I primarily read novels, but i have read a decent amount of short stories. Most recently the ones from “Stories of your life and other stories” by Ted Chiang. Aside from that i have a few other short story collections, and a science magazine i am subscribed to (Spektrum der Wissenschaft) has one with each issue.

Sure, I love short stories! They are quite a different art form from novels, and sadly I think they aren’t as common as they used to be. But a lot of my favorite authors released a number of collections of short stories.

I don’t ‘read’ them so much as I listen, LaVar Burton Reads is an amazing podcast where he reads a short story a week.

The short story is an underappreciated art form, though many, many short stories are published each year in small presses. I’d recommend Pushcart Prize as a good yearly anthology.

In fact, I’d say the short story is my favorite medium as far as literature is concerned Building on that, Donald Barthelme is my favorite short story author, and I’d recommend Sixty Stories as a good starting place, followed by Forty Stories. Either that, or find a couple of his works online and jump to the Library of America anthology if you like them.

I normally read them when they’re of historical or cultural significance or when someone explicitly recommends them.

yes, but not as much as I read novels. every once in a while I’ll come across a book of short stories that piques my interest, and I’ll give it a go. if I like it, I’ll read more by that author. most recently that was Jason Ockert, I loved all 3 collections of his. last year I read a bunch of Lauren Groff.

I feel like it’s harder for an author to pull me into short stories than it is to pull me into a novel, but I think the payoff for me is the same either way. they require some different skills, but good writing is good writing.

Yes, I thoroughly enjoy short stories, for all the reasons that you give.

I grew up on the classic fantasy tales: Conan, Fafhred and the Grey Mouser, the Dying Earth tales, and all of Dunsany, Clarke Ashton Smith etc etc as well as Lovecraft, Poe and M R James and the rest.

As well as focusing on a single mood or concept, as you suggest, short stories - particularly the more literary ones - are great as single character studies, or dealing with particular interactions in a way that isolates and brings them to the forefront simply by being given a beginning and end.

I read them more than novels now, mostly because of limited time and I want to read something complete.

I highly recommend the short stories of Barbara Gowdy, Alice Munro and Amy Hempel.

Short scifi is also fun, I like Game of Thrones but George RR Martin’s short scifi fiction is far better in my opinion.

But I am looking for new stuff. Anyone else want to recommend some great short fiction authors? (of any genre)