Inspiration

De door corona opgelegde onthaasting van de laatste maanden heeft heel wat voordelen gehad. Niet alleen probeer ik veel nieuwe dingen uit, maar ik ontdek ook nog dagelijks nieuwe inspiratiebronnen. 

The slowing down imposed by corona during the past few months has had many advantages.
Not only do I try out a lot of new things, but every day I discover new inspiration sources as well.

Eén daarvan is Goodreads.
Aangezien deze boekensite een internationaal publiek trekt, is de voertaal er Engels. Daarom heb ik besloten om mijn blogartikels in het vervolg zowel in het Nederlands als in het Engels te schrijven. Op die manier kunnen zowel mijn 'oude Nederlandstalige vrienden' van Hebban als mijn 'nieuwe Engelstalige vrienden' van Goodreads lezen wat mij in het dagelijks leven inspiratie geeft.


One of them is Goodreads.
Since this book site is visited by an international audience, the language used to communicate with each other is English. That's why I've decided to write my articles both in Dutch and English from now on. That way, both my 'old Dutchspeaking friends' from Hebban (Dutch booksite) and my 'new Englishspeaking friends' from Goodreads can read about what inspires me in everyday life.

Over NetGalley had ik al wel gehoord. Je kan er gratis Engelstalige boeken lezen - vaak zelfs al vóór ze in de winkel liggen - in ruil voor een eerlijke recensie. Maar aangezien ik vroeger zelden e-boeken las, was ik nooit echt geïnteresseerd in deze website.
Om verschillende redenen heb ik nu echter besloten om eindelijk toch een e-reader aan te schaffen. Mijn liefde voor papieren boeken is er nog steeds en zal nooit verdwijnen. Toch denk ik dat beiden een mooie aanvulling kunnen vormen op elkaar en dus staat de aankoop van een Kobo deze week gepland.



Although I'd already heard about NetGalley - where you can read English books (often ARCs) for free in exchange for an honest review - I was never really interested in this website before, because I rarely read e-books.
For various reasons however, I've decided to finally buy an e-reader. Though my love for paper books will never disappear, I'm now convinced that both ways of reading can be a nice addition to each other and so the purchase of a Kobo is planned this week.

Uit nieuwsgierigheid ging ik al eens een kijkje nemen op NetGalley en mijn oog viel op een boek met de titel A Small Fiction, een bundel met allemaal zeer korte verhalen van maximum 140 tekens.
De bedoeling was om gewoon even uit te proberen hoe het downloaden verliep en dan te wachten met lezen tot ik mijn e-reader heb.
 
Tot zover mijn goede voornemen...
Tijdens het doorbladeren van het boek begon ik te lezen.
Eén verhaaltje, ach nog eentje en een laatste om het af te leren.
Voor ik het wist, was ik zo verslaafd aan deze miniverhaaltjes met donkere humor dat het boek uit was.
Intussen heeft James Mark Miller, die op zijn Twitter-account nog regelmatig verhaaltjes blijft posten, er dus een fan bij.
Benieuwd geworden? Lees dan mijn recensie hieronder of op Goodreads!
Ter info: de recensie is enkel Engelstalig, omdat er nog geen vertaling verschenen is.


Out of curiosity, I already went to NetGalley to take a look at the catalogue. My eye was caught by a book entitled A Small Fiction, a bundle with short stories of maximum 140 characters each.
The idea was to just try out how the downloading functions and then wait to read the book until I've got my e-reader.

So far for my good intention ...   
While leafing through the book I started reading.
One story, then one more and oh, what the heck, another one.
Before I knew, I was so addicted to these short stories full of dark humour that I finished the whole book.
And that's how James Mark Miller, who continues to regularly post the short stories on Twitter, got a new fan.
Did I spark your curiosity? Then read my review below or on Goodreads!

A Small Fiction

Do you remember what Forrest Gump's mother always said?
"Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get."

"The same applies to A Small Fiction," says Tau and as a Belgian she can know
That the chocolates in this book are really delicious. In one word: "Wow!"

Don't be fooled by the packaging

Whether the cover appeals to you or not, pick up this book!
You will be pleasantly surprised.
Over and over again.

Because - like the title already says - it is all about 'small fiction'.
As in: lots of little stories of just a few sentences and maximum 140 characters.
What started as an exercice in creativity on Twitter, became an almost daily habit and resulted in this book.

There's no arguing about taste

That is a truism.
But the good news is: there's for everyone's taste in here.
Philosophical and poetic observations, science-fiction with robots and aliens, fantasy with ghosts and death and oracles, romances with a twist, …
Even a true wedding proposal!

You never know what you're gonna get

At first sight the stories are published in random order and not by theme or genre (although several themes keep coming back throughout the book and some may appeal more to you than others).
But when you look a little closer, you begin to see that there is always some connection between two successive stories. Sometimes it's the setting, sometimes just a keyword. Anyway, it's nice to see that the book was compiled with so much eye for detail.

Although you never know where the next story may take you, there are a few constants.
Several stories contain references to poems, books, … (always fun if you recognize them)
Others are supported by pictures made by Jefferson Miller, the brother of James Miller (the author). These black and white pictures often form a beautiful symbiosis with the words.
There is also a lot of inventive wordplay, which will delight language lovers.
And most importantly, there is humour in abundance. From witty over absurd to mostly dark.

Beware: as addictive as chocolate

This is definitely a book to read and reread, especially when you can use a bit(e) of inspiration or humour to brighten up your day!
And if you need a higher dose, you can always take a look on the Twitter-account of A Small Fiction where new stories are still regularly posted or on the website ;-)


*Disclaimer: Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this free e-book in exchange for an honest review.