K Russell Breakstone
@krussellbreakstone.bsky.social
Writer and teacher.
@loriostlund.bsky.social I really admire how the family stories are both surreal and yet feel so true. How much were they based on real life?
January 7, 2026 at 12:23 PM
@loriostlund.bsky.social I really admire how the family stories are both surreal and yet feel so true. How much were they based on real life?
I hear if you plug a Game Genie into the Bible it unlocks secret levels.
January 7, 2026 at 12:27 AM
I hear if you plug a Game Genie into the Bible it unlocks secret levels.
Maybe they wouldn't have died if they'd known how to double jump???
January 6, 2026 at 1:22 AM
Maybe they wouldn't have died if they'd known how to double jump???
I'm curious how other artists keep track of their submissions and magazines they can submit to. I have a massive spreadsheet that I update each time I get The Best American Short Stories, since they include a list of literary magazines they take submissions.
January 5, 2026 at 5:21 PM
I'm curious how other artists keep track of their submissions and magazines they can submit to. I have a massive spreadsheet that I update each time I get The Best American Short Stories, since they include a list of literary magazines they take submissions.
As I read I kept having these flashes of San Francisco skyscrapers and being on a bus... Then I realized I'd been reading 2024's Best American Short Stories while visiting my friend @pebby in San Francisco. It's so weird how memory works.
January 4, 2026 at 5:27 AM
As I read I kept having these flashes of San Francisco skyscrapers and being on a bus... Then I realized I'd been reading 2024's Best American Short Stories while visiting my friend @pebby in San Francisco. It's so weird how memory works.
I started the wonderful story "Just Another Family" by @loriostlund.bsky.social and got the strongest sense of deja vu... It turns out it had also been printed in 2024's Best American Short Stories, edited by @legroff.bsky.social . And it deserves it, such an incredible story.
January 4, 2026 at 5:27 AM
I started the wonderful story "Just Another Family" by @loriostlund.bsky.social and got the strongest sense of deja vu... It turns out it had also been printed in 2024's Best American Short Stories, edited by @legroff.bsky.social . And it deserves it, such an incredible story.
I related way too hard from this moment in Ling Ma's fantastic story "Winner."
January 3, 2026 at 3:57 AM
I related way too hard from this moment in Ling Ma's fantastic story "Winner."
Long has passed the age of the Earl of Sandwich. We see now the waning influence of the Earl of Wraps and witness the rise of the Earl of Bowls.
January 3, 2026 at 3:26 AM
Long has passed the age of the Earl of Sandwich. We see now the waning influence of the Earl of Wraps and witness the rise of the Earl of Bowls.
I love Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, it might actually be my favorite of Martin's??? It's certainly the most rereadable. And also it has (multiple) endings, which is saying something.
December 31, 2025 at 11:14 PM
I love Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, it might actually be my favorite of Martin's??? It's certainly the most rereadable. And also it has (multiple) endings, which is saying something.
Wow. I've rarely been so surprised by the directions a novel takes. The Getaway starts as a crime novel and then over time transforms into something much closer into horror, but so gradually that by the time you realize what's happening you feel as trapped as the characters.
December 28, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Wow. I've rarely been so surprised by the directions a novel takes. The Getaway starts as a crime novel and then over time transforms into something much closer into horror, but so gradually that by the time you realize what's happening you feel as trapped as the characters.
10) Intermezzo, by Sally Rooney
I feel lucky to be living in a time in which some absolutely amazing authors are producing their work. I think Sally Rooney is an absolute genius of her craft. I've thought a lot about these characters since finishing the novel.
I feel lucky to be living in a time in which some absolutely amazing authors are producing their work. I think Sally Rooney is an absolute genius of her craft. I've thought a lot about these characters since finishing the novel.
December 27, 2025 at 10:55 PM
10) Intermezzo, by Sally Rooney
I feel lucky to be living in a time in which some absolutely amazing authors are producing their work. I think Sally Rooney is an absolute genius of her craft. I've thought a lot about these characters since finishing the novel.
I feel lucky to be living in a time in which some absolutely amazing authors are producing their work. I think Sally Rooney is an absolute genius of her craft. I've thought a lot about these characters since finishing the novel.
9) Bowling with Corpses, by Mike Mignola and Dave Stewart
The creator of Hellboy is always worth reading, and in this comic collection he gets to have so much fun playing around with mythology and storytelling. A great, rousing read!
The creator of Hellboy is always worth reading, and in this comic collection he gets to have so much fun playing around with mythology and storytelling. A great, rousing read!
December 27, 2025 at 10:55 PM
9) Bowling with Corpses, by Mike Mignola and Dave Stewart
The creator of Hellboy is always worth reading, and in this comic collection he gets to have so much fun playing around with mythology and storytelling. A great, rousing read!
The creator of Hellboy is always worth reading, and in this comic collection he gets to have so much fun playing around with mythology and storytelling. A great, rousing read!
8) Kafka on the Shore, by Haruki Murikami
Somehow I had never read this surreal, strange, sometimes upsetting novel by the master of the form. Reading Murikami is always like reading a dream.
Somehow I had never read this surreal, strange, sometimes upsetting novel by the master of the form. Reading Murikami is always like reading a dream.
December 27, 2025 at 10:55 PM
8) Kafka on the Shore, by Haruki Murikami
Somehow I had never read this surreal, strange, sometimes upsetting novel by the master of the form. Reading Murikami is always like reading a dream.
Somehow I had never read this surreal, strange, sometimes upsetting novel by the master of the form. Reading Murikami is always like reading a dream.
7) A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain, by Robert Olen Butler
This collection of short stories was spellbinding. Each is set from the perspective of a Vietnamese expat living in Louisiana, and reveals what makes each character uniquely human. Also this guy writes amazing endings.
This collection of short stories was spellbinding. Each is set from the perspective of a Vietnamese expat living in Louisiana, and reveals what makes each character uniquely human. Also this guy writes amazing endings.
December 27, 2025 at 10:55 PM
7) A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain, by Robert Olen Butler
This collection of short stories was spellbinding. Each is set from the perspective of a Vietnamese expat living in Louisiana, and reveals what makes each character uniquely human. Also this guy writes amazing endings.
This collection of short stories was spellbinding. Each is set from the perspective of a Vietnamese expat living in Louisiana, and reveals what makes each character uniquely human. Also this guy writes amazing endings.
6) The Best American Short Stories 2025, edited by @pronounced-ing.bsky.social
I end every year with this collection, and this year's had a number of stories that really stuck with me due to their emotional weight, imaginative concepts, or fully-realized characters. This was a winning collection!
I end every year with this collection, and this year's had a number of stories that really stuck with me due to their emotional weight, imaginative concepts, or fully-realized characters. This was a winning collection!
December 27, 2025 at 10:55 PM
6) The Best American Short Stories 2025, edited by @pronounced-ing.bsky.social
I end every year with this collection, and this year's had a number of stories that really stuck with me due to their emotional weight, imaginative concepts, or fully-realized characters. This was a winning collection!
I end every year with this collection, and this year's had a number of stories that really stuck with me due to their emotional weight, imaginative concepts, or fully-realized characters. This was a winning collection!
5) The Library Mule of Cordoba, by Wilfred Lupano
A wonderful, adventurous, and thought-provoking historical fiction comic about a ragtag group of librarians, thieves, and one stubborn mule who try to preserve a library from being burned by an anti-intellectual authority.
A wonderful, adventurous, and thought-provoking historical fiction comic about a ragtag group of librarians, thieves, and one stubborn mule who try to preserve a library from being burned by an anti-intellectual authority.
December 27, 2025 at 10:55 PM
5) The Library Mule of Cordoba, by Wilfred Lupano
A wonderful, adventurous, and thought-provoking historical fiction comic about a ragtag group of librarians, thieves, and one stubborn mule who try to preserve a library from being burned by an anti-intellectual authority.
A wonderful, adventurous, and thought-provoking historical fiction comic about a ragtag group of librarians, thieves, and one stubborn mule who try to preserve a library from being burned by an anti-intellectual authority.
4) John Muir: To the Heart of Solitude
I loved this biographical comic about one of my heroes, John Muir. It focuses on his life before he came to Yosemite, the journeys and experiences that built his beliefs.
I loved this biographical comic about one of my heroes, John Muir. It focuses on his life before he came to Yosemite, the journeys and experiences that built his beliefs.
December 27, 2025 at 10:55 PM
4) John Muir: To the Heart of Solitude
I loved this biographical comic about one of my heroes, John Muir. It focuses on his life before he came to Yosemite, the journeys and experiences that built his beliefs.
I loved this biographical comic about one of my heroes, John Muir. It focuses on his life before he came to Yosemite, the journeys and experiences that built his beliefs.
3) Monstrilio, by Gerardo Sámano Córdova
A fantastic, twisty take on the Frankenstein story. The author always makes the most interesting choice. A great first novel!
A fantastic, twisty take on the Frankenstein story. The author always makes the most interesting choice. A great first novel!
December 27, 2025 at 10:55 PM
3) Monstrilio, by Gerardo Sámano Córdova
A fantastic, twisty take on the Frankenstein story. The author always makes the most interesting choice. A great first novel!
A fantastic, twisty take on the Frankenstein story. The author always makes the most interesting choice. A great first novel!
2) Circe, by @madelinemiller.bsky.social
One of those novels that feels very novelistic, with a main character who is often a victim of fate (literally) but refuses to be a victim.
One of those novels that feels very novelistic, with a main character who is often a victim of fate (literally) but refuses to be a victim.
December 27, 2025 at 10:55 PM
2) Circe, by @madelinemiller.bsky.social
One of those novels that feels very novelistic, with a main character who is often a victim of fate (literally) but refuses to be a victim.
One of those novels that feels very novelistic, with a main character who is often a victim of fate (literally) but refuses to be a victim.
1) Small Things Like These, by Claire Keegan
A slim and stunning book on what it means to be human. Reminded me a lot of A Month in the Country by J. L. Carr.
A slim and stunning book on what it means to be human. Reminded me a lot of A Month in the Country by J. L. Carr.
December 27, 2025 at 10:55 PM
1) Small Things Like These, by Claire Keegan
A slim and stunning book on what it means to be human. Reminded me a lot of A Month in the Country by J. L. Carr.
A slim and stunning book on what it means to be human. Reminded me a lot of A Month in the Country by J. L. Carr.