Hello Everyone,

This is Matthew Hernandez. I decided to try another monthly recap. In this episode I went over the various stories I read this month and ask you what you read, what you think about what you read, and if you read some of these stories. The stories I read and recapped are: "The Moths" by Helena Maria Viramontes, “The Second Coming” by Joe Gores, “Love So Fleeting, Love So Fine” by Carol Shields, “The Girls in Their Summer Dresses” by Irwin Shaw, “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver, Amazing Spider-Man #539 by J. Michael Straczynski.

I feel like I should type more here about which story stuck out to me most here, but I think I did enough of that in the episode. Enjoy!

Well I posted links to these episodes in the original episodes. 

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Join Matt Hernandez in discussing A Small Good Thing by Raymond Carver. This is a short moving story about parents dealing with tragedy. Though, in the background of it all is their own approaching loneliness which comes headfirst into the loneliness dealt with by a local baker. In short, Ann goes to a baker to order a cake for her son, Scott's, eighth birthday, though on Scott's birthday he is hit by a car and after some unknown complications dies in the hospital. During this time the baker kept calling them at first to remind them about the cake, but it became trolling from there. Ann mentions the loneliness they will feel and when they confront the baker he apologizes, but also mentions his own loneliness that he deals with. So, though it may not seem like it this story is just as much about loneliness as it is about loss.

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Read here: https://bookshop.org/p/books/cathedral-raymond-carver/e8d92534e3fc618a?ean=9780679723691&next=t or here https://www.sevanoland.com/uploads/1/1/8/0/118081022/a-small-good-thing.pdf 

Listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KwHHfJBC2A 

Join me, Matthew Hernandez, in discussing Rocket’s Red: A Lady Astronaut Story By Mary Robinette Kowal. I had to read this for a class I'm taking online. I had to tell myself to give this a fair shot, but it was very easy to like this story. The PDF I had was about 7 pages and the author has this story for free on her website. This story is about Aaron Parkhill and his mother setting up a fireworks display on Mars. The technology featured is mostly from the 1950s so I guess that's like Ray Bradbury? Though, the story all takes place on Mars, that's the setting while all is about an aging mother help her son and her son seeing his mother was right about community all along. 

Hello, in this episode I will look at Amazing Spider-Man #539 Back in Black which will lead to Brand New Day. I thought about doing comics before and I have before, but to be 100% one of my few podcasts with any listens / watches in Battle Angel Alita, so I figured on covering Spider-Man up to Brand New Day hoping that I catch a bit of a rush with the upcoming movie. Though, to get why there was a hard a reboot of the series perhaps one could start a bit before that and then cover Brand New Day for a few runs after that. 

I haven't read these in a very long time, so it's a bit like reliving my past right before joining the navy and my first two years or so in. In a sense Back in Black doesn't start here. It would start somewhere during Marvel Civil War, but I don't have many of those comics and I certainly don't have them with me in China. Peter's aunt May is shot by a sniper aiming at Peter Parker. Peter Parker unmasked himself during the Civil War, but now regrets that decision. Though, his aunt getting shot and Peter Parker trying to save her leads to Brand New Day which was a hard reboot of the series. 

I won't preface further comic discussions with why and such about covering comics, and will try to leave further descriptions simply about the book, story or comic itself. 

watch or listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTG3Czu_f2k&t=1050s  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0AUth1MCFo 

Read: https://www.amazon.com/Spider-Man-Black-J-Michael-Straczynski/dp/0785129049 

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Hello all. I was thinking of doing a podcast on comics too. Though the time and money needed to do so is a major deterrent at the moment. I am reading a ton, but I barely have the time to have made the last podcast or this one today. I like comics too and own well over two hundred comics in print, but I understand it's a completely different genre than written stories and notably short stories. I will also admit that part of the update to the format is too listeners. I will still do short stories, but I wonder if comics will build my listenership too.

(Usually I let AI help me write these descriptions, but darn did it royally screw this up. I guess after training it for short story descriptions it couldn't do an update podcast episode if it was to save my life.)

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Join Matt Hernandez on Book Chat with You as we delve into Raymond Carver’s masterpiece, “Cathedral.” This episode unpacks Carver’s signature style – stark realism, clipped dialogue, and a focus on the unspoken – within this short story that’s captivated readers for decades. Matt guides us through the story’s core tension: a husband’s growing irritation with his wife’s blind friend, Robert, who stays overnight while he's going to visit his deceased wife's family. We dissect the narrator’s anxieties, his attempts to control the situation, and the story’s subtle humor as he navigates a frustrating, almost absurd, encounter. Max explores the story’s central metaphor – the act of drawing a cathedral – and the profound moment of connection it represents. The episode also touches on the story’s relevance to contemporary conversations about empathy, communication, and the challenges of understanding others, especially those with different perspectives. It’s a must-listen for fans of Carver, minimalist fiction.

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Read here: https://bookshop.org/p/books/cathedral-raymond-carver/e8d92534e3fc618a?ean=9780679723691&next=t or http://www.giuliotortello.it/ebook/cathedral.pdf 

Listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjDZV92jX44 

Join Matt Hernandez on Book Chat with You as we dissect Irwin Shaw’s deceptively simple short story, “The Girls in Their Summer Dresses.” This episode dives into a character study of Michael and his wife, Frances, as they navigate a fleeting encounter with a captivating woman on a New York afternoon. Matt unpacks the story’s central tension – Michael’s persistent, almost obsessive, gaze – and questions the implications of this behavior. The story, printed in just five or eight pages, explores themes of jealousy, perception, and the human tendency to construct fantasies. Matt dissects the writing’s subtle humor and unsettling atmosphere, pondering whether Michael's actions are driven by a genuine desire or simply a restless impulse. He also delves into a fascinating observation from a group discussion: how responses to the story varied based on marital status and cultural background.

Read here: https://bookshop.org/p/books/short-stories-five-decades-irwin-shaw/0421cc0de3571aaa?ean=9780226751283&next=t or https://www.libraryofshortstories.com/storiespdf/the-girls-in-their-summer-dresses.pdf 

Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R86aPkwrlQg 

Listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9d9LA3ZFilo 

Join Matt Hernandez on Book Chat with You as he delves into Carol Shields’ deceptively simple short story, “Love So Fleeting, Love So Fine.” This story centers on an unnamed narrator’s obsessive, almost hallucinatory, fascination with a woman – Wendy – glimpsed only in fleeting moments throughout his daily commute. Matt unpacks the narrative's experimental structure, revealing it’s entirely contained within the man’s wandering thoughts, a technique Shields employs with remarkable skill. He explores the story's comedic and slightly unsettling implications, questioning how easily our minds can construct elaborate fantasies based on the most minimal of observations. Matt discusses the story's exploration of perception, memory, and the human tendency to fill in the gaps with imagined scenarios. 

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Learn more about the author and the book at: https://www.carol-shields.com/  https://bookshop.org/a/117636/9780060762049   

Join Matt Hernandez on Book Chat with You as he dissects Joe Gores’ unsettling short story, “The Second Coming.” This darkly atmospheric tale follows a pair of observers as they witness an execution in 1966 San Francisco, exploring themes of fascination, trauma, and the unsettling nature of violence. Gores masterfully utilizes slang and evocative imagery to build suspense, prompting a conversation about the lasting impact of witnessing such a brutal event. Matt delves into the story's stylistic choices – mirroring Hammett’s approach – and examines the characters' reactions, questioning our own voyeuristic tendencies and the uncomfortable responsibility we bear for the actions of others. Prepare for a thought-provoking journey into the heart of a chilling short story.

Read the story: https://www.amazon.com/ALFRED-HITCHCOCK-PRESENTS-STORIES-AWAKE/dp/0394473035/ref=sr_1_1?nsdOptOutParam=true&s=books&sr=1-1 

Listen to the story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b81LwNSUj1Q 

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Matthew Hernandez explores the short story "The Moths" by Helena Maria Viramontes. "The Moths" is about a 14-year-old girl who takes care of her grandmother dying of stomach cancer. The unnamed girl is severely treated by her father and has a disdain for Catholic life. Her mother encourages her to spend her time with her grandma in which much of that time is spent gardening. The unnamed narrator is with her grandma when she passes away. After her grandmother dies she does a kind of ritual. I don't want to type it so I don't spoil the ending, but honestly it left me confused and I didn't feel like acting as if I had some of expertise in something that I don't. What I could say was a bit less ritual and a bit more mourning and the podcast would have been much different.

Read here: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-moths-and-other-stories-las-palomillas-de-la-noche-y-otros-relatos-helena-maria-viramontes/a3f399c38f4666c8?ean=9781558858510&next=t or https://jerrywbrown.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/The-Moths-Viramontes-Helena-Maria.pdf 

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