Short stories!

[Raven]

Anything by Ray Bradbury. I remember reading The Pedestrian at college, and that got me hooked.

 

I have 30-year old photocopy of The Pedestrian that I was given in an English lesson in school; a great story.

[chesilbeach]

Lots of people talking about classic/vintage short stories - do many people here read short stories by contemporary writers?  

 

I've just started the collection Once You Break A Knuckle by D. W. Wilson.  I saw him at ShortStoryVille in Bristol last year, and the story he read an excerpt from was in this collection, and has been on my wish list since then.

[Cookie]

I've just finished Girl Reading. Which are shot stories about pictures of girls/women reading. I enjoyed the writing style a lot.

[Wipples]

Lots of people talking about classic/vintage short stories - do many people here read short stories by contemporary writers?  

 

I've just started the collection Once You Break A Knuckle by D. W. Wilson.  I saw him at ShortStoryVille in Bristol last year, and the story he read an excerpt from was in this collection, and has been on my wish list since then.

I have avoided reading contemporary stories, I don't know why,maybe it's because I feel that they won't  be close to the classic writers. Any good suggestions to start with?

[chesilbeach]

Ali Smith and Simon Van Booy would be top of my list of recommendations.  For Smith, I'd probably start with The Whole Story and other stories and Van Booy I'd say The Secret Lives of People In Love, but as far as I'm concerned, you could read any of their collections and find the most beautifully written short stories.

[Wipples]

^{Thank you, I will definitely look nto them.}

[Athena]

Lots of people talking about classic/vintage short stories - do many people here read short stories by contemporary writers?  

x

Hmm, I think I hadn't posted here yet! I've read a few, for example Jodi Picoult - Short Pieces and stories by Susan Hatler. Another few short stories are on my TBR.

 

Generally I prefer bigger books as opposed to short stories, because I feel there are much more details in a novel. My favourite short story collection is Arthur C. Clarke - The Other Side of the Sky (science-fiction, I also own an omnibus with all his short stories but haven't read that one yet). I also really like Susan Hatler's short stories (they're chicklit-romance type stories).

 

I have some classic short stories or short story collections on my TBR as well.

[Kylie]

Athena, I've read Arthur C Clarke's Collected Stories (the one with all of his short stories), and I absolutely loved it. In fact, despite its length, I've read it a couple of times and dipped back in to re-read certain stories. It's one of my favourite books because of the sheer brilliance of so many of the stories. It's way overdue for a re-read!

 

I would also recommend his Tales from the White Hart. Of course, all of these stories are also included in the omnibus, but I loved these particular stories so much that I bought a copy of this book just so I could have them all in one handy little package. The stories are told by men in a pub called the White Hart, and there's a lot of funny banter by the characters before and after (and I think even during) the stories.

[Athena]

That sounds good, Kylie !

[gardengirl]

think I must read Tales from The White Hart, if only because it is our local pub just across the road! If I take the book with me it will be sure to cause a stir!

[Angury]

Has anyone read any of Lydia Davies' short stories? They introduced me to the genre, and made me realise how the most mundane everyday tasks can be transformed through writing. I'd recommend her work, she has a gift of making you see things differently.

 

I've also recently bought a collection of Vladimir Nabokov's short stories. I loved his novel Lolita, so decided to read one of his short stories, Signs and Symbols and was hooked - it's also available online for free! Here's a list of some of his short stories:

 

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/tip-sheet/article/52412-the-top-10-nabokov-short-stories.html#path/pw/by-topic/industry-news/tip-sheet/article/52412-the-top-10-nabokov-short-stories.html

 

I'm really starting to get into short stories now, I've found some of them make you think more than a lot of novels I've read.

Edited March 22, 2014 by Angury

[dtrpath27]

I am as well.  I really love how the author has to make every word count and how I can become just as attached to the characters as I can in a full-length novel.

 

I've never read the author you mentioned, but I just looked her up in the Kindle store, and she looks quite interesting.  I'll have to check her out.

Edited March 22, 2014 by dtrpath27

[emelee]

Edgar Allan Poe is an idol of mine when it comes to short stories. 

 

Hjalmar Söderberg's The fur coat is such a classic, I absolutely love love love it. 

 

Guy De Maupassant also have some great stories.

 

And of course also Nikolai Gogol's The overcoat.