Most Inspiring Short Stories/Collections That You Have Read?

[Conrad Adamson]

Staying Behind by Ken Liu is probably the best short story I've ever read/heard. I listened to the podcast version on LeVar Burton Reads, but here is a link to the text: Staying Behind

 

[Animad345]

The short story collections I've enjoyed and been inspired by the most:

'The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories' by Angela Carter.

'Interpreter of Maladies' and 'Unaccustomed Earth' by Jhumpa Lahiri.

'Something I've Been Meaning to Tell You' by Alice Munro.

'The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More' by Roald Dahl.

'A Twist in the Tale' by Jeffrey Archer.

 

[Lakey]

'Something I've Been Meaning to Tell You' by Alice Munro.

I only started reading Alice Munro recently but I'm hooked. Dear Life is the collection I read - really great stuff.

I am reading George Saunders's collection Tenth of December now and wow is it inspiring. It is a master class in voice, characterization, economy, everything.

 

[Animad345]

I only started reading Alice Munro recently but I'm hooked. Dear Life is the collection I read - really great stuff.

I am reading George Saunders's collection Tenth of December now and wow is it inspiring. It is a master class in voice, characterization, economy, everything.

Alice Munro's work is such a revelation! A family friend who was my English teacher in secondary school gave me the collection. I'd not heard of Munro before and she's not massively well-known and discussed in the UK, so I am eternally grateful to that friend!

 

[Chris P]

I'm amazed nobody has mentioned Edgar Allan Poe. I read and reread Tell Tale Heart dozens of times as a ten-year-old. These were some of the first short stories I ever got into.

Vonnegut gets super high marks for me, as well as do George Saunders and Alice Munro.

Mostly, though, I read multi-writer yearly anthologies. Each year, I get the Best American Short Stories, The Pushcart Prize, and most years The Best American Non-Required Reading (it's been hit or miss since Dave Eggers left as series editor). I also for sure read the five shortlisted Caine Prize for African Writing stories, and many times buy the anthology.

 

[angelisa fontaine-wood]

A few of the collections that really got me to start putting things together and finishing them:

Saint Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves - Karen Russell
The Ladies of Grace Adieu - Susanna Clarke
Magic for Beginners - Kelly Link

 

[Lakey]

Saint Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves - Karen Russell
The Ladies of Grace Adieu - Susanna Clarke
Magic for Beginners - Kelly Link

A year or two ago I read the title story of the Russell collection and "The Faerie Handbag" from the Kelly Link collection and loved them both so much -- both collections immediately went on my wish list but I haven't gotten to them yet. I am particularly fond of "Saint Lucy's Home" -- I think about that story a lot.

If you like to read short stories, angelisa, please do join us on the short-story thread -- link in my signature below.

 

[angelisa fontaine-wood]

If you like to read short stories, angelisa, please do join us on the short-story thread -- link in my signature below.

Oh, thank you, I think I will. I have back burnered two novels to blitz through some shorts atm to make an anthology. So pleased to hear we have some overlapping tastes!

 

[Taylor Harbin]

I could list several:

The Last Question and Nightfall (Asimov)

Tales of Ten Worlds (AC Clarke)

The Most Dangerous Game (Richard Connell)

Harrison Bergeron (Vonnegut)
Colony (PK Dick)

Wine on the Desert (Max Brand)

Angry Candy and I Have No Mouth…(Harlan Ellison)

A Jury of Her Peers (Susan Glaspell)

The Triumph of Mechanics (Karl Strobl…I thought it was funny)

The Monkey’s Paw (WW Jacobs)

Job: a Fairytale of God, Satan, and Us (KD Azariah-Kribbs).

I could go on and on and on…

 

[Wildgoose]

Staying Behind by Ken Liu is probably the best short story I've ever read/heard. I listened to the podcast version on LeVar Burton Reads, but here is a link to the text: Staying Behind

Wow. Just read that one. Incredible. Thanks for sharing.

 

[OthaWrites]

This is the thread I needed. So many collections I haven't heard of.