Really excellent collection of stories with witches at their center. Once again, the Jim Butcher contribution was worth the price of the book. The rest of the stories were pretty awesome too. There were several with characters that I'd read whole books about. This is marketed for YAs, but it's very adult friendly.

“B Is for Bigfoot” - Jim Butcher

I received a free copy of this when I went to the DWJ convention, and liked it enough that I'm hoping I'll be able to cart it home with me, despite limited luggage allowances. Just the sort of short stories I enjoy, and very readable indeed. Well recommended.(view spoiler)[ Hilarious are reviews that only mention the stories by male writers in this book. (hide spoiler)]

Bigfoot hiring a professional wizard!! Well that in interesting and the book is quite good and funny too. If you like Harry but dont want to get into the mess he is getting in considering regular Dresden Files books, this is a light read. You would enjoy.

So, one of these stories begins "Liesl, that grinch, stole my G string."o_OIt turned out to be about musicians. It would have been much more original, if less appropriate for the audience, if it had been about magical strippers.

Review to come :)

I discovered this book via the Forever Young Adult blog, and it sounded too good to pass up. Of course, in order to get it in time to read before Halloween, I had to bite the bullet and actually buy the digital version (which is rare for me).I'm really glad I took the gamble. These short stories are woven together nicely. They are all very different kinds of tales coming from a variety of authors, but each had the central theme of witches in them, so I was able to go from one story to the next w...

Standout stories: Tanith Lee's Felidis, Charles de Lint's Barrio Girls, Ellen Kushner's Threefold World, and most surprisingly for me, Jim Butcher's B is for Bigfoot.Honourable mention: Garth Nix's A Handful of Ashes, for turning me around even when I saw it was set in a made-up world and groaned.Worst story: Holly Black's Little Gods. I got about three pages into her book White Cat and had the exact same reaction there as I did here - this is a story for American teenagers and no-one else.Not i...

DNF 20%.

*** “Stray Magic”, Diana PeterfreundA sentimental and cute story with a message - about a kindly animal shelter worker, and the magical dog that comes into her care.*** “Payment Due”, Frances HardingeAfter an uncaring agent repossesses her grandmother's belongings, a young witch decides to take revenge into her own hands. A sense of street justice and a vein of real creepiness runs through this. *** “A Handful of Ashes”, Garth NixA tale of a plot to overthrow the administration of a witches' col...

Inventive, captivating, interesting..every story has it's own magic (pun intended :) ). Really glad I stumbled upon this book. Some stories I still think about.

*Will Update*Witch Work by Neil GaimanA Harry Dresden story (2.5): "B is for Bigfoot" by Jim ButcherLittle Gods by Holly Black

Reviewed for THC Reviews"3.5 stars" Overall Stray Magic by Diana Peterfreund - Stray Magic is a really cute story about a stray dog that is brought into an animal shelter. Mary Louise aka Malou, the girl who works there, was told by her friend that it is a Golden Retriever, but what she sees is a ragged, ancient-looking dog, who can mysteriously communicate with her psychically. The dog tells Malou that she's lost her master, and must find him within three days or she will die, because he has...

In general these stories were interesting, but the quality definitely varies. The editor said that he put this anthology together for his daughters, but I honestly don't think that all the contributions were suitable for young readers, whether female or male. The first tale by Diana Peterfreund, in which a lost and increasingly frantic familiar tracks down her owner was very engaging, and reflects the author's real-life concern for animals. And Jim Butcher's offering from the Dresden Files serie...

A nice short story in the Dresden Files universe, though much more child-friendly than usual.

An anthology of eighteen short stories revolving around a theme of witches and magic.Series: "B is for Bigfoot", (Bigfoot Trilogy, 3 published); (Bigfoot, 1 chronological), & Dresden Files: Short Stories, 15"Great-Grandmother in the Cellar" (Innkeeper's World, 1.5)The StoriesDiana Peterfreund's "Stray Magic" is so sweet! Peterfreund created a lovely story that really pulled my heartstrings with a seemingly abandoned dog who desperately wants his master back.Frances Hardinge's "Payment Due" is wi...

Lately, I've decided that if I pick up one of these books full of short stories by multiple authors, I'm just going to read the story of the lone author I'm actually interested in (and the reason I got the book in the first place)...so often, the other authors are NOT to my tastes. However, I decided to break my rule with this & give it a chance. I started in on the first story, it was solid, so I decided to keep going."Stray Magic" by Diana Peterfreund Solid story about a familiar who was broug...

only read the B , Is For Big Foot Storyline , which is also a part of the Dresden Files series . Honestly I am not a fan of short stories , in that I generally don't like reading short stories , because the pay off doesn't feel very satisfying in the end . This one was no different either , featuring Harry taking a case for a Bigfoot and dealt with something I personally have had also dealt with - Bullying . It was a very nice story , however the cause for dissapointment came in the form of t...

I've been loving this kind of anthology since first I found Wizards, I mean when diversity of good fantasy books are scarce here, anthologies were a good source petite four to taste of a new writers (well, not neccesary new, but new to me). I found Garth Nix this way before, now such a big fans. In this book, I found Tim Pratt and Isobelle Carmody. Both wrote my fav stories in this.The Carved Forrest by Pratt tell a story about keeping the love ones save, even if that mean to confined them in ca...

Witches are probably my favorite fantasy trope. I adored Harry Potter, devoured most of Diana W. Jones's opus, and gave chance to books with magic in it (some were great, others... not so much). This was an enjoyable ride. Some of the stories were more engaging ( Education of a Witch by Ellen Klages, for example) than the others (I can't seem to find anything by Butcher interesting). All in all, I eant something properly witchy to read now. Suggestions?