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midici's review
4.0
I cannot believe this story is from 2015 - it touches on so much of what is currently unfolding that it seems like fortune-telling to have had this story out in the world 5 years ago.
So Much Cooking is written in the form of short blog posts by the narrator, Natalie. While the blog posts start out as a typical food blog, the edges start to blur as the reality of a pandemic affects Natalie.
There's mention of social distancing, of food shortages, of people trying to isolate themselves so they don't affect others, but none of that is the focus either. Instead the focus is on Natalie's slowly growing family as she and her husband take in more and more children as the pandemic worsens, and attempts to keep them all fed with a dwindling supply of food.
It's almost impossible not to like Natalie, who creatively uses everything available to try and spread out food, who is dealing with 6 children (only some of them related to her), who is worried over her sister-in-law and who keeps up her blog in order to maintain her sanity.
I found this short story on Clarkesworld here: http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/kritzer_11_15/
*Re-read, 2022*
A comfort re-read at the start of another pandemic year.
Merged review:
I cannot believe this story is from 2015 - it touches on so much of what is currently unfolding that it seems like fortune-telling to have had this story out in the world 5 years ago.
So Much Cooking is written in the form of short blog posts by the narrator, Natalie. While the blog posts start out as a typical food blog, the edges start to blur as the reality of a pandemic affects Natalie.
There's mention of social distancing, of food shortages, of people trying to isolate themselves so they don't affect others, but none of that is the focus either. Instead the focus is on Natalie's slowly growing family as she and her husband take in more and more children as the pandemic worsens, and attempts to keep them all fed with a dwindling supply of food.
It's almost impossible not to like Natalie, who creatively uses everything available to try and spread out food, who is dealing with 6 children (only some of them related to her), who is worried over her sister-in-law and who keeps up her blog in order to maintain her sanity.
I found this short story on Clarkesworld here: http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/kritzer_11_15/
*Re-read, 2022*
A comfort re-read at the start of another pandemic year.
So Much Cooking is written in the form of short blog posts by the narrator, Natalie. While the blog posts start out as a typical food blog, the edges start to blur as the reality of a pandemic affects Natalie.
There's mention of social distancing, of food shortages, of people trying to isolate themselves so they don't affect others, but none of that is the focus either. Instead the focus is on Natalie's slowly growing family as she and her husband take in more and more children as the pandemic worsens, and attempts to keep them all fed with a dwindling supply of food.
It's almost impossible not to like Natalie, who creatively uses everything available to try and spread out food, who is dealing with 6 children (only some of them related to her), who is worried over her sister-in-law and who keeps up her blog in order to maintain her sanity.
I found this short story on Clarkesworld here: http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/kritzer_11_15/
*Re-read, 2022*
A comfort re-read at the start of another pandemic year.
Merged review:
I cannot believe this story is from 2015 - it touches on so much of what is currently unfolding that it seems like fortune-telling to have had this story out in the world 5 years ago.
So Much Cooking is written in the form of short blog posts by the narrator, Natalie. While the blog posts start out as a typical food blog, the edges start to blur as the reality of a pandemic affects Natalie.
There's mention of social distancing, of food shortages, of people trying to isolate themselves so they don't affect others, but none of that is the focus either. Instead the focus is on Natalie's slowly growing family as she and her husband take in more and more children as the pandemic worsens, and attempts to keep them all fed with a dwindling supply of food.
It's almost impossible not to like Natalie, who creatively uses everything available to try and spread out food, who is dealing with 6 children (only some of them related to her), who is worried over her sister-in-law and who keeps up her blog in order to maintain her sanity.
I found this short story on Clarkesworld here: http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/kritzer_11_15/
*Re-read, 2022*
A comfort re-read at the start of another pandemic year.
civil6512's review
5.0
I loved "Cat Pictures Please and Other Stories". In this format, writers don't have to focus on character depth or evolution, nor even on having a solid plot to develop. Instead, they can propose the craziest idea, give you some of it, and leave you hoping for more (and imagining it yourself).
Time travel, magic, disease, love, AIs... The range of topics is great and there was no single story worth less than 3.5 stars (and many with solid 4, 4.5, and 5s). Probably the fairest score (based on my personal criteria) would be a 4.5, but since Goodreads doesn't do that, I'm rounding up :-)
Time travel, magic, disease, love, AIs... The range of topics is great and there was no single story worth less than 3.5 stars (and many with solid 4, 4.5, and 5s). Probably the fairest score (based on my personal criteria) would be a 4.5, but since Goodreads doesn't do that, I'm rounding up :-)
kbhenrickson's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
This is one of the rare books of short stories where I actually liked every story, and many I really liked. Some favorites were:
-"Cat Pictures Please"
-"The Golem"
-"Cleanout"
-"Scrap Dragon"
-"Bits"
-"So Much Cooking" (I couldn't believe that this was written in 2015 - some of the parallels with how things really were in 2020 was uncanny.)
-"Cat Pictures Please"
-"The Golem"
-"Cleanout"
-"Scrap Dragon"
-"Bits"
-"So Much Cooking" (I couldn't believe that this was written in 2015 - some of the parallels with how things really were in 2020 was uncanny.)
boggremlin's review
3.0
I've had a saved link to this story in my email since it came out in 2015 but just sat down to read it tonight. Of course I didn't have a synopsis at hand, just plunged in, and oh, golly: the pandemic desperation and bitter humor in this little novellete was really ahead of its time.
Merged review:
I've had a saved link to this story in my email since it came out in 2015 but just sat down to read it tonight. Of course I didn't have a synopsis at hand, just plunged in, and oh, golly: the pandemic desperation and bitter humor in this little novellete was really ahead of its time.
Merged review:
I've had a saved link to this story in my email since it came out in 2015 but just sat down to read it tonight. Of course I didn't have a synopsis at hand, just plunged in, and oh, golly: the pandemic desperation and bitter humor in this little novellete was really ahead of its time.
shellbellbell's review
3.0
DNF. Read the first few stories, and while they were ok, they didn't grab me enough to want to finish the book when I had others on my list.
carolainam's review
4.0
No me creo que esto se publicase en el 2015.
Merged review:
No me creo que esto se publicase en el 2015.
Merged review:
No me creo que esto se publicase en el 2015.
greatcolorsalad's review
5.0
4 and a half stars. Thoroughly enjoyed this book. A few of the stories towards the end weren't the best but still very good!
aiight's review
3.0
This was a really nice collection of sci fi/fantasy short stories, I quite enjoyed it. 'Cat Pictures Please' is an obvious standout, but there are many good ones that leave you in a lingering state of reflection that is my mark for a good short story. There are 2-3 bad apples (and they were very bad) but they didn't spoil it for me. Good, concise prose. You could really feel the different voices of each narrator. The stories didn't get mired in the tech or magic or what have you; they generally had good characterization and plot. Not much development in setting on most but that's understandable.
ashkitty93's review
5.0
Delightful. I was reminded of Murderbot but with a bigger cat obsession.
Popsugar 2022: Hugo Award winner
Popsugar 2022: Hugo Award winner