What are some of your favorite short stories? I need some good shit to read.
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Anonymous2008-08-16 18:00
Stephen Kings are great, if you're into that sort of reading...
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Anonymous2008-08-16 22:48
Some of my favorite short story collections:
—Strange Pilgrims by Gabriel García Márquez
—Ten Little Indians by Sherman Alexie
—Knockemstiff by Donald Ray Pollock
But I've always liked Shirley Jackson and Flannery O'Connor's stuff.
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Anonymous2008-08-17 3:42
I liked some of Karl Edward Wagner's Kane stuff a lot, namely those in Death Angel's Shadow.
Also, Fritz Leiber.
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Anonymous2008-08-17 5:15
I like the Legends collections, specifically the Dunk & Egg stuff from GRRM.
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Anonymous2008-08-17 18:19
As said above, Flannery O'Connor is a good place to start. "A Good Man is Hard to Find" is a great one.
Sherman Alexie again. Go read "Because My Father Always Said He Was the Only Indian Who Saw Jimi Hendrix Play 'The Star-Spangled Banner' at Woodstock".
Frank Chin is pretty awesome, check out "Railroad Standard Time".
"Theme of the Traitor and the Hero" by Jorge Luis Borges
If you want to go old school, read "Daisy Miller" by Henry James, though technically it's a novella.
If you're in the mood for feminism, Alice Walker's "Laurel" and Dorothy Allison's "Don't Tell Me You Don't Know".
"The Sky is Gray" - Earnest Gaines
"Happiness" - Bharati Mukherjee
That's all I have off the top of my head.
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Anonymous2008-08-18 1:03
Cordwainer Smith's short stories are great.
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Anonymous2008-09-06 23:12
Everything's Eventual (short story collection by Stephen King) had some pretty great stories in it. Like 1408.
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Anonymous2008-09-07 1:05
>>8
I loved that collection. My favourite was The Man In The Black Suit (I think this is the title, it's been a while).
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Anonymous2008-09-07 2:29
"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" by Joyce Carol Oates.
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Anonymous2008-09-07 2:33
the last question, by isaac asimov. hands down the best science fiction short story ever written. plus, its got an ending that will blow minds.
>>4
Holy shit. Someone recommending Karl Edward Wagner who isn't me? I tip my hat to you, sir. You have good and obscure tastes.
>>5
I second that. GRRM's short stories are very good, especially Sandkings.
You may also want to give "Looking for Jake" by China Mieville a shot. I just finished that today, and thought it was very good with the possible exception of the comic thrown in there.
Freaked me out first time I read it. Good thing I don't have kids.
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Anonymous2008-10-13 23:33
His Father's Earth by Thomas Wolfe. Read it in a school literature book long ago. While everyone in my class forgot about it I took the textbook home and read it over and over and it brought a tear to my eye.
Now I want to read it again but I can't find it published ANYWHERE. Goddammit.
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Anonymous2008-10-14 13:06
Anything by Katherine Mansfield, she's awesome, one of the finest prose stylists of the twentieth century. Bliss is one of her finest and is very short indeed, it's a good place to start.
Somerset Maugham wrote some real gems. Rain is my favourite of his, and possibly my very favourite short story.
Haruki Murakami writes some great short stories.
Also I should mention Lovecraft, since nobody has yet. He's deeply flawed, but still well worth reading. I can't think of anyone else who has turned all their insecurity, hate and weakness into such an amazing end product and he's worth reading just for that.
I'm also a big fan of Frank O'Connor, Stephen King, certain Anne McCaffrey short stories, Saki and any short story interstitial's from larger fiction series.