Scan barcode
smay's review against another edition
3.5
Very short stories of which some were great and some were fine. Always hard with such a large volume of stories, but I definitely enjoyed reading it and felt like I got some great inspiration for writing flash fiction myself.
patchworkbunny's review
5.0
The cover blurb calls them contemporary fables and I think it goes some way to categorise this short story collection that I'm finding hard to describe. A little bit whimsical, sometimes dark and all about life, love and death , the stories are short and surreal. The title is apt, at times I felt like I was reading myself a bedtime story for grown-ups.
It starts with a story about a book with no words and a woman that makes the book hugely successful by shouting about it. I think that's a great start myself, so many people give publicity to things when they oppose them. As the book is filled with words we meet a duck that falls in love with a rock, a house that befriends the sea, aliens and monsters, men and women. I especially liked the story about the octopus which has inspired the cover.
I think saying they are reworked versions of age old stories is doing the collection a disservice, but my brain made connections to The Ugly Ducking, The Little Mermaid and The Emperor's New Clothes among others, enough to feel that Loory was inspired by them.
I suppose this is one of those books you're either going to love or hate. It brought a smile to my face and I was reluctant to put it down so it's safe to say I loved it. I'm sure there's lots of analysis that could be done but I'm going to leave it at that!
It starts with a story about a book with no words and a woman that makes the book hugely successful by shouting about it. I think that's a great start myself, so many people give publicity to things when they oppose them. As the book is filled with words we meet a duck that falls in love with a rock, a house that befriends the sea, aliens and monsters, men and women. I especially liked the story about the octopus which has inspired the cover.
I think saying they are reworked versions of age old stories is doing the collection a disservice, but my brain made connections to The Ugly Ducking, The Little Mermaid and The Emperor's New Clothes among others, enough to feel that Loory was inspired by them.
I suppose this is one of those books you're either going to love or hate. It brought a smile to my face and I was reluctant to put it down so it's safe to say I loved it. I'm sure there's lots of analysis that could be done but I'm going to leave it at that!
xsleepyshadows's review against another edition
4.0
A book of short stories with a paranormal or fairytale feeling. I am not a big fan of short stories but I really enjoyed a majority of these! ~Ashley
beastreader's review against another edition
3.0
I am not usually a fan of short stories but when I heard about this book, I knew I had to give it a try. I am so glad that I did. Stories for Nightime and Some for the Day is a fun, kooky, entertaining collection of short stories.
So of the stories I liked better than others. For example: The Book, a story that teaches you to use your imagination. The Octopus, a story that shows you that you can always return home. Also there was the story, The End of It All, about a husband and a wife, where the wife is taken by an alien. The man searches all over to find her to no end. Though, the man never finds his wife, he would not trade anything in the world for the time that he did get to spend with her. Of course, there were some stories that I did not like as well. Than there were the dark stories. Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day has a little bit of everything for everyone to enjoy. Don’t be fooled by the title of this collection of stories and the stories can be read any time of the day or night. I plan to check out more of Mr. Ben Loory’s work.
So of the stories I liked better than others. For example: The Book, a story that teaches you to use your imagination. The Octopus, a story that shows you that you can always return home. Also there was the story, The End of It All, about a husband and a wife, where the wife is taken by an alien. The man searches all over to find her to no end. Though, the man never finds his wife, he would not trade anything in the world for the time that he did get to spend with her. Of course, there were some stories that I did not like as well. Than there were the dark stories. Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day has a little bit of everything for everyone to enjoy. Don’t be fooled by the title of this collection of stories and the stories can be read any time of the day or night. I plan to check out more of Mr. Ben Loory’s work.
annevoi's review against another edition
3.0
This may be the sort of book that you need to savor slowly, a story at a time, but I did not: I hurried through it, simply to get it over with. It consists of 40 very short stories, populated by nameless people and the occasional tea-drinking octopus, walking tree, or play-writing television set, and all manner of weird stuff happens, often with a twist at the end. I suppose the stories might be allegorical, and some of them do give you something to think about in terms of our perceptions of others or our understanding of cause-and-effect or of the nature of dreams (and nightmares). Loory has a wild, extravagant imagination, that's for sure, though the writing style is very plain, as befits a fable or fairy tale. Too plain for me, and many of the stories felt like they might have been written in response to a prompt—too slight to be considered a full-fledged "story." But again, perhaps the effect is different if you, say, take forty days to read the book, and let the mystery or darkness or whimsy or horror of each story settle in you. I will never know.
worm_blizzard's review against another edition
3.0
I apparently started and never finished this book way back in 2011 when it was first released. I know because the bookmark I used was a powerball ticket dated August of 2011.
Most of these stories are a total delight. Occasionally one comes up that doesn't really work for me and seems dumb as hell. Overall a very nice read.
Most of these stories are a total delight. Occasionally one comes up that doesn't really work for me and seems dumb as hell. Overall a very nice read.
mwgerard's review against another edition
5.0
Fabulous! My review is here: http://cineastesbookshelf.blogspot.com/2011/07/review-stories-for-nighttime-and-some.html
- view my book photo here: http://cineastesbookshelf.blogspot.com/2011/07/book-photo-stories-for-nighttime-and.html
- view my book photo here: http://cineastesbookshelf.blogspot.com/2011/07/book-photo-stories-for-nighttime-and.html
balletbookworm's review against another edition
4.0
Lots of short fable-ish stories, some very short. Definitely more in the vein of Philip K Dick and Ray Bradbury without heavy fantasy/fairy tale elements. We had a nice chat with the author and he said something really interesting about caring for.the way a story made you FEEL than the underlying heavy meaning or reading too much into the writing.
emjanereads's review against another edition
3.0
A brief collection made up of 40 short short-stories, Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day was hit or miss for me.
Loory's tales reminded me of reading a Chris Van Allsberg picture book: strong images and a slightly creepy feeling looming throughout. However, I was frustrated that none of his stories had endings (or at least, not endings in a traditional sense). Though I can appreciate the "twist and done" method of finishing a short story, I felt myself longing for more resolution in at least some of the stories.
However, due to the stories' short length, Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day would be an easy book to pick up during those 5-10 minute chunks of spare time in a day.
Loory's tales reminded me of reading a Chris Van Allsberg picture book: strong images and a slightly creepy feeling looming throughout. However, I was frustrated that none of his stories had endings (or at least, not endings in a traditional sense). Though I can appreciate the "twist and done" method of finishing a short story, I felt myself longing for more resolution in at least some of the stories.
However, due to the stories' short length, Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day would be an easy book to pick up during those 5-10 minute chunks of spare time in a day.
katieparker's review against another edition
3.0
UFOs and octopi and talking heads, oh my! The cover of Ben Loory’s Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day is what first drew me to the book, and after reading the review by Unabridged Chick, I knew I needed to download it right then. Inside are forty short (and I mean short) stories about everything from love to revenge and discovery to loss, usually using unexpected subjects.
My favorite story was probably “The House on the Cliff and the Sea,” in which the house and the sea fall in love with each other and try to be together. While the sea struggles to climb the cliff-face, the house tidies up inside to make the sea feel at home. I won’t spoil the outcome, but I will say it was satisfying, which is something I couldn’t say for many of Loory’s stories.
I’ll admit I’m not much of a connoisseur of short stories, but the endings of many of these felt abrupt and vague. I don’t need to be spoon fed the author’s intentions, but I just didn’t get a lot of these. One example is “The Tunnel,” in which a boy ventures into a drainpipe, leaving his friend behind. He eventually reaches the end where there is a door, and when he opens it up, he sees his friend asleep in his room. His friend sees him and screams, and “so the boy reaches out with one gnarled, twisted claw. Together the two boys reach the end.” I don’t even know what happened, much less what it means, and that was a common feeling that I had while reading this book.
Still, I enjoyed the use of fantastical subjects, like martians, animals, and even an opera-loving television set. I read this book while I was on a mini vacation on Washington’s Orcas Island with some friends, and occasionally I would have to read a passage to them, either because it was so amusing or so crazy.
If you’re just looking for something quick and easy to read, maybe something a little fun, then this is a good option. It’s certainly not a new favorite, and I’m a little hesitant to recommend it to a wider audience, but it has its merits and I can see how others might like it more than I did.
And, in case you’re wondering, the stories I liked the most were…
The House on the Cliff and the Sea
UFO: A Love Story
The Girl in the Storm
The Man and the Moose
The Shadow (the shortest, at only 21 words long)
Appendix (which is apparently not one of the other short stories)
My favorite story was probably “The House on the Cliff and the Sea,” in which the house and the sea fall in love with each other and try to be together. While the sea struggles to climb the cliff-face, the house tidies up inside to make the sea feel at home. I won’t spoil the outcome, but I will say it was satisfying, which is something I couldn’t say for many of Loory’s stories.
I’ll admit I’m not much of a connoisseur of short stories, but the endings of many of these felt abrupt and vague. I don’t need to be spoon fed the author’s intentions, but I just didn’t get a lot of these. One example is “The Tunnel,” in which a boy ventures into a drainpipe, leaving his friend behind. He eventually reaches the end where there is a door, and when he opens it up, he sees his friend asleep in his room. His friend sees him and screams, and “so the boy reaches out with one gnarled, twisted claw. Together the two boys reach the end.” I don’t even know what happened, much less what it means, and that was a common feeling that I had while reading this book.
Still, I enjoyed the use of fantastical subjects, like martians, animals, and even an opera-loving television set. I read this book while I was on a mini vacation on Washington’s Orcas Island with some friends, and occasionally I would have to read a passage to them, either because it was so amusing or so crazy.
If you’re just looking for something quick and easy to read, maybe something a little fun, then this is a good option. It’s certainly not a new favorite, and I’m a little hesitant to recommend it to a wider audience, but it has its merits and I can see how others might like it more than I did.
And, in case you’re wondering, the stories I liked the most were…
The House on the Cliff and the Sea
UFO: A Love Story
The Girl in the Storm
The Man and the Moose
The Shadow (the shortest, at only 21 words long)
Appendix (which is apparently not one of the other short stories)