Bite-Sized Fiction

[Kestrel]

You know when that 50 book reading list you made at the start of the year seems to be growing rather than shrinking, and even your favourite shows sit unfinished in your netflix queue for months on end? I need fiction like I need oxygen, and I love recommendations from friends, but there’s just not enough damn time in the universe to consume all the content I want to consume. Even when those recommendations are wholly trustworthy, starting a new show/book is a whole commitment.

With that in mind, here’s a thread for bite-sized fiction recommendations. Things you can enjoyably immerse yourself in for ten minutes a day on the bus, or finish in a single evening.

Here are mine:

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1. Don’t Look Up — Two hour movie on Netflix. Genuinely one of the best movies I’ve ever seen. Despite being dystopian, political and nihilistic, it somehow still manages to be a hilarious “feel good” movie that cheered me up on an otherwise crappy evening. It’s smart and stupid at the same time. You don’t have to think too hard while watching it, but you’ll still be turning it over in your mind days after. My favourite clip from it.

2. Inside Job — Animated show, also on Netflix, consisting of ten thirty-minute episodes. The art’s simple and untextured, meaning you lose nothing by watching this on a tiny smartphone screen as opposed to high-res. I grazed it during public transport commutes and while multitasking household chores, just propping my phone up nearby. The satire’s on point, and I didn’t need my eyes fully glued to the screen to enjoy it.

3. Fisheye Placebo — Webcomics & graphic novels aren’t typically a medium of fiction I consume, but I’ve been a fan of this artist for a long time. It’s a short, charming, beautiful and emotionally impactful allegorical cyberpunk. Recently binged this on my phone over the course of two evenings.

[GF]

I hear the animated series Smiling Friends is painfully funny.

[BloodAngel]

@GF It is amazing.