Karla E. Melendez
@karlaemelendez.bsky.social
My flash, Dollhouse, in on The Squawk Back: https://www.thesquawkback.com/2024/12/karla-e-melendez.html#more
Short Stories on Medium: https://medium.com/@torbataso
Now reading:
Short Stories on Medium: https://medium.com/@torbataso
Now reading:
Parable of the Sower, by Octavia E. Butler
WILMAI: How prescient it is, how real the characters and the world are. How individuals who have lost it all find each other and band together to survive, it the hopes of forming a healing community.
WILMAI: How prescient it is, how real the characters and the world are. How individuals who have lost it all find each other and band together to survive, it the hopes of forming a healing community.
November 28, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Parable of the Sower, by Octavia E. Butler
WILMAI: How prescient it is, how real the characters and the world are. How individuals who have lost it all find each other and band together to survive, it the hopes of forming a healing community.
WILMAI: How prescient it is, how real the characters and the world are. How individuals who have lost it all find each other and band together to survive, it the hopes of forming a healing community.
Wild Nights, by Kim Addonizio
WILMAI: A collection of her poems from 1994 to 2015. As always, they’re frank, honest, at times edgy and gritty. Universal feelings are dissected. Lives alien to me are explored.
WILMAI: A collection of her poems from 1994 to 2015. As always, they’re frank, honest, at times edgy and gritty. Universal feelings are dissected. Lives alien to me are explored.
November 22, 2025 at 6:36 PM
Wild Nights, by Kim Addonizio
WILMAI: A collection of her poems from 1994 to 2015. As always, they’re frank, honest, at times edgy and gritty. Universal feelings are dissected. Lives alien to me are explored.
WILMAI: A collection of her poems from 1994 to 2015. As always, they’re frank, honest, at times edgy and gritty. Universal feelings are dissected. Lives alien to me are explored.
Butter, by Asako Yuzuki, trans by Polly Barton
WILMAI: The protagonist’s character growth, first going through similarities to the antagonist, then diverging radically so her end is diametrically opposite from the antagonist.
WILMAI: The protagonist’s character growth, first going through similarities to the antagonist, then diverging radically so her end is diametrically opposite from the antagonist.
November 4, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Butter, by Asako Yuzuki, trans by Polly Barton
WILMAI: The protagonist’s character growth, first going through similarities to the antagonist, then diverging radically so her end is diametrically opposite from the antagonist.
WILMAI: The protagonist’s character growth, first going through similarities to the antagonist, then diverging radically so her end is diametrically opposite from the antagonist.
Cathedral, by Raymond Carver
WILMAI: It’s clear that Gordon Lish was Raymond Carver’s editor. The repetition style is very much reflective of Lish, and it’s not unlike Amy Hempel’s and Tom Spanbauer’s repetition. And yet the style is all Carver’s, and the stories, and the themes.
WILMAI: It’s clear that Gordon Lish was Raymond Carver’s editor. The repetition style is very much reflective of Lish, and it’s not unlike Amy Hempel’s and Tom Spanbauer’s repetition. And yet the style is all Carver’s, and the stories, and the themes.
October 8, 2025 at 5:55 AM
Cathedral, by Raymond Carver
WILMAI: It’s clear that Gordon Lish was Raymond Carver’s editor. The repetition style is very much reflective of Lish, and it’s not unlike Amy Hempel’s and Tom Spanbauer’s repetition. And yet the style is all Carver’s, and the stories, and the themes.
WILMAI: It’s clear that Gordon Lish was Raymond Carver’s editor. The repetition style is very much reflective of Lish, and it’s not unlike Amy Hempel’s and Tom Spanbauer’s repetition. And yet the style is all Carver’s, and the stories, and the themes.
The Plague, by Kevin Chong
WILMAI: The clear use of various writing techniques: the establishment of the omni voice at the start, the purposeful authorial interjection, the natural weaving in of reader context warnings. I also love that it’s set in a Canadian city, Vancouver.
WILMAI: The clear use of various writing techniques: the establishment of the omni voice at the start, the purposeful authorial interjection, the natural weaving in of reader context warnings. I also love that it’s set in a Canadian city, Vancouver.
September 21, 2025 at 6:46 PM
The Plague, by Kevin Chong
WILMAI: The clear use of various writing techniques: the establishment of the omni voice at the start, the purposeful authorial interjection, the natural weaving in of reader context warnings. I also love that it’s set in a Canadian city, Vancouver.
WILMAI: The clear use of various writing techniques: the establishment of the omni voice at the start, the purposeful authorial interjection, the natural weaving in of reader context warnings. I also love that it’s set in a Canadian city, Vancouver.
Milkman, by Anna Burns
WILMAI: Unusual writing technique, where no character is given a proper name aside from two, and there is a plethora of commas and adjectives, all done to immerse the reader in the unusualness of the situation lived by the protagonist in the 1970s during The Troubles.
WILMAI: Unusual writing technique, where no character is given a proper name aside from two, and there is a plethora of commas and adjectives, all done to immerse the reader in the unusualness of the situation lived by the protagonist in the 1970s during The Troubles.
September 20, 2025 at 5:01 PM
Milkman, by Anna Burns
WILMAI: Unusual writing technique, where no character is given a proper name aside from two, and there is a plethora of commas and adjectives, all done to immerse the reader in the unusualness of the situation lived by the protagonist in the 1970s during The Troubles.
WILMAI: Unusual writing technique, where no character is given a proper name aside from two, and there is a plethora of commas and adjectives, all done to immerse the reader in the unusualness of the situation lived by the protagonist in the 1970s during The Troubles.
Beneath the Moon: Fairy Tales, Myths, and Divine Stories from Around the World, by Yoshi Yoshitani.
WILMAI: Beautifully illustrated. Provides a one-page summary of the stories. I wish the whole story had been included, but the title makes it easier to search for the stories that interest the most.
WILMAI: Beautifully illustrated. Provides a one-page summary of the stories. I wish the whole story had been included, but the title makes it easier to search for the stories that interest the most.
August 25, 2025 at 3:54 PM
Beneath the Moon: Fairy Tales, Myths, and Divine Stories from Around the World, by Yoshi Yoshitani.
WILMAI: Beautifully illustrated. Provides a one-page summary of the stories. I wish the whole story had been included, but the title makes it easier to search for the stories that interest the most.
WILMAI: Beautifully illustrated. Provides a one-page summary of the stories. I wish the whole story had been included, but the title makes it easier to search for the stories that interest the most.
Wilderness Tips, by Margaret Atwood
WILMAI: The study of human behaviour, of the messiness of life, through fiction: surviving betrayals–romantic and otherwise, aging, continuing to live after losing a best friend, etc. Margaret Atwood is awesome at showing us our humanity.
WILMAI: The study of human behaviour, of the messiness of life, through fiction: surviving betrayals–romantic and otherwise, aging, continuing to live after losing a best friend, etc. Margaret Atwood is awesome at showing us our humanity.
August 1, 2025 at 5:25 PM
Wilderness Tips, by Margaret Atwood
WILMAI: The study of human behaviour, of the messiness of life, through fiction: surviving betrayals–romantic and otherwise, aging, continuing to live after losing a best friend, etc. Margaret Atwood is awesome at showing us our humanity.
WILMAI: The study of human behaviour, of the messiness of life, through fiction: surviving betrayals–romantic and otherwise, aging, continuing to live after losing a best friend, etc. Margaret Atwood is awesome at showing us our humanity.
Demian, by Hermann Hesse
WILMAI: The philosophical study of good and evil present in all humans, of the fact that the world is gradations of grey, all told within the narrative and development of the plot.
WILMAI: The philosophical study of good and evil present in all humans, of the fact that the world is gradations of grey, all told within the narrative and development of the plot.
July 25, 2025 at 6:37 PM
Demian, by Hermann Hesse
WILMAI: The philosophical study of good and evil present in all humans, of the fact that the world is gradations of grey, all told within the narrative and development of the plot.
WILMAI: The philosophical study of good and evil present in all humans, of the fact that the world is gradations of grey, all told within the narrative and development of the plot.
Nightfall and Other Stories, by Isaac Asimov
WILMAI: Asimov’s incredibly prolific imagination. I also love that the stories are chock full of techniques a writer can study and analyse to enrich their own writing.
WILMAI: Asimov’s incredibly prolific imagination. I also love that the stories are chock full of techniques a writer can study and analyse to enrich their own writing.
July 6, 2025 at 8:46 PM
Nightfall and Other Stories, by Isaac Asimov
WILMAI: Asimov’s incredibly prolific imagination. I also love that the stories are chock full of techniques a writer can study and analyse to enrich their own writing.
WILMAI: Asimov’s incredibly prolific imagination. I also love that the stories are chock full of techniques a writer can study and analyse to enrich their own writing.
Stone Mattress, by Margaret Atwood
WILMAI: Nine stories that show how awful humanity can really be, but not in a preachy way at all. An absolutely fun read!
WILMAI: Nine stories that show how awful humanity can really be, but not in a preachy way at all. An absolutely fun read!
June 27, 2025 at 3:57 PM
Stone Mattress, by Margaret Atwood
WILMAI: Nine stories that show how awful humanity can really be, but not in a preachy way at all. An absolutely fun read!
WILMAI: Nine stories that show how awful humanity can really be, but not in a preachy way at all. An absolutely fun read!
The Wind’s Twelve Quarters, by Ursula K Le Guin
WILMAI: Each short story starts with Le Guin’s thoughts on the story she wrote: where the inspiration came from, what novel it engendered (if it did), what influenced the story. The stories themselves are full of imagination, but so believable, too.
WILMAI: Each short story starts with Le Guin’s thoughts on the story she wrote: where the inspiration came from, what novel it engendered (if it did), what influenced the story. The stories themselves are full of imagination, but so believable, too.
June 2, 2025 at 5:20 PM
The Wind’s Twelve Quarters, by Ursula K Le Guin
WILMAI: Each short story starts with Le Guin’s thoughts on the story she wrote: where the inspiration came from, what novel it engendered (if it did), what influenced the story. The stories themselves are full of imagination, but so believable, too.
WILMAI: Each short story starts with Le Guin’s thoughts on the story she wrote: where the inspiration came from, what novel it engendered (if it did), what influenced the story. The stories themselves are full of imagination, but so believable, too.
What We See When We Read, by Peter Mendelsund
WILMAI: A treatise from a visual artist, book cover designer, recovering classical pianist, and writer, on what actually happens in our brains and minds when we read. Intuitive and common-sensical, yet eye opening.
WILMAI: A treatise from a visual artist, book cover designer, recovering classical pianist, and writer, on what actually happens in our brains and minds when we read. Intuitive and common-sensical, yet eye opening.
May 16, 2025 at 5:46 PM
What We See When We Read, by Peter Mendelsund
WILMAI: A treatise from a visual artist, book cover designer, recovering classical pianist, and writer, on what actually happens in our brains and minds when we read. Intuitive and common-sensical, yet eye opening.
WILMAI: A treatise from a visual artist, book cover designer, recovering classical pianist, and writer, on what actually happens in our brains and minds when we read. Intuitive and common-sensical, yet eye opening.
The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson
WILMAI: Entirely different from the Netflix series, though I can see what elements and characters the series pulled from the book. It’s a hauntingly wonderful story, and the ending gave me absolute chills. You must read it to understand why.
WILMAI: Entirely different from the Netflix series, though I can see what elements and characters the series pulled from the book. It’s a hauntingly wonderful story, and the ending gave me absolute chills. You must read it to understand why.
May 2, 2025 at 3:58 PM
The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson
WILMAI: Entirely different from the Netflix series, though I can see what elements and characters the series pulled from the book. It’s a hauntingly wonderful story, and the ending gave me absolute chills. You must read it to understand why.
WILMAI: Entirely different from the Netflix series, though I can see what elements and characters the series pulled from the book. It’s a hauntingly wonderful story, and the ending gave me absolute chills. You must read it to understand why.
Human Acts, by Han Kang
WILMAI: A very human perspective of what people endure in the name of freedom and democracy. This is an account of the Gwuangju democratic uprising in South Korea. If you think it can’t happen elsewhere, think again.
WILMAI: A very human perspective of what people endure in the name of freedom and democracy. This is an account of the Gwuangju democratic uprising in South Korea. If you think it can’t happen elsewhere, think again.
May 1, 2025 at 8:50 PM
Human Acts, by Han Kang
WILMAI: A very human perspective of what people endure in the name of freedom and democracy. This is an account of the Gwuangju democratic uprising in South Korea. If you think it can’t happen elsewhere, think again.
WILMAI: A very human perspective of what people endure in the name of freedom and democracy. This is an account of the Gwuangju democratic uprising in South Korea. If you think it can’t happen elsewhere, think again.
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, by John Berendt
WILMAI: A non-fiction book that totally reads like fiction. The cast of characters is superb and Savannah is magical. Makes me want to visit!
WILMAI: A non-fiction book that totally reads like fiction. The cast of characters is superb and Savannah is magical. Makes me want to visit!
April 10, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, by John Berendt
WILMAI: A non-fiction book that totally reads like fiction. The cast of characters is superb and Savannah is magical. Makes me want to visit!
WILMAI: A non-fiction book that totally reads like fiction. The cast of characters is superb and Savannah is magical. Makes me want to visit!
Solito, by Javier Zamora
WILMAI: A courageous account of a nine year-old boy who migrates alone from El Salvador to Tucson, through the Sonora Desert, and the people he meets and befriends along the way.
WILMAI: A courageous account of a nine year-old boy who migrates alone from El Salvador to Tucson, through the Sonora Desert, and the people he meets and befriends along the way.
April 10, 2025 at 1:03 AM
Solito, by Javier Zamora
WILMAI: A courageous account of a nine year-old boy who migrates alone from El Salvador to Tucson, through the Sonora Desert, and the people he meets and befriends along the way.
WILMAI: A courageous account of a nine year-old boy who migrates alone from El Salvador to Tucson, through the Sonora Desert, and the people he meets and befriends along the way.