Did you know today is International Short Story Day? It is the shortest day/night of the year (depending on which hemisphere you live in) so it is the perfect day to celebrate one of the quickest, most powerful ways to tell a story or capture an emotion. Short stories are often exactly what I'm looking for--if I am having a hard time getting into a book, if I am burned out from reading too many long ones, if I want to up my Goodreads challenge count, or if I just want to feel a specific emotion and need a quick delivery method. (usually around 5-20 pages) There are so many short stories out there that it can be totally overwhelming. I know I have gone to websites like Classic Shorts and Classic Reader and just stared at the lengthy lists of authors and titles without a clue as to where to being. Sometimes I get lucky and a short story review will come through my Goodreads feed. I've also been given some wonderful recommendations from friends. Today, I just want to share some of the short stories I've loved, some I plan to read soon, and some that readers have recommended. Where possible, I've linked the title of the story to somewhere it is available to read online. I've only included stories which can be read legally for free at the time of this blog post. (6/12)
READ THESE NOW:
All Summer in a Day by Ray Bradbury | Kids living on a planet where the sun comes out very rarely
The Paper Menagerie by Ken Liu | A boy/man's relationship with his Chinese mother
Ponies by Kij Johnson | Captures the ridiculousness of trying to fit in
The Lottery by Shirley Jackson | Everybody gets a number, but for what?
Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut | The government hinders abilities so everyone is "equal"
2 B R O 2 B by Kurt Vonnegut | A world where the government restricts population growth
The End of the Party by Graham Greene | A creepy game of hide and seek
The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman | A glimpse into one woman's mental state
The People of Sand and Slag by Paolo Bacigalupi | A very disturbing glimpse of a futuristic world
All Summer in a Day by Ray Bradbury | Kids living on a planet where the sun comes out very rarely
The Paper Menagerie by Ken Liu | A boy/man's relationship with his Chinese mother
Ponies by Kij Johnson | Captures the ridiculousness of trying to fit in
The Lottery by Shirley Jackson | Everybody gets a number, but for what?
Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut | The government hinders abilities so everyone is "equal"
2 B R O 2 B by Kurt Vonnegut | A world where the government restricts population growth
The End of the Party by Graham Greene | A creepy game of hide and seek
The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman | A glimpse into one woman's mental state
The People of Sand and Slag by Paolo Bacigalupi | A very disturbing glimpse of a futuristic world
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THESE ARE WORTHY ADDITIONS TO SERIES:
Glitches by Marissa Meyer (prequel to Cinder, Lunar Chronicles #1)
Necromancer: A Novella by Lish McBride (follows Hold Me Closer Necromancer)
Fed by Mira Grant (an alternate ending to Feed, Newsflesh, #1), technically not a SS.
Career Day by Barry Lyga (SS to accompany I Hunt Killers), scroll to end.
RECOMMENDATIONS FROM OTHER READERS:
The Rocking Horse Winner by D.H. Lawrence
Babylon Revisited by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Snows of Kilimanjaro by Ernest Hemingway
The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe
A Perfect Day for Bananafish by J.D. Salinger
The Call of Cthuhlu by H.P. Lovecraft
For Esme--With Love and Squalor by J.D. Salinger
The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers
Circular Ruins by Jorge Luis Borges
The Pedestrian by Ray Bradbury
Bartleby, the Scrivener by Herman Melville
Bad Medicine by Robert Sheckley
Sleep by Haruki Murakami
Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway
The Machine Stops by E.M. Forster
On the (nearly lethal) comforts of a luxury cruise by David Foster Wallace
The Open Boat by Stephen Crane
Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Where the Trees Grow Too Close Together by Keith McCafferty
Symbols and Signs by Vladimir Nabokov
RECOMMENDATIONS FROM OUR READER COMMENTS:
For Want of a Nail by Mary Robinette Kowal (Heidi from Bunbury in the Stacks)
The Truth is a Cave in the Black Mountains by Neil Gaiman (Heidi from Bunbury in the Stacks)
Mr. Penumbra's 24-hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan (Heidi from Bunbury in the Stacks)
Cathedral by Raymond Carver (Jo from Wear the Old Coat)
Sredni Vashtar by Saki (author Andrea K Höst)
SOURCES FOR SHORT STORIES ONLINE:
International Short Story Day
Classic Reader
Classic Shorts
Tor.com
Dowse
American Literature
The Literature Network
Reddit r/readitnow
Long list of sources from ISSD
Fifty-Two Stories
ONLINE LISTS OF "THE BEST" SHORT STORIES:
20 Great American Short Stories (American Literature)
10 Wonderful Short Stories to Read for Free Online (Flavorwire)
List of Hugo Award for Best Short Story Winners (Wikipedia)
If you know of any short stories or sources that we should add to any of these headings, do put them in the comments. I will update each of the lists with links if you provide them to make it more comprehensive. This is very much a work in progress so let us know if we are missing one of your favorites, something you've enjoyed, a source or a fantastic list.
HAPPY INTERNATIONAL SHORT STORY DAY! You should read at least one short story today to celebrate. I know I'll be reading at least five.
Glitches by Marissa Meyer (prequel to Cinder, Lunar Chronicles #1)
Necromancer: A Novella by Lish McBride (follows Hold Me Closer Necromancer)
Fed by Mira Grant (an alternate ending to Feed, Newsflesh, #1), technically not a SS.
Career Day by Barry Lyga (SS to accompany I Hunt Killers), scroll to end.
RECOMMENDATIONS FROM OTHER READERS:
The Rocking Horse Winner by D.H. Lawrence
Babylon Revisited by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Snows of Kilimanjaro by Ernest Hemingway
The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe
A Perfect Day for Bananafish by J.D. Salinger
The Call of Cthuhlu by H.P. Lovecraft
For Esme--With Love and Squalor by J.D. Salinger
The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers
Circular Ruins by Jorge Luis Borges
The Pedestrian by Ray Bradbury
Bartleby, the Scrivener by Herman Melville
Bad Medicine by Robert Sheckley
Sleep by Haruki Murakami
Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway
The Machine Stops by E.M. Forster
On the (nearly lethal) comforts of a luxury cruise by David Foster Wallace
The Open Boat by Stephen Crane
Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Where the Trees Grow Too Close Together by Keith McCafferty
Symbols and Signs by Vladimir Nabokov
RECOMMENDATIONS FROM OUR READER COMMENTS:
For Want of a Nail by Mary Robinette Kowal (Heidi from Bunbury in the Stacks)
The Truth is a Cave in the Black Mountains by Neil Gaiman (Heidi from Bunbury in the Stacks)
Mr. Penumbra's 24-hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan (Heidi from Bunbury in the Stacks)
Cathedral by Raymond Carver (Jo from Wear the Old Coat)
Sredni Vashtar by Saki (author Andrea K Höst)
SOURCES FOR SHORT STORIES ONLINE:
International Short Story Day
Classic Reader
Classic Shorts
Tor.com
Dowse
American Literature
The Literature Network
Reddit r/readitnow
Long list of sources from ISSD
Fifty-Two Stories
ONLINE LISTS OF "THE BEST" SHORT STORIES:
20 Great American Short Stories (American Literature)
10 Wonderful Short Stories to Read for Free Online (Flavorwire)
List of Hugo Award for Best Short Story Winners (Wikipedia)
If you know of any short stories or sources that we should add to any of these headings, do put them in the comments. I will update each of the lists with links if you provide them to make it more comprehensive. This is very much a work in progress so let us know if we are missing one of your favorites, something you've enjoyed, a source or a fantastic list.
HAPPY INTERNATIONAL SHORT STORY DAY! You should read at least one short story today to celebrate. I know I'll be reading at least five.
