stories in Chicks in Chainmail are in all reviewed in the same post.

1. “A Bead of Jasper, Four Small Stones” by Genevieve Valentine – My review
2. “What You’ve Been Missing” by Maria Dahvana Headley – My review
3. “Jackalope Wives” by Ursula Vernon – My review
4. “A Choice of Endings” by Tanya Huff –  My review
5. “The Too-Clever Fox” by Leigh Bardugo –  My review
6.  “The Elephant in the Room” by Paul Cornell – My review
7. “The Traditional” by Maria Davana Headley
8. “Selkie Stories Are for Losers” by Sofia Samatar – My review
9. “Master Conjurer” by Charlie Jane Anders – My review
10. “In The Marrow” by Malon Edwards
11. “Lady in steel” by Roger Zelazny in Chicks in Chainmail
12. “Bra melting” by Jannie Lee Simmer in Chicks in Chainmail
13. “And ladies of the club” by Elisabeth Moon in Chicks in Chainmail
14. “Exchange Program” by Susan Shwartz in Chicks in Chainmail
15. “Armor-Ella” by Holly Lisle in Chicks in Chainmail
16. “Career Day” by Margaret Ball in Chicks in Chainmail
17. “Armor/Amore” by David Vierling in Chicks in Chainmail
18. “The Stone of War and the Nightingale’s Egg” by Elizabeth Ann Scarboroughin in Chicks in Chainmail
19. “The Growling” by Jody Lynn Nye in Chicks in Chainmail
20. .
21. .
22. “On the Road of Silver” by Mark Bourne  in Chicks in Chainmail
23. “Human Strandings and the Role of the Xenobiologist” by Thoraiya Dyer – My review
24. “The Old Grind” by Laura Frankos  in Chicks in Chainmail
25. “The Way to a Man’s Heart” by Elizabeth Waters  in Chicks in Chainmail
26. “Whoops!” by Nancy Springer  in Chicks in Chainmail
27. “The Guardwoman” by Lawrence Watt-Evans  in Chicks in Chainmail
28. “Teacher’s Pet” by Josepha Sherman  in Chicks in Chainmail
29. “Wer-Wench” by Jan Stirling  in Chicks in Chainmail
30. “Blood Calls to Blood” by Elizabeth Waters  in Chicks in Chainmail
31. “No Pain, No Gain” by Elizabeth Moon in Did you say Chicks
32. “Slue-Foot Sue an the Witch in the Woods” by Laura Frankos in Did you say Chicks
33. “Water in Springtime” by Kali Wallace – My review
34. “Made Light“by Melissa Moorer. – My review
35. “Shutdown” by Laurell K. Hamilton – My review
36. “Beauty” by Laurell K. Hamilton
37. “Dancing” by Laurell K. Hamilton – My ultra short review
38. “The Water That Falls on You from Nowhere” by John Chu – My review
39. “Jammed “by Seanan McGuire in Games Creatures Play – My review
40. “Salvage” by Carrie Vaughn in Lightspeed Magazine: Women Destroy Science Fiction – My review
41. “A Guide to Grief” by Emily Fox in Lightspeed Magazine: Women Destroy Science Fiction
42.  “Each to Each” by Seanan McGuire in Lightspeed Magazine: Women Destroy Science – My review
43. “A Word Shaped Like Bones” by Kris Millering in Lightspeed Magazine: Women Destroy Science 
44. “Cuts Both Ways” by Heather Clitheroe in Lightspeed Magazine: Women Destroy Science 
45. “The Ink Readers of Doi Saket” by Thomas Olde Heuvelt – My review
46. “If You Were a Dinosaur, My Love” by Rachel Swirsky – My review
47. “Walking Awake” by N.K. Jemisin in Lightspeed Magazine: Women Destroy Science Fiction – My review
48. “WeSa and the Lumber King” by Faith Hunter –  My review
49. “The Early Years” by Faith Hunter –  My review
50. “Haints” by Faith Hunter –  My review
51. “Kits” by Faith Hunter –  My review
52. “First Sight” by Faith Hunter –  My review
53. “Cat Tats” by Faith Hunter –  My review
54. “Signatures of the Dead” by Faith Hunter –  My review
55. “Dance Master” by Faith Hunter –  My review
56. “Cajun With Fangs” by Faith Hunter  –  My review
57. “Beneath a Bloody Moon” by Faith Hunter  –  My review
58. “Opera Vita Aeterna” by Vox Day  –  My review
59. “The Exchange Officers” by Brad Torgersen  – My review
60. “The Lady Astronaut of Mars” by Mary Robinette Kowal
61. “The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling” by Ted Chiang
62. “The Last flight of Doctor Ain” by James Tiptree, Jr. 
63. “The Woman Men Don’t See” by  James Tiptree, Jr. 
64. “The Case of the Passionless Bees” by Rhonda Eikamp
65. “The Girl Who Was Plugged In” by  James Tiptree, Jr. 
66. “The Waiting Stars” by Aliette de Bodard
67. “Cookie Cutter Superhero” by Tansy Rayner Roberts in Kaleidoscope – My Review
68. “Seventh Day of the Seventh Moon” by Ken Liu in Kaleidoscope
69. “For Entertainment Purposes Only” by Jeremiah Tolbert in Help Fund my Robot Army
70. “Zero G R& J” by Mary Robinette Kowal in Help Fund my Robot Army
71. “The Legend Trap” by Sean Williams in Kaleidoscope – My Review
72. “A Memorial to the Patriots” by Jake Kerr in Help Fund my Robot Army
73. “Shedding Skin Or How the World Came to Be” by Jay Lake in Steampunk World
74. “End of Service” by Gabriela Lee in Kaleidoscope – My review
75. “Chupacabra’s Song” by Jim C. Hines  in Kaleidoscope
76. “The Day the God Died” by Alena McNamara in Kaleidoscope
77. “Signature” by Faith Mudge in Kaleidoscope
78. “The Lovely Duckling” by Tim Susman in Kaleidoscope
79. “Kiss and Kiss and Kiss and Tell” by E.C. Myers in Kaleidoscope
80. “Vanilla” by Dirk Flinthart in Kaleidoscope – My Review
81. “Careful Magic” by Karen Healey in Kaleidoscope – My Review
82. “Walkdog” by Sofia Samatar in Kaleidoscope 
83. “Celebration” by Sean Eads  in Kaleidoscope
84. “The Truth About Owls” by Amal El-Mohtar  in Kaleidoscope
85. “Krishna Blue” by Shveta Thakrar in Kaleidoscope
86. “Every Little Thing” by Holly Kench in Kaleidoscope
87. “Happy Go Lucky” by Garth Nix in Kaleidoscope
88. “Ordinary Things” by Vylar Kaftan in Kaleidoscope
89. “Double Time” by John Chu in Kaleidoscope
90. “Welcome” by William Alexander in Kaleidoscope
91. “I want to be a Lioness” by Chuck Wendig in Help Fund my Robot Army
92. “Liberty: Seeking Support For Writ of Habeas Corpus For a Non-human Being” by Samuel Peralta in Help Fund my Robot Army
93. “Help Summon the Most Holy Folded One!” by Harry Connolly in Help Fund my Robot Army
94. “Ponies” by Kij Johnson – My review
95. “Julia Agrippina’s Secret Family Bestiary” by Tansy Roberts in Love and Roman Punk – My review
96. “Lamia Victoriana” by Tansy Roberts in Love and Roman Punk – My review
97. “The Patrician” by Tansy Roberts in Love and Roman Punk – My review
98. “Last of the Romanpunks” by Tansy Roberts in Love and Roman Punk – My review
99. “The Spirit of Mars: Fund a Secret Journey to the Red Plantet” by Andrew Penn Romine in Help Fund my Robot Army
100. “Flash Forward” by Bradley Beaulieu in Help Fund My Robot Army
101. “Hidden Strength” by Jaymee Goh in Steampunk World
102. “West to East” by Jay Lake
103. “Help me Follow my Sister Into The Land of the Dead” by Carmen Maria Machado in Help Fund My Robot Army
104. “Be Careful What You Wish for” by Michael J. Sullivan in Help Fund My Robot Army
105. “A Practical Mechanism for Overcoming the Directionality of Temporal Flow” by David D. Lavine in Help Fund My Robot Army
106. “Graves” by Joe Haldeman in War Stories – I know it is non-fiction, but I am counting it anyway because ha!
107. “If You Were a Tiger, I’d Have to Wear White” by Maria Dahvana Headley in Uncanny – my review
108. “Her Fingers Like Whips, Her Eyes Like Razors” by Jay Lake in Uncanny – my review
109. “Presence” by Ken Liu in Uncanny – my review
110. “Late Nights at the Cape and Cane” by Max Gladstone in Uncanny – my review
111. “Overtime” by Charles Stross
112. “Celia and the Conservation of Entropy” by Amelia Beamer in Uncanny – my review

 Stats

Because I like to track things I decided to keep track of some stats about my short story reading.

Length

Note: I use the Hugo Award category lengths as my guideline when categorizing the short fiction I read.
Flash fiction: 1-1000 words. Short story: 1000-7,500 words  (5-20 pages). Novelette: 7,500-17,500 words (20-50 pages). Novella: 17,500-40,000 (50-145 pages). 1 page ca. 350 words

Publishing year

Who have I been reading

New faces: Genevieve Valentine, Maria Dahvana Headley, Ursula Vernon, Paul Cornell, Sofia Samatar, Malon Edwards, Roger Zelazny, Jannie Lee Simmer, Susan Shwartz , Holly Lisle, Margaret Ball, David Vierling,  Elizabeth Ann Scarboroughin, Jody Lynn Nye, Mark Bourne, Laura Frankos, Elizabeth Waters, Nancy Springer, Lawrence Watt-Evans, Josepha Sherman, Jan Stirling , Melissa Moorer, Kali Wallace, John Chu, Emily Fox, Kris Millering, Heather Clitheroe,  Vox Day, Brad Torgersen, James Tiptree, Jr. , Rhonda Eikamp, Aliette de Bodard, Sean Williams, Jeremiah Tolbert, Gabriela Lee, Alena McNamara, Faith Mudge, Tim Susman, E.C. Myers, Dirk Flinthart, Karen Healey, Sean Eads, Shveta Thakrar, Holly Kench,  Garth Nix,  William Alexander, Samuel Peralta,  Harry Connolly, Kij Johnson,  Andrew Penn Romine, Jaymee Goh,  Carmen Maria Machado,  Michael J. Sullivan, David D. Lavine,  Joe Haldeman, Max Gladstone,  Amelia Beamer

People I read before: Tanya Huff, Charlie Jane Anders, Elisabeth Moon, Thoraiya Dyer, Laurell K. Hamilton, Seanan McGuire, Carrie Vaughn, Rachel Swirsky, N.K. Jemisin, Faith Hunter,  Mary Robinette Kowal, Ted Chiang, Ken Liu, Jay Lake, Jim C. Hines,  Amal El-Mohtar, Charles Stross

That means that I have read 57 new authors and 17 authors I have read before. That means that I have taken a risk on 77% of the short stories I read this year. Some authors has penned more than one story of course but they are only counted once.

Author gender

Author residence

Protagonist gender

If you look over my math you can see that I am not all that good at counting so the gender statistic and the number of authors read do not quite line up. Better luck with that next year. I am not checking again!