Instead of a book of the month, we'll start 2020 off with a few groups of short stories. Now you can meet your resolution without feeling overwhelmed by 'must-read novels'.
I'm planning on offering you roughly 25 of my favorite short stories over the course of January, February, and March, so here is the first group!
1. “The Paper Menagerie” by Ken Liu
"The Paper Menagerie" is currently at the top of my list. I've taught this short story and it always gets a huge response from my students. The projects they've come up with in response to this story? Amazing. You MAY want to have a tissue at hand though.
(The rest of the stories are in no particular order of favoritism, I just really wanted to put this one first!)
2. "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" by Ambrose Bierce
Ambrose Bierce is a weird dude, but when I first read this short story I was intrigued by his writing style and use of language. He also wrote The Devil's Dictionary which offers cynical and often hilarious alternative definitions of common words. Definitely check that out as well if you need a laugh after this short story.
3. "Imp of the Perverse" by Edgar Allen Poe
You know that feeling of deliberately trying NOT to think of something but losing the game? Poe plays with that idea in the story of a man who successfully commits murder... only to blurt out a confession in front of a police officer! Give this short story a read if you're in the mood for a quick psychological thriller.
4. "Lamb to the Slaughter" by Roald Dahl
It may seem incongruous to some, to have a title like that next to the name Roald Dahl... but even his children's books look at complex themes and even some dark material! Most people know Roald Dahl as the author of famous stories like Matilda, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The BFG, The Witches, and Fantastic Mr. Fox, but he also wrote this short story which I enjoy quite a lot. I hope you will too!
5. “The Changeling” by Dorothy Hanes
Honestly just get the whole collection. It may be difficult to get your hands on a digital copy of just "The Changeling", but your local library hopefully has the collection "Thou Shalt Not Suffer A Witch," which will provide you with access to several other of Dorothy Haynes' intense short stories!
6. "The Veldt" by Ray Bradbury
I have loved this story since the first time I read it in sixth grade. My English teacher asked us to write an extended ending to the story and the loss of that assignment in the Apple Works to Word Doc shift still haunts me.
Anyway, a story that has grown increasingly relevant as technology continues to become ingrained in our lives, "The Veldt" examines what happens when artificial intelligence replaces the most vital things.
7. “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut
Two for the price of one! First, read the short story. It's pretty good. NOW, WATCH THIS MOVIE VERSION that I think packs an even stronger punch and gets the thematic message across more clearly (even though they change some things). If you don't want to give them your email and watch it there in high def, you can watch this youtube version. This is another one I teach and it is absolutely fascinating to see which students 'get it' right away, and then to see what talking points suddenly make things connect for others.
8. “Roman Fever” by Edith Wharton
Oh boy, it's the ending of this one that gets me every time. The absolute ZINGER has become a phrase I love to reference with the former classmates who read this for the first time with me in college. We loved it so much that we asked to do a dramatic reading of the ending aloud for the class. We were amazing, of course, and the whole euphemism of Roman Fever itself is another thing that I just think is absolutely hilarious.
I hope you enjoy the ending as well!
That's all for this time! I hope you find a couple that appeal to you. Either way, stay tuned for a new selection at the beginning of February.
Happy New Year!
–C