Comments on: On reading short stories

By: Jeane

Jeane — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 13:21:52 +0000

I struggle to appreciate short stories. They always feel incomplete to me, no matter how well-depicted the characters are or tidy the ending. I always want to know more, and end up a bit dissatisfied.

By: Julie

Julie — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 12:20:17 +0000

Lucy, my problem exactly. But going back and rereading is hard, because there’s always the next story, staring you in the face.

Unfinished, I guess my favorite short stories are still sci-fi. In fact, I think sci-fi actually works best in short story format. My favorite? Ray Bradbury, of course.

Care, I don’t know nothin’ either. :-) And I definitely don’t know poetry. Alas.

Marie, I know what you mean. It is hard to go to the next one. That’s why the idea of the One Story magazine is so intriguing.

Ella, thanks for the recommendations. I have read some Sherlock Holmes but it’s been years. As for Wodehouse, well, I prefer Blandings Castle, but Jeeves isn’t bad either. And wow, I didn’t know Rushdie wrote short stories. I bet they ARE awesome. Snacks as big as a full meal, I imagine.

By: Ella

Ella — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 07:58:25 +0000

I liked this book very much, and I’m glad you did too.Have you ever read the Sherlock Holmes mysteries? Those are some of my favorites, along with Wodehouse’s Jeeves & Wooster stories. Rushdie’s short stories are awesome. Sherman Alexie writes some killer short pieces too – there’s an anthology called (I think) 10 Little Indians, that I loved reading and still have somewhere in storage.

I like short stories. They’re like snacks instead of full meals, plus they’re an efficient and easy way to be introduced to a writer.

By: marie

marie — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 01:12:25 +0000

I like short stories, but I have a hard time disciplining myself to finish an entire volume sometimes. It’s a weird thing where, when I finish a story, I sometimes lose all interest in the rest of the book- some kind of lack of attention span, or something. Sometimes I think I get too invested in each story and find it hard to move on to the next. I’ve had a couple of collections around for review lately so I’ve had to try to break this habit but it’s an effort. Luckily the collections I’ve been reading are mostly pretty good so it hasn’t been too hard! :-)

By: Care

Care — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 12:10:51 +0000

Oh, I don’t think the schools intentionally ‘train’ us to be anti-short story; I would agree with your statement the short stories are more difficult and thus, that word difficult, makes one shy away from the short story? I don’t know nothin’.

I appreciate Aunt Sara’s comment! and is another reminder I might want to start reading poetry, too.