Favorite Short Stories

One of my favorite short stories, coming from my time in public school, is Ray Bradbury's "There Will Come Soft Rains". The title (and premise) comes from a work by a poet I love, Sara Teasdale, and it's beautifully written. It's admittedly not the most complex story in the world, but it hit me hard in my formative years, and I fell in love with it.

What's your favorite short story? Why?

I really liked The Secret Life of Walter Mitty by James Thurber.

I'm not entirely sure why, exactly, but it was fun seeing these different scenarios and scenes that the main character imagined, and then seeing where he really was? It's been a long time since I read it, so aah. It was an instant favorite, though.

I should find it and read it again.

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EDIT: This one is flash fiction, but it's done entirely in dialogue. I read it in high school and it was kind of interesting. Only just found it again: http://www.terrybisson.com/page6/page6.html

Victory Lap by George Saunders. I've never seen an author juggle multiple perspectives so well in a short story, especially while maintaining tension. Plus, George Saunders is just a gem.

I haven't read *a lot* of short stories, but I do have my favorites. "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button", by F. Scott Fitzgerald is one of them. I read it for a literary analysis and I really enjoyed it! The premise is super fascinating, and it's interesting to see how it plays out--especially in the main character's relationships with his family and friends.

Also, O. Henry is a master at putting a twist in short stories. When I read his work, I'm always looking forward for that twist. A favorite of his is "The Last Leaf" (and it's famous, isn't it?) I thought the ending (with a twist!) was sad...but somehow there's something lovely about it too.

When I was in High School for AP Lit, I think we had a short-stories section and I remember liking "The Lady with the Dog" by Anton Chekhov the best. If you take the story's characters to be models of how you should go and live your life, it's problematic, but if you just understand it as a description of how life and emotion can get muddled up in the world it's pretty neat. Just really enjoyed the symbolism, writing, and characterization along the way there.

I'm a huge fan of a lot of Isaac Asimov's short stories because of all the cool ideas they explore, but by far my favorite has to be "The Last Question." (You can read it here!) It's just such a *fascinating* concept, told so well and succinctly through a series of vignettes, and the ending is honestly awe-inspiring to think about. I think I first read it when I was 13 or 14, and it's stayed with me ever since.