New Releases - Watchlist: 32 Stories of Persons of Interest

The theme of Watchlist: 32 stories by Persons of Interest  is what attracted me to this book. I’ve always been concerned about the slippery slope we tread when our privacy is  eroded. In his introduction (which I loved!) Bryan Hurt says

“The question that inspired this book is how we are affected by this constant surveillance. Does a camera trained on a sleeping child change him? How does an ever-present, faceless audience alter who we are? One way to interpret the old Delphic maxim “Know thyself” is to take it as a warning to ignore the masses, their judgment and opinions. But what does it mean when our notion of self is tied so inextricably with our notion of audience ? In a world without privacy, what becomes of the private self?”

I think this is an important issue we should all stay aware of and addressing it through these short stories works.

These stories paint a picture of the many ways we can be watched and the effects of being watched. The collection includes stories from a wide array of authors including T.C. Boyle, Cory Doctorow, Jim Sheppard, Aimee Bender, etc and stories in a wide array of genres. I found, as in many collections, there were some stories that didn’t quite appeal to me but then there were others, like The Relive Box by T.C. Boyle,  Scroogled by Cory Doctorow, Coyote by Charles Yu, Safety Tips for Living Alone by Jim Sheppard, Moonless by Bryan Hurt, Our Neighborhood by Lincoln Michel, and The Taxidermist by David Abrams,  that I loved and those made reading the collection worth it. I would suggest this collection, it’s a worthwhile read.

Watchlist : 32 Stories by Persons of Interest
Editor Bryan Hurt
512 pages
Release date 5/10/16
Catapult

I received a copy of this book from Catapult for an honest review.