Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl
As anyone who has read some of my reviews on this site might have already noticed, I love short stories. There’s something almost magical about being able to step into a three-dimensional fictional world and get to know it well over a short period of time.
A nicely-developed short story can have all of the emotional impact of a full-length novel. I’ve often sobbed or laughed while reading short stories. Not every character or setting needs hundreds of pages in order to come alive in the reader’s imagination.
You can read everything I talk about today for free online by clicking on the links below. I hope you all find something you enjoy in this list.
1. The Landlady by Roald Dahl.
This was originally something that I read for a high school English class. I didn’t understand the significance of the final scene until we discussed it in class the next day, but I’ve never thought of tea in quite the same way since then.
2. Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx.
I actually watched the film based on this long before I knew it had started out as a short story. Watching Ennis and Jack fall in love worked even better in the short story format. Their relationship was so forbidden in the 1960s that it made sense for it to be condensed into such a small space.
3. To Build a Fire by Jack London.
Mr. London was one of the first authors I discovered whose writing style I liked so much that I decided to read everything I could possibly find that was written by him.
This particular tale was about someone who got caught in a blizzard. Their life depends on their ability to build a fire and warm up before hypothermia sets in. I was on the edge of my seat the first time I read this because of how high the stakes were and how many obstacles the main character had to overcome to do something as simple as build a fire out in the open and warm up.
4. The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas by Ursula K. LeGuin.
The first time I read this, I felt a nearly uncontrollable urge to write a fan fiction sequel to it so everyone would know what happened after the last scene. The dark underbelly of this society bothered me so much that I really wanted it to be explained more deeply before someone tore it down for good.
I still haven’t written that piece of fan fiction, but maybe someday I will.
5. The Lottery by Shirley Jackson.
Does it surprise you at all that this was yet another short story I read in a high school English class? The teacher I mentioned above did a whole unit on short stories by North American and European writers. She was the one who ignited my love of them.
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6. The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe.
I could probably write an entire Top Ten Tuesday post about Mr. Poe’s stories. He was the master of throwing his audience into an eerie situation and only gradually revealing the true horror of it all.
What I like the most about The Tell-Tale Heart was the raven. I love seeing ravens in real life, but I’d be pretty alarmed if one of them began talking to me.
7. The Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Anderson.
Growing up, I was obsessed with fairy tales. (Honestly, I still am!) My grandparents had several large books filled with all sorts of fairy tales, from the widely-known ones like Cinderella to much more obscure works.
The first time I read The Little Match Girl, I blinked away tears. I hadn’t read a fairy tale with such a sad ending before that day, so it came as a shock to me to see what happened to this character given all of the difficult things she’d already experienced in her short life. I still loved her story, though.
8. A Haunted House by Virgina Woolf.
The only thing I’d enjoy more than a typical paranormal story would be if that same haunting were written from the perspective of the ghost instead of a living person. There’s something so interesting about seeing the world from the perspective of the dead.
9. Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
I first read this when I was too young to understand the point Mr. Vonnegut was trying to make, so my first reaction was to wonder if I’d enjoy team sports more if there really was a way to eliminate other people’s natural athleticism so I could compete with them better. (I was not an athletic or coordinated child to say the least!)
It was only when I returned to this tale at an older age that I began to appreciate what the author was really saying. He was an astute man.
10. The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin.
Yes, this was another story assigned by the same teacher I talked about earlier in this post. I was fascinated by the thought of the main character being oddly relieved to hear her spouse had died. The idea of remaining in an unhappy marriage had never occurred to me before, so it took a while to figure out why Mrs. Mallard wasn’t heartbroken at the thought of being single again.
What are your favorite short stories?
Wonderful list — and a reminder of Brokeback Mountain I needed. How Could I forget that one!!
Thank you. Yes, I thought it was a full-length novel at first. I’m glad I double-checked and realized it was a short story instead.
Brokeback Mountain broke me. I made the mistake of reading it before work and was late because I couldn’t stop crying. Hahaha.
Anything by Poe is always a winner.
I had a similar reaction to Brokeback Mountain.
And, yes, Poe wrote some amazing stuff for sure.
Interesting list. I have a read a few but really have wanted to get into reading Edgar Allen Poe but haven’t found the time. My favourite from this list is probably The Little Match Girl, I usually read it in the fairytale book that my grandmother got me when I was young.
Edgar Allen Poe was such a fantastic storyteller. I can’t recommend his work highly enough.
I remember reading The Landlady by Roald Dahl. I enjoyed it at the time! Great list!
Thank you. Yes, The Landlady definitely is memorable.
You have some great authors represented here! Sadly, I haven’t read any of these. I must remedy that.
Thank you.
I hope you give all of them a try. They really knew how to tell a story.
Fab list!
Thank you. I appreciate that.
Ahh I read The Story of An Hour and The Telltale Heart for my English class sophomore year, and I really enjoyed the stories and the class discussion that followed. I haven’t read any of Virgina Woolf’s works, but I remember reading a compelling journal-entry-like piece she wrote about her sadness during war. Thanks for sharing!
claire @ clairefy
You’re welcome.
I’ve never read that piece about Virginia Woolf’s sadness during the war. It sounds like it was really good, though.
I LOVE The Tell-Tale Heart. We seemed to read it almost every year in school, but I never got tired of it. So great!
I’m glad to hear that. Yes, it’s a great piece of fiction.
I had no idea Brokeback Mountain was a short story! It felt like quite a long movie so I assumed it came from a full length novel.
Yes, the movie did a fantastic job of expanding the original story. I was pretty impressed once I made the connection between the two.
What a great list!! Ah I love the Little Match Girl! That story broke me the first time I read it, and yet there’s something about it that makes me want to read it every year around Christmas/New Year’s. While I haven’t read many of the other short stories on here, I’ve now added many of them to my TBR!
Thank you .I hope you enjoy the rest of the suggestion on my list as well.
I have the same desire to reread The Little Match Girl at that time of the year. It’s so fitting.
How did I not know that Brokeback Mountain was a book!?!
Now that you know, will you be reading it? 🙂
“I’ve never thought of tea in quite the same way since then” sounds… sinister. I am both intrigued and concerned.
Yes, you should definitely be concerned about the tea. That’s all I can say without giving away spoilers.
Oh my gosh, I absolutely love Edgar Allen Poe. Fantastic list; thanks for sharing. My TTT: https://emilyweatherburnblog.wordpress.com/2018/07/17/top-ten-tuesday-short-stories-novellas/.
You’re welcome. It’s nice to meet another fan of Poe.
I don’t know if I could pick just one Poe story… 🙂
It definitely wasn’t an easy thing to do.
This list really brings me back to high school, which was where I first encountered The Lottery, and Edgar Allen Poe, and Jack London. Although I knew Poe just as well from this video game I played as I did from the assigned reading in class…
I didn’t know Edgar Allen Poe was in any video games. How interesting.
Yay, I love Poe so much and the Tell-Tale Heart is one of my favorites. Nice list!
Thank you. The Tell-Tale Heart is definitely a timeless read.
I have read Poe and Anderson. In fact, I used to carry around this beautifully illustrated volume of Anderson’s fairytales. I am curious about The Lottery, because I recently read a book, where the character talked about hat story.
I hope you enjoy The Lottery. It was quite the story.
The only one I’m familiar with is The Tell-Tale Heart…definitely a good one. I’ve got a reread of Poe coming up soon…looking forward to it. Thanks for visiting my blog! http://100greatestnovelsofalltimequest.blogspot.com/2018/07/top-ten-novellas-short-stories-top-ten.html
You’re welcome. Poe is always good for rereads in my opinion.
I’ve read a few of these! The Little Match Girl is quite sad.
You should write that fanfiction!
Okay, I will. 🙂
You’ve got great authors on this list, although I’m not familiar with a lot of the stories. I love Dahl, Vonnegut, and of course Shirley Jackson. I’d like to read more Leguin.
Thank you. I’d like to read more LeGuin, too. I’ve only read some of her work so far.
I love your list! It has such different titles on it!
Thanks. I appreciate that.
Ah, the Tell-Tale Heart, such a good one!
I couldn’t agree with you more there.
I like a good short story! And I surprised myself with this topic in how many novellas/ sort stories I’ve read lately, I didn’t realize there had been quite so many. I’ve never read one by Roald Dahl though, and would love too. I have good childhood memories of some of his stories being read t ous in elementary school!
Jack London’s another.
Yes, Roald Dahl wrote some great stuff.
Brokeback was so lovely. I can’t believe I spaced on that for my list! 🙂
I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Excellent list, especially LeGuin and Poe.
Thank you. Yes, they’re must-reads in my opinion.
The Lottery and The Tell Tale Heart are two of my favorites too!
How cool!
The Tell Tale Heart is one of my all time favorites, and probably the short story that first made me fall in love with short stories in general! I had no idea Brokeback Mountain was a short story, though. How cool!
Yes, a lot of people didn’t seem to realize that. Brokeback Mountain was a fantastic short story. I hope you like it.
Great list! I’m happy to discover someone else who loves short stories. “The Lottery” made my list. I wanted to include “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “Brokeback Mountain,” too, but I had to limit myself to 10.
It’s nice to know I’m not alone here.
Yes, narrowing it down to only ten stories was hard.
I think I have The Land Lady in a bind-up of his short stories. I’m curious about that now.
I hope you enjoy it. It was quite the story.
I think the only one I have read is The Tell-Tale Heart, but wow, you have me very curious about The Story of An Hour! It sounds really fascinating. To Build a Fire sounds quite good too, I will have to check these out. Great picks!!
They were both fantastic. Happy reading!
Ooooh so many of these are so good!! The Lottery and Tell-Tale Heart are two I read while being English majors and they left SUCH an impression. Great list!!
Thank you. What a kind thing to say.
None of these look familiar to me, but I do find it interesting that so many fairy tales (i.e. Hans Christian Anderson) are so much darker than those we often see. For me, a girl who likes the HEA, I’m glad writers have changed this over the years. 🙂
Thanks so much for the Finding Wonderland visit!
You’re welcome. Yes, fairy tales have evolved a lot over the years, and even more so since Disney started retelling some of them.
I’m not usually a short story reader, but I would love to read Brokeback Mountain!
I hope you do. It was a great story.
Excellent list! I loved the Jackson, Poe, and Anderson short stories and want to read the Woolf, Chopin, and Proulx ones soon.
I hope you’ll be able to read them soon. They were great.
Interesting. I don’t think we read any short stories/novellas during my high school English classes. We did do some in AP Spanish, though 🙂
It must have been fun to read stories in Spanish. My Spanish teacher showed us movies, but she didn’t assign any stories.
I feel like I might have read these at some point but the only one I remember is To Build A Fire… And I didn’t even remember the title at first! All I remembered was a blizzard being involved. ?
I didn’t like many of the stories during AP English or American Literature though – something about their writing style list didn’t seem to be my type (though I still read it and I admit I added them to my Goodreads reading challenge).
I’m glad I helped you remember the title of that story! Good luck with your Goodreads challenge.