Each week, the lovely Liz Upson gives us all a topic to discuss.  Our topic for the week:

The Art of the Anthology: Your Favorite Collections.

To apologize for utterly failing to post for the last two weeks (I tried, but they were utter gibberish and I just couldn’t manage to un-gibberish them in any kind of meaningful way), I am going to address the topic with deeply unsettling truthiness.  I read anthologies from a wide variety of genres, so I am surprised to confess that the ones that I enjoy the most are typically horror or erotica.  While there are gems to be found in the science fiction and fantasy anthologies and there are many fine editors working in those genres, it’s the steampunk erotica and Chthulu collections that get me to turn off my phone and let the kids order pizza for dinner so I can read.  Weird, but true.

Why Read Anthologies?

It’s a collection of short stories, typically about a topic that you find intriguing, packaged together for a fairly reasonable price.  Your other options for short stories is individual downloads off Amazon or other e-pub sites or else a lit magazine.

1. Magazines feature a more general selection.  They typically won’t stick to a narrow theme the way anthologies will (best science fiction of 2011, cat mysteries, demon horror, etc).  While the tenth short story about dragon fetishists can be tedious, having a variety of authors interpret the same theme is usually interesting to see.  You have only to look at the different number of vampire romance books available to know that people don’t get tired of the same thing.
2. It’s easy.  Instead of looking for individual authors, you get a sampler, a literary plate full of appetizers.  Anthologies are great for reading while you wait in line or need a quick break, especially if you download them to your phone or e-reader.
3. The time involved searching out and ordering anthologies off Amazon is substantially less than researching magazines and figuring out how to order them or checking individual authors to see if they have an shorts available.  They typically do – in an anthology.



4. It’s a low investment way to find new authors to read.  Usually you get a big book of shorts for a moderate price so you aren’t spending six hours reading a novel before finding out if you really like what the author has to say.
5. You are supporting new voices in the genre by purchasing an anthology.  Breaking into publishing with a short anthology piece is a well-worn path for many authors.  By voting with your dollars, you signal to the publishing industry that you want to see more new authors and more of this genre or topic.
6. You can find truly toe-curling niche books like the five I have listed here.