I’m one of those readers who suffer from that “must finish before I put it down” syndrome. If I get into a story, I find it really hard to stop reading it. This means many nights where I’m reading until the birds start singing. And it means bleary eyes and a need to work on ways to stay awake during the day. The answer? Leave the novels to the weekend and indulge in short stories on weekdays. I’ve found some excellent short story collections this year and would love to share them with you.
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The iconic Nora Ephron blessed us with this short story collection that both celebrates and pokes fun at the kinds of women that paved the way for how freely we live today.
Buy at: amazon.com
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A collection of fantastical stories that take you to other worlds, but possess a biting wit and satire that keep them grounded and effortlessly enjoyable to read.
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If there is one thing Alice Munro knows how to write about, it is love in all of its various shapes and varieties. These stories explore both the sublime happiness and extreme sadness that love can evoke.
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This is a collection of stories that are all about metaphorical keys: the key to one’s heart, the key to a house, the key to a well-kept secret… All wonderfully told in their own imaginative way.
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A really funny set of stories that explores all of the different emotions that makes up a person’s definitive personality; from ambition to hope to fear to perhaps the biggest one of all, love.
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A really intimate collection of stories in which the author looks to make deep and meaningful connections between America and Africa, and the parents and offspring that bridge the gap between the two continents.
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A compilation of stories from the legendary writer Lucia Berlin. This collection expertly provides the reader with small but all-encompassing observations about the lives of middle class Americans, what makes them tick and what is important to them.
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Pick up this collection if you are planning to sleep with the light on for the next few evenings! A compilation of terrifying horror and ghost stories that will have you reaching for a teddy bear!
Buy at: amazon.com
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If you like a touch of the bizarre in your literature, then this collection of slightly eerie but marvelous stories is definitely for you. Look out especially for a memorable tale about a group of schoolboys who stumble upon a scarecrow that looks exactly like a boy they used to tease.
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This highly intellectual collection of stories is all about Indian culture and how it morphs and changes throughout the generations. Really poignant and interesting.
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They may be over two centuries old at this point, but this collection of Grimm tales lovingly edited by the one and only Philip Pullman are still as fresh and innovative as the first time you heard them!
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A powerful set of short stories about war, memory and the strong power that the art of storytelling has in all aspects of life.
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A must read for any Harry Potter fan. A collection (cleverly translated by Hermione Granger) that boasts some of the most famous folk tales and myths in the wizarding world.
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Though his novels are much more well-known, David Foster Wallace is also a short story expert, with this collection of tales that explore politics and mass culture in a way that only he can.
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A vivid representation of what “dear Dirty Dublin” was like in the early twentieth century, told in a way that only the father of Irish literature, James Joyce, could!
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A remarkable set of short stories from an author who feels rooted in two very different cultures. A display of urban communities in both the Dominican Republic and New Jersey.
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A collection of stories from one the literature world’s leading postmodernists, a deconstruction of the world and everything in between, including humanity and all of our weird behavior.
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A set of stories that really are universal, with author ZZ Packer looking through age, race and gender to be able to tap in to the essence of human beings and their shared experiences.
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You may have read this collection in your high school days, but it’s worth revisiting now that you have some years behind you. A perfect example of the hypnotic Southern Gothic style.
Buy at: amazon.com
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