This year for an early Christmas present, my daughter Shannon and my son-in-law Mike gave me Hingston & Olsen Publishing’s 2019 Short Story Advent Calendar.
This present is as delightful as it sounds and looks. In the box, there are twenty-four short stories labeled from 1 to 24. Each story is sealed, waiting to be broken on the appropriate day by the eager reader. As is described on the Advent Calendar website, “this is a collection of literary, non-religious stories for adults.”
So far my favorites have been “Save-A-Lot” by Anthony Doer; “An Errand in the Country” by Olga Grushin; and “Natural Light” by Kathleen Alcott. In fact, I liked Gushin’s story so well that I have requested her novel The Dream Life of Sukhanov through interlibrary loan, and it might very well be the first book I read in 2020.
Naturally, not all the short stories in the collection have resonated with me, and that is to be expected. But what a treat it is to settle into bed with the story of the day, and this sort of advent calendar is a perfect gift for those who love literary fiction.
Many thanks, Mike and Shannon!
Notes From the Hinterland 
You are so welcome!! So glad that you are enjoying them! 🙂
Wonderful present! Many thanks!
What a thoughtful gift!
They know me. 😉
What a wonderful present Laurie, this sounds like a fun advent calendar and it’s such a lovely idea to open a new story each day xxx
It sure is!
What a perfect gift for a writer. A+ to the gift givers. (I’m having trouble with WordPress so can’t ‘like’ posts. I thought I had it fixed, but not so much. :-()
So right for you
It certainly is!
How wonderful! What a great idea.
Sound like a wonderful gift. So thoughtful
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Thanks, Sherlene! It really is.
So much better than 24 chocolates. They must have been delighted when they spotted this – they would have known how much you would appreciate it.
Yes, yes!
What a perfect gift for you! I remember as a child we had a kid’s book of short stories and poems to read daily in anticipation of the BIG day. We loved it. 🙂
A lovely way to mark the days.
What a great idea for an advent calendar… enjoy your stories! 👌😊
Many thanks! I certainly am.
What a thoughtful present. sounds wonderful.
I am enjoying it so much!
What a treat!
It sure is. Also, introducing me to writers that I hadn’t heard of.
This must be a treat! A short story every day!! I would love this.
Quite a treat!
I’ve never heard of such a thing — it’s a wonderful idea, and perfect for you.
It sure is!
It is the perfect gift for you, Laurie! Have a wonderful Christmas season!
Many thanks! Same to you and yours.
One year I received an Advent Calendar that had a different tea for each day. It was fun, and it really expanded my horizons.
Nice! I would love that kind of Advent Calendar, too.
What a thoughtful gift! Twenty-four short stories leave a longer-lasting impression than twenty-four chocolates and some might even improve with a re-telling! Have a very happy Christmas, Laurie!
Many thanks, Clare. Those short stories are a treat.
I’ve never heard of such a thing. What a delightful idea. I’m glad you’re enjoying the stories.
So much fun to have a different story each night.
a wonderful idea!
I’ve enjoyed the Advent Calendar so much.
What a wonderful gift and great idea for the holidays!🙂
What a great idea. I’ve never heard of this style of Advent Calendar before. The ordinary ones, with just a window and a picture, were very much a feature of my childhood.
Mine, too. Quite the treat to read a short story every night in December until Christmas.
I LOVE this! How wonderful!
What a treat it was to read a short story every night in December until Christmas.