One of the most delightful, relaxing, and enlightening activities that can happen in bed at night is not the one defined in the dictionary by a three-letter word which conjures up spicy images, naughty, but that which passes with the lamp on and with a cup of tea nearby – reading a short story.
What I like most about short stories is that they’re short. You can read them in a sitting. No commitments, few to no descriptions, and often no plot, just a scene. Their shortness makes them concise. Their conciseness makes them powerful. And while it’s true that short stories tend to moralize, I often find that their message is quite sensible and worthy to be remembered.
A short story is sometimes only a scene. But it can be a succession of closely related scenes, more close together in time and space than those of a novel. Some short stories paint a scene and let you draw your own conclusions, Chekhov’s for example. Some carry a moral lesson: ‘look what happens if you do this!’ Two examples that come to mind are the Canterbury Tales and Boccacio’s Decameron. Others are something in between. Maupassant’s short stories and S. Maugham’s for instance.
I like them all. They are short. They are easy to read. They are fun. They make me think.
There are some short stories that I return to. Most of these are in the public domain so you can read them online or download them to your e-book reader. I bet my hat you won’t regret reading any of these.
- The Diamond Necklace by Guy de Maupasant
- Mr. Knowall by Somerset Maugham
- A Legend of Old Egypt by Boreslaw Prus
- A Tree. A Rock. A Cloud by Carson McCullers
- The Chemist’s Wife by Anton Chekhov
- The Story of the Bad Little Boy Who Didn’t Come to Grief by Mark Twain
- Il Conde by Joseph Conrad
- The Lottery in Babylon by Jorge Luis Borges
- Cat in the Rain by Ernest Hemingway
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Do you like short stories? Have any favorites?
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boy with a hat 
Poe’s The Tell Tale Heart
http://www.americanliterature.com/author/edgar-allen-poe/short-story/the-tell-tale-heart
That’s one of my favorites as well!
I totally forgot about it. I have a beautiful audio version of it. Excellent for rainy nights. 🙂
Oh… and all of Stephen King’s. 🙂
Have you read Battleground? I would have included it on the list, but it’s not a public domain work. 🙂
I adore short stories! Their simplicity and as you put it, conciseness, draw me to them.
I’ll have to point out Leo Tolstoy’s and Rabindranath Tagore’s work to you. I really enjoy reading their short stories for their rustic feel, and the easy-going themes.
I am well acquired with Leo. Not with Tagore though. Can you recommend me one of his stories?
Also, I would like to say that I much enjoy your comments, not only for their constancy, but also for their thoughtfulness.
I tip my hat to you, Meghna. 🙂
Try ‘The Postmaster’, ‘The Castaway’ and ‘Kabuliwala’ by Tagore.
I’m getting other names by some other writers. They are:
1. ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
2. ‘Night Train at Deoli’ by Ruskin Bond
3. ‘The Gift of the Magi’ by O. Henry
Try these for now… 🙂
And that is very sweet of you, Vincent. Thank you!
Sometimes I feel I overdo it but that is what your writing does to me – it makes me think!
Keep writing and I’ll keep commenting. 🙂
Oh! And also,
4. ‘Love Across The Salt Desert’ by K. N. Daruwalla
😛
I’ve read the Gift of the Magi. Poor girl! Too lose such fine hair! At least it was for a noble cause.
More than the cause, it was the way it is written, I think, that made me appreciate it. I find it difficult to write like that, where you are all feelings. Its something I’m yet to learn and master. So that is the main reason I like it and the others I named.
i have read so many short stories. i love them because, when your schedual is packed up a short story can help you cool down..
And wasn’t there one that made a strong impression on you? One whose name you remember?
hmm not that I remember at the moment however I have read the Diamond Necklace, before its wonderful!
Yes, I agree with you completely. I love short stories (even more than novels, I think, as novels can often be far too self indulgent). One of my favorite short stories is Pat Murphy’s “Rachel in Love.” But, of course, who can forget the short story greats of Stephen King and Richard Matheson?
I really like people with two last names linked by a hyphen. And yours is so interesting! Mead-Brewer.
If I ever marry I too shall procure such a name.
I agree! And thank you. My husband and I both changed to Mead-Brewer — it was just too good to pass up 🙂
Thank you for the suggestions. I’ll check some out.
I do love a short story. Stephen King is well versed at the art. Pet Sematary is my favorite should I be forced to pick. I’m glad someone mentioned Poe as well.
Have you read any George R. R. Martin. His Fire and Ice saga is amazing, but many don’t know that he started like many authors do, writing short stories. He has several excellent collections out there.
And kudos for including the Decameron! I was introduced to it in HS in a AP Western Civ class. I was drawn to the naughtiness.
I, too, much enjoyed the naughtiness of the Decameron when I was about 17 or so. Much enjoyed it. 😀
I’ve actually procured a George R.R. Martin short story collection and will listen to it soon.
I’m a lucky person that enjoys reading anything I can get my hands on, but I know a lot of people who say “reading isn’t their thing”.. They should read this post and look up those great short stories that are a bit less daunting, but still just as fascinating and moving as the longer novels. Then they’d realise what they’re missing!
I agree!
Hurray for women like you Frances! You keep literature alive. Most readers are women, you know. As many as 7 out of 10, I’ve heard.
I tip my hat to you.
I think you missed Lydia Davis and William Trevor too. They’re excellent. Also, the Canterbury Tales doesn’t always have a moral, nor does the Decameron and when they do there’s usually a knowing wink with it
I mean an implied moral. There are exceptions of course. Alas, I’ve never heard of Lydia Davis and William Trevor. Will check them.
I think you’ll like Lydia Davis in particular, going by your fifty word stories
I “collect” short story books! One of my favourites, since many years back, is Katherine Mansfield’s “The Doll’s House”. http://www.lamaquinadeltiempo.com/mansfield/04dollh.htm
If that is your real name, it’s so fine and peculiar!
Just the oldest spellings/versions of my real name that I could find!
I meant to mention Flannery O’Connor – one of my favourite short story writers.
Neil Gaiman has a collection of short stories (a few actually) one in particular is a collection called “Fragile Things.” They are all hypnotizing.
I’ve listened to Smoke and Mirrors, his first. Know it?
Yes I do, but I haven’t had a chance to read or listen to it yet. I slowly want to make my way through his entire collection of work.
Aaaand… “The Little Prince”! 😉 It is a short story. It’s very short.
Novella Julie, novella. That’s how they call it I think.
Yes, they call it novella. But what is a novel if not a short story?
LOVE short stories. There is a podcast I subscribe to called “Selected Shorts”. Check it out – it is the highlight of my week.
http://www.selectedshorts.org
I enjoy podcasts myself. Din’t know of that one. Downloaded the last one. Thanks for sharing!
I like the short stories with a different ending. O’Henry is one of my favorites. He had a way of making you think one way and at the end trick you. What is black becomes white and vica versa. I have written a few in this vein. If you get chance give them a read and let me know what you think of them. The Ring is one and many stories on My Dad are in that category. Some people think what I write is real but I write and the blur between real and not real becomes vague.
I will. And I’ll check O’Henry too.
There is great one from Mr. Dell called the Blanket. Really good. Check it out.
Betting your hat isn’t wise… if someone did regret one of the stories, they would possess the untold power that lies within that hat!! You’re better to keep that hat in safe hands! 🙂
You’re right, Daniel.
But one must take risks from time to time. 🙂
A list I can work my way through – brilliant!