Fortnightly Reading Round-Up #1

With no disrespect to the curators behind Vocal’s top stories, I don’t always agree with their choices. While many of the picks are great reads, each week I come across stories that, in my opinion, deserve a place in the spotlight.

To highlight these stories, I have started a bi-weekly round-up of my favourite reads. It’s my way of spreading some reading love, and I hope you give some, if not all, of them a read.

The Promise I Made to a Stranger

I loved this story by Izazkhan about meeting a stranger at the train station. This story about not waiting but starting something touched a chord with me - I should have started (and been consistent) with my writing a long time ago. Izazkhan' story is a beautifully written piece with an important point about how the right moment might never come, so you might as well get on with it.

Shadows Over Soravin - Part 1

While this is not generally the type of fiction I read, there was something about the title that I liked. I often choose books because I like the title, so decided to give the first part of this story by Richard Bailey a try. And I enjoyed it. It is a great first chapter that raises a lot of questions I want to find the answers to. There are more chapters available, which I will check out over the weekend/early next week.

The House That Whispers

Maya has only just joined Vocal, and about the time she did - she is a talented storyteller, and I really enjoyed her story, The House That Whispers. It centres on an abandoned house, one that the locals don’t talk about much. While it is based on the classic idea of a haunted house, Maya gives it a brilliant twist.

Sugar-Laced

Sometimes I agree 100% with Vocal’s team on their top stories, and this is one of those times. I love Dharrsheena Raja Segarran’s metaphorical poem as she contrasts how people are seen by others versus how they really are. And how the same person can be so many things to different people. At first, the poem seems quite playful, but as you read on, it gets another, far deeper layer.

How I Turn Everyday Classroom Chaos into Teachable Moments

In my “previous” life, I was a primary school teacher. I taught in inner London (UK) schools for 16 years, so I am always drawn to articles about teaching, and this one is great. Kelsey Thorn is so right. Some of the best moments I had when teaching came from abandoning the lesson plan. Great read even if you are not in education because we can apply the same theory to life: plans don’t always work, so go with the flow.

Rooms We Leave Behind

Shafi Ulhaq is another new writer on Vocal, but has already published several stories. This is one of my favourites. It is a beautiful story about resilience, and I love the idea of leaving notes for your future self. This was my favourite line from the story:

I didn’t even know who I was without the person I had been trying so hard to be.

How many of us have tried to be someone we are not, only for everything to fall into pieces?

Resilient Light

This is a wonderful poem by Printique Studios about grief and how light will always find its way in. I love the idea and the imagery of how nature simply carries on. It doesn’t ask for our permission. Life goes on just the same, regardless of what is happening to us. But in the end, there is always the possibility of hope and healing.

Dad Jokes for the Office: The Ultimate Collection to Crack Up Your Coworkers

Sometimes the world seems a very dark place, so it is great to inject some humour into it, and who doesn’t like a good dad joke? Thank you, JokeJester, for bringing some laughter into life with your collection of dad jokes. The article also includes useful tips on telling dad jokes in the office. Here’s my favourite:

I’m reading a book about anti-gravity at work. It’s impossible to put down.

The True Story of Sam

The True Story of Sam by Tim Carmichael is a story about an imaginary friend. There are probably as many stories about imaginary friends as there are about haunted houses, but I love Tim’s take on it, especially this:

He said he was what’s left of the part of me that still believed and wondered.

Why do we so often stop to wonder as we grow up?

Midsummer in Finland

Put the word Finland in the title and I’ll read it - for context, I grew up in Finland, the happiest country in the world. Susan Fourtané starts this piece with a great midsummer haiku and then moves on to write about midsummer in Finland. Very accurately, I’m pleased to say. I’m impressed with her knowledge and left wondering, is she a secret Finn?

That completes the first list of my reading recommendations.

I hope you find the time to check out at least some of these stories, and when you do, let me know in the comments which one(s) you read and which were your favourites. You can also add your recommendations in the comments, and I promise to check them out. No self-promotion, though - let’s keep this a place to highlight other writers.

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