Science Fiction: The Short Stuff discussion

We are reading a holiday story this December: "Miracle" by Connie Willis. One reviewer describes the story thus: Miracle is set in a big city company where a young woman is wishing her sexy boss would notice her at the office party. What it actually is is a lively debate about which is The Greatest Christmas Movie Ever Made? with a eco-warrior / 'Save the Planet' guardian angel thrown in. What is your choice between "It's a Wonderful Life" and "Miracle on 34th Street"? I am not so much a Connie Willis fan, but she apparently can write great SF Christmas stories. The story also took third place in the 1992 Hugo novelette category.

I see the collection this story headlines is $6.99 for Kindle. But the brand new paperback version is only a dollar more. Copies can be had for even less on the used book market. If there is an option to buy the story by itself, I didn't see it.

I have just received this story collection in the mail:

Isn't that a great cover? It features our group read story, the first of eleven. It's 42 pages long. Guess that's what makes it a novelette.

I'm really excited about this one, although I have to admit to not being a Connie Willis fan. In the 1990s I belonged to a SF reader's group that met monthly at the local Barnes and Noble. One month we were reading To Say Nothing of the Dog. I thought this book just silly and awful. I DNFed it a quarter of the way through and never touched a Willis book after that. I wish I had known then it was the second book of a series. I think it might have made a difference for me because one ot the things I didn't like about it was the feeling the author hadn't presented me with sufficient background.

Anyway, other group members loved Connie Willis. Now I finally get to give her another chance.

Oh no! Connie Willis may be a science fiction writer. And this story was nominated for awards:
3rd 1992 Asimov's Readers' Best Novelette
3rd 1992 Hugo Best Novelette
6th 1992 Locus Best Novelette
But it is not science fiction! I goofed. I'm so sorry. I considered removing it from our group altogether, but I'm going to let the mistake stand as a reminder to myself to be more careful going forward.

On a positive note, halfway through, I am loving this urban fantasy story. It's really funny and very clever. This spirit, or supernatural being, shows up to grant the protagonist one wish for Christmas. But she doesn't want to gain something this way. So they're at loggerheads, him insisting she make a wish, and her not wanting anything to do with him. If you like classic 1950s Christmas movies, and I do, then you'll love this. It's exactly like one of those, and perfectly executed. I am halfway between four and five stars for this story. The ending will determine.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show....

(Now for some zombie action!)