Last year I read a short non-fiction about the author's adventures in the most remote parts of India searching for more information and examples of living root bridges. When I saw the photos and learned that they were bridges literally created by growing the roots of trees in certain ways, I was enchanted. My head started thinking about the mythology and folklore that must be behinds these awesome bridges! Then I found out that the people of the area looked at living root bridges the same way we look at a sidewalk. It's functional, not magical. I was disappointed.
Then my brain started thinking, how awesome would it be to read an anthology of short stories with living root bridges. I've always loved anthologies, the different takes the authors have on the topic, the different styles you get introduced to, the myriad of worlds that open up to you. I was already picturing stories based on living root bridges and how they could vary from the fantastical that I had initially thought to the pragmatic that is the reality.
The winner will be selected at random and will receive their choice of a $10 Amazon or Barnes & Noble card!
I would like to see more 10th of December-type collections--The Toast put it best (referencing Black Mirror): what if phones, but too much?
ReplyDeleteI like stories that are near distant future, where technology seems great, but it does something to change humanity.
You should read Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury!
DeletePen Pals. It's my latest obsession. An anthology of stories - mystery, romance, friendship, clash of cultures, language barriers ... The possibilities are endless.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to see an anthology of magical librarians. I know that there are some on librarians and a show on magical librarians but it would be so cool to see stories from Neil Gaiman or even N.K Jemisin do something completely different with that topic.
ReplyDeleteI would like to see an anthology of lots of different stories of different genres featuring owls. They're just my favorite animal and I would love stories that break the tropes of the "old wise owl". I don't know--sounds fun to me!
ReplyDeleteI'd like an anthology involving music in some way, even if it was like a sci-fi anthology so it could even be like music was played as some dangerous thing
ReplyDeleteSpines in a line, Have you read “Exho” by Pam Munoz Ryan? It’s a children’s novel recommended to me by my kiddo’s school librarian. It reads like ana mythology of unrelated stories surrounding a theme of music and then you get this big giant surpsrise of musical love at the end. It’s enchanting!
DeleteThe title is “Echo”...sorry!
DeleteI think it would be cool to have several stories from different people about crazy or funny experiences people had while volunteering overseas in different cultures
ReplyDeleteI am obsessed with giraffes. The is a place in Nairobe, Africa called Giraffe Manor that sounds magical. I would like to see an anthology of places to visit where I can interact with giraffes safely.
ReplyDeleteThat would be a great anthology!
DeleteThe Phoenix Zoo has an area where you can feed the giraffes, and they're known for being an ethical zoo focused on educating and conservation :) it was a really cool experience!
DeleteI would love to see more themed horror anthologies, or an anthology based on stories with animal perspectives. Also, maybe a "fat" anthology, with stories featuring characters of size. :))
ReplyDeleteI'd love to see an anthology about synesthesia and all the different ways it can be experienced!
ReplyDeleteWhat about an anthology of stories from people who have been inpatient at a psychiatric hospital? Talking about what it's like.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to see an anthology where all the stories are written from the villain's perspective.
ReplyDeleteMe too!!
DeleteI second this! Started reading “Because you love to hate me” but do far that one hasn’t really delivered what I hoped to get from it
DeleteI really liked Troll's-Eye View: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002SZUDHA/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
DeleteI'd like to see an anthology of child game-changers from all over the world, like Malala.
ReplyDeletei'd like to see more short stories of people being able to talk/transform into animals. I'm reading Tamora Pierce right now, and some of her characters are able to talk to and transform into animals. It's an interesting concept.
ReplyDeleteI live near the mouth of the Columbia River, between Washington and Oregoon, USA. The area is known as The Graveyard of the Pacific” due to the high number of shipwrecks. Now, the coast guard has a few specially trained captain stationed here whose job it is to board any vessel traveling on the river. They assume control of the vessel, navigate the dangerous areas and disembark, ready for the next ship. I would love to write an anthology of their stories, memorable sailings, crews and vessels.
ReplyDeleteI would like to read an anthology about people experiencing culture shock, and just people experiencing new cultures in general.
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ReplyDeleteI’d like an anthology around living with chronic pain, with a blend of fiction, creative nonfiction, nonfiction and poetry. #spoonies
ReplyDeleteI also would love to read an Anthology of short stories that takes us through the Harry Potter storyline from various Slytherin perspectives 😍😍😍😀
ReplyDeleteYESSS!! This I would love to see!
DeleteI would like to see an anthology of all the versions of one fairly tale spanning across the world. Cinderella is the one that comes to mind-all of the different versions put together would be so fun to read.
ReplyDeleteThat's a fantastic idea. I want that, too!
DeleteI would love to see an anthology of stories where a group of people are in an isolated location and "the murderer is one of us", like And Then There Were None.
ReplyDeleteThat would be amazing!
DeleteSome of the ideas up here already are amazing and someone should get on writing them :)
ReplyDeleteI'd like an anthology on stage life and the sometimes weird circumstances surrounding various theaters.
Or an anthology about a type of myth (ex. creation myth) across cultures. I think it would be neat to see how various cultures came up with different ways to explain their world.
Hmm, I'd love to see some folklore anthologies. Kind of like Native Reality's Deer Woman. It would be so cool to have multiple anthologies collecting legends from different cultures.
ReplyDeleteI grew up reading this one, Tatterhood & Other Tales: https://www.amazon.com/Tatterhood-Feminist-Folktales-Around-World-ebook/dp/B01GNC7YFC/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1525042125&sr=1-1&keywords=tatterhood+and+other+tales&dpID=51ktDwqtDeL&preST=_SY445_QL70_&dpSrc=srch
DeleteStories from Japan, India, and Africa as well as some of the more obscure European tales.
I'd like to see an anthology or I should say more anthologies about lesbian teens and gay teens, non-fiction or fiction, I'm only seen one on lesbian teens.
ReplyDeleteI love to hike, but I love the story of it. I'd live to find an anthology of people's thoughts as they get out in the woods with pictures. Just the revelations, ponderings, and solutions they each come up with on a short walk or month long hikes. Complete with pictures
ReplyDeleteAn anthology of stories told from an animals perspective (think The Art of Racing in the Rain) would be really good. I also like someone else's idea of an anthology of stories told from the "villians" point of view!
ReplyDeleteI think it would be interesting to have an anthology of voicemails people never got to hear like they lost their phone or they passed away and we hear the voicemails they never got to
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of anthologies where an object ties the tales together. I think there is one about a gun, and maybe a dress. I would like to see one with a car. My Dad drove a 1965 fast back Barracuda when I was a kid and I think it would make a great anthology to have stories where a car like that is in each of them so you follow it to various drivers and their stories.
ReplyDeleteI would love to read an anthology about people that live aboard their boats. I've found lots of full length books but a bunch of stories and the diversity among them would be a lot of fun.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to read an anthology on the sea :)
ReplyDeleteMarkets around the world. Especially small ones or ones with specialty items or in unique locations.
ReplyDeleteSince I'm doing this as a family readathon, I'm letting the spuse answer this one. He wants an anthology of wells. Famous wells from history, wells as portals into magical realms, wells as portals into horror (think Ringu/The Ring), adventure stories with secret messages/treasures/doorways hidden behind the bricks of wells, etc.
ReplyDeleteFish out of water stories -- someone that seems out of place, not conforming, but it ends up they are there at the right place/right time.
ReplyDeleteI would adore an anthology of neon signs. Maybe I should go create one!
ReplyDeleteI also love themed anthologies. Would like some to see creepy stories focused on woods/campgrounds. Or more with Haunted Sea stories.
ReplyDeleteI would love one about readers & the books that changed their lives. Just ordinary people who had a moment with a book and it affected how they saw the world.
ReplyDeleteHannah (@MB1098 / hannahbanana98[dot]wordpress[dot]com)
I’m a science nerd so I’d love an anthology of memoirs written by people in unusual medical careers: morgue worker, genetic counselor, biostatistician, etc.
ReplyDeleteHilarious comeuppance. When we're all dying to see a character -- particularly a horrid ex, mean girl or boss -- get theirs. The clever, devious, funny, sarcastic, ironic, karmic whatever stories.
ReplyDeleteI would love to see an anthology that focuses on stories set in different seasons. I am definitely a seasonal reader, so having a focus on Autumn, Fall, Spring, Summer for each set of books would be fun!
ReplyDeleteI would love to see food as a topic for an anthology. I think a few of us has read fiction where we "encountered" yummy food. :-)
ReplyDeleteI don't read many anthology's to be honest. However, I think it would be fun to an anthology of book bloggers finding happy ever afters. I've been on a romance kick lately and who doesn't love book bloggers. I could see a bunch of quick short happy ever afters about book bloggers. They could be super nerdy bookish girls.
ReplyDeleteI think zombies would be great. I love anything and everything zombies.
ReplyDeleteAlso witches are always fun to read about. And fairies and unicorns and mermaids!
Way too many to pick from.
I am not very interested in many anthologies but I could always do with an anthology of fiction serial killer thrillers. or just the good old slash and hash type thrillers.
ReplyDeleteA World themed anthology would be fun. Each fictional story would take place in a different country and would be full of culture, food, and landmarks. The stories would be so vivid that you would feel like you traveled the world through one book.
ReplyDeleteThird attempt to post this comment, Hopefully it works!
ReplyDeleteI live in the Arctic, and have heard a few myths about the Northern Lights and the night sky. An anthology of the myths about the stars and the Northern Lights from different cultures would be fascinating
Life on different planets each story focusing on a different planet and unique creature on the planet and the hardships of living on that planet.
ReplyDeleteOff the top of my head I'd love these anthologies:
ReplyDeleteFat protagonists in various genres of stories.
Small town settings.
The same contemporary theme covered across various cities all over the world.
The menstrual cycle (including trans and nonbinary/queer characters).
Contemporary and fantasy witches.
I really would like an anthology of stuffed animals. I think it would be cool to have an entire series of Velveteen Rabbit inspired stories.
ReplyDeleteI would love to have an anothology about tachnology and how different authors think it's going to change our lifes in the near and distant future. Kind of like in black mirror.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to see an anthology about women artists throughout history, whether real-life figures or fictional ones!
ReplyDeleteI think I'd like to read an anthology of kelpie/selkie stories!
ReplyDeleteI would like to read an anthology about tea! It's kind of my addiction.
ReplyDeleteLol my comment doesn’t seem to have uploaded. Technology hates me. An anthology dedicated to vintage photos would be my jam. Preferably old wedding photos from the 80s.
ReplyDeleteI would like an anthology of stories based on a comic universe Like a group of women writing Lois Lane stories or some Horror stories from the Sandman Universe
ReplyDeletefictionstateofmind@gmail.com
Good question. First thing that comes to mind is dogs. Something a little more special would be dinosaurs. Or all things green. That would be fun too!
ReplyDeleteireneejensen@hotmail.com
Comic Cons
ReplyDeleteI would love to see an anthology based on Comic Cons, comic books, or geeks of any flavor. I think it would be interesting how many directions you could go in.
I would love to see an anthology based on Ernest Cline's Ready Player One world "The Oasis." Like a story from some of the first users, days of being created. Or from a random user after where the book ends, a tale from a Sixer, etc. Just a collection of how different people utilized and enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteI would love to read an anthology about cats and unicorns. It would be such a light and fluffy read!
ReplyDeleteI love prepper, post apocalyptic, and dystopian books. I'd love to see a book about the effects of an emp through the eyes of a major political figure who does it right. Who manages to "reset" the US and how they'd accomplish that with no electricity electronics.
ReplyDeleteI would like to read an anthology about two of my favourite things: typewriters and letters! I'm a typewriter collector and I like to mend the machines and use them to write letters to my friends, so I always wonder who owned the machines I now have in the past, what they used them for, etc. I'm nostalgic, I know :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the mini-challenge!
Epiphanies. I'd love a collection of stories about people experiencing epiphanies in life.
ReplyDeleteIf no one else has done this, I may do it myself.
I love to walk around old cemeteries and am reading Charlie St. Cloud right now, where Charlie works at a cemetery and can see some of the deceased for a time. An anthology about cemeteries would be cool.
ReplyDeleteOne about code-breaking and cryptography would be interesting!
ReplyDeleteAlso, I am loving everyone's responses. I've read through about half of them, and people are SO creative! And now I really need books on all of the above! I'll be back to read the rest of the responses later. Back to my book now. :)
Thanks for hosting such a creative challenge!
I'd like to see an anthology on Ghengis Khan, his family (especially children) and all the conquests.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to read one on small communities, I know there must be more out there than the mainstream ones I know of.
ReplyDeleteI would love to see an anthology based on travel in a specific country. Maybe focusing on very different people and their experiences travel around a country like New Zealand or Iceland. Travel is such a unique experience and your trip depends on so many factors (age, gender, physical ability, introvert vs. extrovert, etc.)
ReplyDeletePerhaps because I’m hungry and can smell my bagel toasting, I’d love to read an anthology of family dinners. Things that folks talk about around the table: maybe someone gets to know their child better, or decides to save (or forego) their marriage, someone comes out of the closet, a long-time family mystery is solved... It’d be a fun read!
ReplyDeleteI would really like to see an anthology based on how cosmetics were used and created in ancient history. I recently watched a drama set in 919 in Korea and saw the women preparing their make-up. It was so beautiful to watch and I think it would be beautiful to read about the creation of it in different cultures.
ReplyDeleteI would love an anthology about the history of “summering” in the Hamptons. I always love stories of summers in the Hamptons.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to see an anthology about what is considered taboo in different parts of the world!
ReplyDeleteI'm fascinated by lighthouses, so I'd love to read an anthology where all the stories are either set in or centred around different lighthouses!
ReplyDeleteI think an anthology of "wrong numbers" could be cool! What if something interesting happened from getting a text or voicemail from a stranger? I know I've gotten some intriguing voicemails before.
ReplyDeleteIn a similar vein, I'm somewhat fascinated by the objects people choose to keep in their lives and what it says about them and their story, so an anthology of stories regarding personal ephemera would be interesting.
I adore anything historical and western...like cowboys, horses, cattle drives, etc...so that could be a fun YA anthology book. Wagon trains, the Pony Express, anything.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who worked in an assisted living facility, seeing an anthology of humors tales of working in elderly care homes would be something I would love to read
ReplyDeleteHmm! I would like to read an anthology that starts with a story and the next author continues the same story, etc, like 12 times. See what comes out! But I think I would like it to be a fantasy anthology.
ReplyDeleteI'd like an anthology about roadside attractions, like the world's largest tea cozy or a museum of monster skulls in the back of a grocery store.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to read an anthology about magical bookstores. Bookstores that are extremely old and have some kind of magic in them and in the books. A bookstore with hidden room and walls that move.
ReplyDeleteThese all sound amazing! I would love to read an anthology about fantasy plots in history. Like pick any time in history, or even an altered history, and write a fantasy story set then. Thanks for an awesome mini-challenge! :)
ReplyDeleteI would love to read an anthology about past lives and the soul plane. I have been super fascinated by books about regression therapy that seemed to lead to people remembering past lives.
ReplyDeleteI think it would be fun to have an anthology about superheroes and what the do on their of time. Like the hulk knitting and superman scrapbooking. I think it could be hilarious.
ReplyDeleteI would like to see a collection about different ways to view humanity. Id start with Brave New World, Siddhartha, and 1984.
ReplyDeletei want a fantasy anthology featuring religious aspects of the fictional worlds! i love reading about fictional religions, and i feel like each author would have a totally different take on it. <3
ReplyDeleteI would love any anthology of of witches and stories about other mythical creatures as well. I love fantasy so I would very much enjoy a book like that.
ReplyDeleteAn anthology of stories taking place in different locations, about all different holidays, each one linked by a character in the previous story.
ReplyDeleteI would want to have an anthology of stories in the eyes of a child going on in school. Each story would be a year of school and what it was like for them.
ReplyDeleteI would love to read an anthology about the thoughts of animals going about their daily lives and their interactions with humans.
ReplyDeleteA Disney sidekick anthology! I absolutely LOVE those little guys (and gals??)!!! They are the cutest, sweetest, best heroes! The main characters wouldn't look half as good without the sidekicks! Totally underrated!
ReplyDeleteI read an anthology once where 3 or 4 of the stories were written as a round-robin - each successive author wrote a story about a minor background character in the previous author's story. It was my favorite part of that book and I would absolutely love a whole anthology of just that, chaining characters along, building a world in the margins but mostly around the theme of chance encounters and the ripple effect of how people affect each other's lives.
ReplyDeleteOr else a less abstract, more concrete idea: the deep ocean. That place is weird and terrifying and magical. Can't get enough of it.
Not sure if it's been done yet or not, but mermaids! I think a fictional book full of short stories about mermaids, kelpies, and selkies would be totally rad. Especially since there's not enough fishy-folk fiction out there!
ReplyDeleteI'd love an anthology about humanoid/animalistic plants. You know, like mandrakes or those folk tales about babies that came out of a flower/fruit. Maybe something creepy like necromancy using plants.
ReplyDeleteWe always have such a sharp divide between the kinds of living things, y'know? Sentient vs. sentient, can feel pain vs. can't feel pain, like us vs. not like us. I'd love an anthology of stories that kind of blur those lines by presenting us with plants that can move and make noise and think. I mean... how creepy is it that fantasy posits that mandrakes look (and sometimes even act) like tiny humans or human babies, but fantasy ALSO has a lot of stuff about how mandrakes are potion ingredients or used in healing salves? What are the ethics of planting, raising, harvesting, and cutting up something that cries like a human baby -- and how does it change if you know that's "just" a plant. How would vegetarians handle discoveries of animalistic plants, or if we one day found out that plants were sentient all along?
idk, I just feel like an anthology like that could go in so many interesting directions.
I'm very lucky, because I LOVE science fiction and there are already so many good science fiction anthologies. I guess what I would really like right now is stories about people going for walks. I'm training for my first long-distance walking trip right now (the West Highland Way, in Scotland) and I want more stories, fiction or non, about people walking for awhile.
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ReplyDeleteMermaids: The anthology of sea deities.
ReplyDeleteso the only anthologies I've ever read have been ones with really cute fluffy love stories, and as much as those are great, I think an anthology of stories focused on platonic relationships would be just as great?!? not sticking to a particular genre at all just, focused on platonic relationships
ReplyDeleteI've just finished reading The Park Bench by Chaboute and I honestly think it would be awesome to see a whole bunch of authors/illustrators create stories based around a park bench. Chaboute kinda does this in his book, but it'd be interesting to see how other authors approach a park bench and what stories can be told.
ReplyDeleteI was just thinking the other day i’d Like to see an anthology about women traveling alone. You could take it in a lot of different directions
ReplyDeleteI’m currently reading a book where one of the characters is a writer and I’d like an anthology revolving around writers and the act of writing. I think it would be cool to have stories where the main character is a writer, but also a story from the perspective of the character being written about, an inside-looking out view of writing; what does the writer look like telling the story and how does it feel to have your story told by someone else. It might get confusing, but I’d be interested in seeing how it could be done.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite thing in stories is LOGISTICS, the weird little hows of things, especially in fantasy/scifi settings. Like, one novel had a whole plot about magic and crop mutations and I LOVED it. So I would love to see an anth about that kind of thing, whether it's scifi and space station maintenance crew/customs officers/whatever or fantasy and mages who plow/have pixie extermination services/whatever. Show me our world's nut & bolts!
ReplyDeleteMy thesis is focusing on love ideals Latinx women hold. I thought I could look at folklore tales for this, but turns out there is almost no research on this! Partly it seems to be a result of not having many translators/interpreters for languages like Mam, but it breaks my heart to think of all the stories we might be losing!
ReplyDeleteI would love an anthology based on local folklore and superstision. I’m from the Netherlands and supernatural stories are usually focused around foreign myths and legends while our country has such amazing story’s of it’s own. I would love to read about Hiplichtjes, Dreutels, Windsbruiden en Blinde Belies sometime.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to read an anthology based on 90's childhood nostalgia. Like a FB meme, but literary.
ReplyDeleteI am a sucker for the original folklore legends, the ones that inspired all of the other stories that came later. I would love an anthology of the legends and fairy tales of the Mediterannean countries talking about sea creatures.
ReplyDeleteFor being a teenager, I have a strange fascination with floral tea sets. So, I would love to read an anthology about floral tea sets.
ReplyDelete