For many people reading is a wonderful hobby and pastime, however it can also be a time consuming one making it difficult to ever finish a book. For those of us that have trouble finding time to sit down with a large novel every weekend, I recommend diving into the world a short stories. Often times creative short story writers will provide collections that are connected but not always chronological. This means you can pick up and put down their book whenever and wherever you choose without feeling like you need to go back twenty pages to refresh! This allows you to take your time, read five stories or read one, and not worry about staying in the middle of the story for weeks at a time. If you're interested in starting your journey through creative short stories, here are some of my favorite collections!
1. The Glass Family Collection - JD Salinger
Many of you will know Salinger from his poignant novel, "The Catcher in the Rye". However, he is (in my opinion) and even more brilliant short story writer. This collection of short stories actually comes in several seperate books that follow each of the Glass family children. The idea behind this collection came from his short story "A Perfect Day For Bannafish" centering on the third child, Seymour's, last day on earth. The entire collection is grity, realistic and causes the reader to question a lot about the truth of life.
2. Vampires in the Lemon Grove & Other Stories - Karen Russell
Karen Russel is known for "Swamplandia" and she's back at it again with this magically dark collection of stories. Linked by a thread of mythical creatures and magical happenings, this collection will suck you in and keep you turning the pages. As each story comes to an end you feel the need to see what will happen in the next.
3. Tenth of December - George Saunders
This collection of stories compiles those published by Saunders from 1995 to 2009. It discusses hard themes like child abduction, prison, insanity, and many other tough subjects. However, Saunders approaches them with a real life grit and underlying sense of humor that makes the stories interesting and relatable.
4. Birds of America- Lorrie Moore
If you've ever read Lorrie Moore you know that she writes with a staunch comedic voice that will keep you laughing, even in the darkest of situations. This collection of short stories showcases her ability to examine the mediocre details of life with a keen eye. Moore punctuates her stories with truths that stay with the reader long after closing the book. With flowing prose and a connecting theme of relatable life events, "Birds of America" became a New York bestseller in 1998, which is rare for collections of short stories.
5. Can't and Won't - Lydia Davis
Lydia Davis is a master at exploring the surprising qualities of a seemingly average life. Her short stories range from one-liners to sweeping prose. She does not confine herself to a certain form and within this collection plays with letters of complaint, dream narratives and many other types of narrative. You will not be bored with this collection as every page leads you to something new and different.
6. Interpreter of Maladies - Jhumpa Lahiri
Lahiri writes of the Indian and Indian American immigrant experience. Taking a close look at what it means to be stuck between two worlds, Lahiri captures the struggles of learning when and where to fit in and to stand out. She beautifully displays the cultural, as well as emotional, struggles of coming to a new place and finding oneself in the midst of the chaos.
7. Lesser Apocalypses - Bayard Godsave
Those of you that study creative writing at Cameron Univsersity will be familiar with this name. Our very own Dr. Godsave has his own wonderful collection of short stories. As you may guess from the title, Godsave's collection covers some harsh realities of life. He examines what happens when the every day parts of life start to fall apart. What happens when our plans don't work out? We end up with our own "Lesser Apocalypses".
8. Jesus' Son - Denis Johnson
Denis Johnson takes a new approach to the short story collection. While all of these stories are definitely related and contain the same rotation of characters, they are in a seemingly jumbled and sometimes hard to follow order. This is intentional as Johnson is trying to create the feel of someone stumbling through life confused and lost. His main character, a character with no real name only a string of terrible nicknames, is a junky trying to find his way through life. This is another one of those real life perspective books that will leave you thinking.
9. Cane - Jean Toomer
This book may have been originally published in 1923, but it holds its relevance today. Toomer explores the lives of Black Americans from slavery onward. He discusses hard topics of sexuality, exoticism, the "other" and many topics that are still being discussed today. The writing flows easily and each story leads you to the next in a cycle that allows you to start the book at any point and finish at any end you choose.
10. That Glimpse of Truth - Edited by David Miller
If you're interested in broadening your reading horizons but aren't sure which authors to start with, this is a great collection for you. Miller includes authors such as Thomas Pynchon, Rudyard Kipling, Charles Dickens, Kate Atkinson and many more. This collection allows you to experience the prose of authors coming from different times, styles and subject matter. You will be able to get a taste of just about everything and from there move on to read more from your favorites. This collection is a great place to begin you short story reading!
Reading is an important part of living, learning and growing. Yet, it is often hard to find the time to sit down and read something for pleasure in this crazy world. By starting with short story collections you will be able to work your way through some of the greatest authors from different generations at your own pace. Whether you finish a collection in a week or a year, these are stories that will surely bring you back for more and more.
If you have a favorite short story collection or author that didn't make my (far from exhaustive) list, comment about it below!
