Sometimes you just don't have time to read a whole book. There are times when all you want is to pick something up, put it down again a short time later and be left fully satisfied. You don't want to have another 200 odd pages to read (and usually more in todays market of huge thick tomes) to reach the conclusion. It's one reason why in our busy Kiwi lifestyle, magazines are so popular (which is a topic for another day).
One solution is to dive into the Rodney Libraries collection of short stories and anthologies of new Zealand fiction (whether extracts from longer workers or stand alone stories). This is also an excellent way to sample lots of different authors, both new and old, to find someone that takes your fancy who you can go ahead and read more of.
Volume 6 of the Best New Zealand Fiction (edited by Owen Marshall) is due to hit our shelves soon. But in the meantime you can wander through Volumes 1 to 5 which includes stories and excerpts from authors such as Lloyd Jones, Charlotte Grimshaw, Karyn Hay and Paula Morris among others.
The 2009 Huia Short stories compilation is another book due later this month. These are the best short stories and novel extracts from the Pikihuia Awards for Māori Writers 2009 and includes local author Jacquie McRae. Earlier volumes of the Huia publication which covers the best in Maori fiction can be found in our catalogue.
We have 220 entries if we do a subject search in our catalogue for New Zealand Short stories so there is something for everyone, including the children and teen readers. The majority of the short story collections are shelved with the general fiction, but just ask the librarians for help if you can't find what you are looking for.
And... reading some short stories is a good chance to get yourself in the mood to do some writing yourself with the 2009/2010 Rodney Writes competition just around the corner. Entry forms should be arriving in the libraries soon.
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