My Favorite/Recommended Short Stories - Please tell me yours!

kennyc · 10-18-2010, 12:19 PM

I just made up/revised this list due to a request on another forum. These are my favorites. What are yours?

The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas - Ursala K LeGuin (Incredible Story)
The Story of Your Life - Ted Chiang (also Hell is the Absence of God...and others he is an excellent short story writer)
Wild Horses - Rick Bass
Frost and Fire - Ray Bradbury
The Jilting of Granny Weatherall - Katherine Anne Porter
Rescue Party - Arthur C Clarke
The Star - Issac Asimov
A Rose for Ecclesiastes - Roger Zelaxny
A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
Cathedral - Raymond Carver
Flowers for Algernon, Daniel Keyes
The Lottery - Shirley Jackson
The Fall of the House of Usher, The Cask of Amontillado, The Tell-Tale Heart - Edgar Allen Poe
A Boy and His Dog - Harlan Ellison
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge - Ambrose Bierce
The Hills like White Elephants, The End of Something and A Clean Well Lighted Place - Hemingway
A Rose for Emily - Faulkner

astrangerhere · 10-18-2010, 01:24 PM

Katherine Mansfield - The Garden Party
Lee Smith - Any story found in her collection Cakewalk, but specifically "Georgia Rose"
Neil Gaiman - A Study in Emerald

BenG · 10-18-2010, 01:32 PM

Rain by W. Somerset Maugham
Leiningen versus the Ants by Carl Stephenson
Rocking-Horse Winner by D. H. Lawrence
The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County by Mark Twain
The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe
The Lottery by Shirley Jackson
The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry
The Monkey's Paw by W. W. Jacobs
The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell
Dark They Were and Golden-eyed by Ray Bradbury
The Jar by Ray Bradbury
Any Friend of Nicholas Nickleby Is A Friend of Mine by Ray Bradbury
Mimsy Were the Borogoves by Lewis Padgett
The Little Black Bag by C. M. Kornbluth
Born of Man and Woman by Richard Matheson
Bottle Party by John Collier
Season of Mists by John Collier
The Stains by Robert Aickman
Silent Snow, Secret Snow by Conrad Aiken
Babette's Feast by Isak Dinesan
All Seated on the Ground by Connie Willis
It's A Good Life by Jerome Bixby

kennyc · 10-18-2010, 01:42 PM

Thanks guys .... several for me to check out already...

BenG · 10-18-2010, 01:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kennyc

Charley, The Lottery - Shirley Jackson

Charly (or Flowers for Algernon) was written by (I think) Daniel Keyes.

kennyc · 10-18-2010, 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BenG

Charly (or Flowers for Algernon) was written by (I think) Daniel Keyes.

You are right...not sure where that slipped in from...I think that may have slipped in from another list I used to make this. There is a short story by Jackson called Charles ... I think that is the one I meant, but for the life of me it is not ringing any bells that I've even read it. But I did add Flowers for Algernon....great story!

DavidRM · 10-18-2010, 04:59 PM

"Enders Game" by Orson Scott Card
"The Swimmer" by John Cheever
"Reave the Just" by Stephen R. Donaldson
"The Healer" by Aimee Bender

I'm a huge fan of the anthology: The Are of the Short Story edited by Dana Gioia and R. S. Gwynn.

-David

Nexutix · 10-18-2010, 08:40 PM

1. Adam's Covers by Willie Qwit and Betty Will.
2. Library Window by Margaret Oliphant
3. Strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

foghat · 10-19-2010, 09:11 AM

Dolan's Cadillac - Stephen King

FlorenceArt · 10-19-2010, 09:41 AM

It's been a while since I read short stories...

I remember laughing to tears reading the works of Saki (I think it was The Complete Saki published by Penguin). It's one of the few books that survived my moving to Japan, mainly because they were at my parents' house when I sold all the books I had in my apartment. I keep meaning to read them again but haven't done so for several years.

Also, I read a book of short stories (Self-Help) by Lorrie Moore, again many years ago, and liked them a lot at the time.

I have heard of Raymond Carver as a great writer of short stories, but I don't think I have read any of his works.

Finally, I'm not sure this counts as short stories but Cannery Row and Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck are, as I remember, a great collection of stories about people living in Monterey, California.

poohbear_nc · 10-19-2010, 09:53 AM

Quote:

I remember laughing to tears reading the works of Saki

I completely agree with you - Saki is laugh out loud hilarious.
IMHO - Esme is THE funniest short story I've ever read.

FlorenceArt · 10-19-2010, 10:26 AM

Oh, I just read the name Isak Dinesen in your list, Ben. How could I forget? Karen Blixen's Winter Tales and Gothic Tales, of course!

Pure gems! Although it's been so long since I read them too. I should re-read them, this time in English.

BenG · 10-19-2010, 10:55 AM

If you like Saki, you would like John Collier too. His collection of stories published as Fancies and Goodnights shows him to be one of the great short story writers. Evening Primrose is his best known story. It won both an International Fantasy Award and an Edgar Award in 1952.

http://www.amazon.com/Fancies-Goodni.../dp/1590170512

Click on "I'd like to read this on a Kindle" while you are there.

ficbot · 10-19-2010, 11:03 AM

Interior Space, John Irving
The Tell-Tale Heart, Poe
I, Row Boat, Cory Doctorow
Mrs. Todd's Shortcut, Stephen King

BenG · 10-19-2010, 11:19 AM

A few more.

Or All the Seas with Oysters by Avram Davidson (there's a reason you never can find a pin but have too many coat hangers)

Space-Time for Springers by Fritz Leiber (My all time favorite cat story)

Vintage Season, by Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore

The Demon Pope by Richard Garnett (available in his collection, Twilight of the Gods, on Project Gutenberg)

The October Game by Ray Bradbury

The Repairer of Reputations by Robert W. Chambers (available as LRF in the King in Yellow postedby Dr Drib)

Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper by Robert Bloch

The Pigeons from Hell by Robert E, Howard (available on MR)

The Devil and Daniel Webster by Stephen Vincent Benet (available on MR)

10-18-2010, 12:19 PM	#1
kennyc The Dank Side of the Moon Posts: 35,872 Karma: 118716293 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Denver, CO Device: Kindle2; Kindle Fire	My Favorite/Recommended Short Stories - Please tell me yours! I just made up/revised this list due to a request on another forum. These are my favorites. What are yours? The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas - Ursala K LeGuin (Incredible Story) The Story of Your Life - Ted Chiang (also Hell is the Absence of God...and others he is an excellent short story writer) Wild Horses - Rick Bass Frost and Fire - Ray Bradbury The Jilting of Granny Weatherall - Katherine Anne Porter Rescue Party - Arthur C Clarke The Star - Issac Asimov A Rose for Ecclesiastes - Roger Zelaxny A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens Cathedral - Raymond Carver Flowers for Algernon, Daniel Keyes The Lottery - Shirley Jackson The Fall of the House of Usher, The Cask of Amontillado, The Tell-Tale Heart - Edgar Allen Poe A Boy and His Dog - Harlan Ellison An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge - Ambrose Bierce The Hills like White Elephants, The End of Something and A Clean Well Lighted Place - Hemingway A Rose for Emily - Faulkner Last edited by kennyc; 10-05-2011 at 06:06 AM.

10-18-2010, 01:32 PM	#3
BenG Home Guard Posts: 4,729 Karma: 86721650 Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Alpha Ralpha Boulevard Device: Kindle Oasis 3G, iPhone 6	Rain by W. Somerset Maugham Leiningen versus the Ants by Carl Stephenson Rocking-Horse Winner by D. H. Lawrence The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County by Mark Twain The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe The Lottery by Shirley Jackson The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry The Monkey's Paw by W. W. Jacobs The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell Dark They Were and Golden-eyed by Ray Bradbury The Jar by Ray Bradbury Any Friend of Nicholas Nickleby Is A Friend of Mine by Ray Bradbury Mimsy Were the Borogoves by Lewis Padgett The Little Black Bag by C. M. Kornbluth Born of Man and Woman by Richard Matheson Bottle Party by John Collier Season of Mists by John Collier The Stains by Robert Aickman Silent Snow, Secret Snow by Conrad Aiken Babette's Feast by Isak Dinesan All Seated on the Ground by Connie Willis It's A Good Life by Jerome Bixby Last edited by BenG; 10-18-2010 at 01:40 PM.

10-18-2010, 08:40 PM	#8
Nexutix Reading and reading Posts: 582 Karma: 8250144 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: Infibeam Pi, iPod Touch 4G, iPad Air 2, iPad mini 2, Oneplus One	1. Adam's Covers by Willie Qwit and Betty Will. 2. Library Window by Margaret Oliphant 3. Strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Last edited by Nexutix; 10-18-2010 at 08:46 PM.

10-19-2010, 10:26 AM	#12
FlorenceArt High Priestess Posts: 5,761 Karma: 5042529 Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Montreuil sous bois, France Device: iPad Pro 9.7, iPhone 6 Plus	Oh, I just read the name Isak Dinesen in your list, Ben. How could I forget? Karen Blixen's Winter Tales and Gothic Tales, of course! Pure gems! Although it's been so long since I read them too. I should re-read them, this time in English. Last edited by FlorenceArt; 10-19-2010 at 11:31 AM.

10-19-2010, 10:55 AM	#13
BenG Home Guard Posts: 4,729 Karma: 86721650 Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Alpha Ralpha Boulevard Device: Kindle Oasis 3G, iPhone 6	If you like Saki, you would like John Collier too. His collection of stories published as Fancies and Goodnights shows him to be one of the great short story writers. Evening Primrose is his best known story. It won both an International Fantasy Award and an Edgar Award in 1952. http://www.amazon.com/Fancies-Goodni.../dp/1590170512 Click on "I'd like to read this on a Kindle" while you are there. Last edited by BenG; 03-30-2011 at 12:00 AM.

10-18-2010, 01:24 PM	#2
astrangerhere Professor of Law Posts: 3,640 Karma: 65925980 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Chapel Hill, NC Device: Kobo Elipsa, Kobo Libra H20, Kobo Aura One, KoboMini	Katherine Mansfield - The Garden Party Lee Smith - Any story found in her collection Cakewalk, but specifically "Georgia Rose" Neil Gaiman - A Study in Emerald

10-18-2010, 01:42 PM	#4
kennyc The Dank Side of the Moon Posts: 35,872 Karma: 118716293 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Denver, CO Device: Kindle2; Kindle Fire	Thanks guys .... several for me to check out already...

10-18-2010, 04:59 PM	#7
DavidRM Addict Posts: 203 Karma: 1007768 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Tulsa, Oklahoma Device: Kindle	"Enders Game" by Orson Scott Card "The Swimmer" by John Cheever "Reave the Just" by Stephen R. Donaldson "The Healer" by Aimee Bender I'm a huge fan of the anthology: The Are of the Short Story edited by Dana Gioia and R. S. Gwynn. -David

10-19-2010, 09:11 AM	#9
foghat Evangelist Posts: 464 Karma: 1006520 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Alberta, Canada Device: Kindle PW3	Dolan's Cadillac - Stephen King

10-19-2010, 09:41 AM	#10
FlorenceArt High Priestess Posts: 5,761 Karma: 5042529 Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Montreuil sous bois, France Device: iPad Pro 9.7, iPhone 6 Plus	It's been a while since I read short stories... I remember laughing to tears reading the works of Saki (I think it was The Complete Saki published by Penguin). It's one of the few books that survived my moving to Japan, mainly because they were at my parents' house when I sold all the books I had in my apartment. I keep meaning to read them again but haven't done so for several years. Also, I read a book of short stories (Self-Help) by Lorrie Moore, again many years ago, and liked them a lot at the time. I have heard of Raymond Carver as a great writer of short stories, but I don't think I have read any of his works. Finally, I'm not sure this counts as short stories but Cannery Row and Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck are, as I remember, a great collection of stories about people living in Monterey, California.

10-19-2010, 11:03 AM	#14
ficbot Wizard Posts: 2,409 Karma: 4132096 Join Date: Sep 2008 Device: Kindle Paperwhite/iOS Kindle App	Interior Space, John Irving The Tell-Tale Heart, Poe I, Row Boat, Cory Doctorow Mrs. Todd's Shortcut, Stephen King

10-19-2010, 11:19 AM	#15
BenG Home Guard Posts: 4,729 Karma: 86721650 Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Alpha Ralpha Boulevard Device: Kindle Oasis 3G, iPhone 6	A few more. Or All the Seas with Oysters by Avram Davidson (there's a reason you never can find a pin but have too many coat hangers) Space-Time for Springers by Fritz Leiber (My all time favorite cat story) Vintage Season, by Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore The Demon Pope by Richard Garnett (available in his collection, Twilight of the Gods, on Project Gutenberg) The October Game by Ray Bradbury The Repairer of Reputations by Robert W. Chambers (available as LRF in the King in Yellow postedby Dr Drib) Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper by Robert Bloch The Pigeons from Hell by Robert E, Howard (available on MR) The Devil and Daniel Webster by Stephen Vincent Benet (available on MR)

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