(Part 2) Reddit mentions: The best short stories

Some of my favorite books available on Kindle Unlimited:

They Mostly Come Out At Night and Where the Waters Turn Black by Benedict Patrick

Paternus by Dyrk Ashton

Danse Macabre by Laura M. Hughes

The Half Killed by Quenby Olson

A Star Reckoners Lot by Darrell Drake

Sufficiently Advanced Magic by Andrew Rowe

Jaeth's Eye by K. S. Villoso


Here are some that I haven't read, but have heard mostly positive things about:

The Palace Job by Patrick Weekes

Revenant Winds by Mitchell Hogan

Ghosts of Tomorrow by Michael R Fletcher

A Warrior's Path by Davis Ashura

Valley of Embers by Steven Kelliher

Faithless by Graham Austin-King. He also has another series, The Riven Wyrde Saga, beginning with Fae - The Wild Hunt

Ours is the Storm by D. Thourson Palmer

Path of Man by Matt Moss

Threat of Madness by D.K. Holmberg

To Whatever End by Claire Frank

House of Blades by Will Wight

Path of Flames by Phil Tucker

The Woven Ring by M. D. Presley

Awaken Online: Catharsis by Travis Bagwell

Wolf of the North by Duncan M. Hamilton

Free the Darkness by Kel Kade

The Cycle of Arawn Trilogy by Edward W. Robinson

Dawn of Wonder by Jonathan Renshaw

Benjamim Ashwood by AC Cobble

The Crimson Queen by Alec Hutson

The Queens Poinsoner by Jeff Wheeler

Stiger's Tigers by Marc Alan Edelheit 

Rise of the Ranger by Philip C. Quaintrell 

Nice Dragons Finish Last by Rachel Aaron

Devil's Night Dawning by Damien Black


Here are some older fantasy and sci-fi books that I enjoyed:

Tales of Nevèrÿon by Samuel R. Delany - African inspired S&S by an extremely talented writer.

Witch World as well as other good books by Andre Norton

Swords and Deviltry The first volume of Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser by Fritz Leiber - Many of the tropes of the rogue/thief came from this legendary duo created by Leiber. And it's worth noting that Leiber actually coined the term Sword & Sorcery. This collection contains 3 stories, two average origin stories for each character and the final story is the Hugo and Nebula winning novella "Ill Met in Lankhmar" detailing the first meeting of Fafhrd and The Grey Mouser.

Swords Against Darkness - A '70s S&S anthology. It has few stinkers, a few mediocre stories, and a some really good ones. Poul Anderson and Ramsey Campbell both have awesome stories in this anthology that are well worth checking out. For some reason, there were quite a few typos in this book, it was slightly distracting, but may have been fixed since I read it.

The Best of C. L. Moore by C. L. Moore. I read this earlier this year and I absolutely loved it. The collection is all sci-fi and one Jirel of Joiry story, which is her famous female Sword & Sorcery character. I was suprised by how well her sci-fi stories held up, often times pulp sci-fi doesn't age well, but this collection was great. Moore was married to the writer Henry Kuttner, and up until his death they wrote a bunch of great stories together. Both of their collections are basically collaborations, although I'm sure a few stories were done solo. His collection The Best of Henry Kuttner features the short story that the movie The Last Mimzy was based on. And, if you are into the original Twilight Zone TV series there is a story that was adapted into a memorable season 1 episode entitled "What You Need". Kuttner and Moore are two of my favorite pulp authors and I'm not even that into science fiction, but I really enjoy their work.

Alright, I'll try to avoid making this a wall of text, but that's going to be tough. Vonnegut is my all time favorite author, I've read everything the man has ever published, and though I've never found another author with quite the same voice, I've spent a lot of time trying.

Let's start with some humor masking philosophy, that's really what Vonnegut does best. The Hitchhiker's Guide is the best example of this in existence, but Terry Pratchett does a good job in his Discworld novels too. There're are reading guides online for Discworld, but I think you'd enjoy starting with Equal Rites.

I almost erased all of the above in my vehemence to recommend Tom Robbins to you. Jitterbug Perfume, Still Life With Woodpecker, Even Cowgirls Get the Blues...you really can't pick wrong with him.

I'm not much of a short story reader, Murakami, Ray Bradbury, and JD Salinger are exceptions to this rule for me. These Children Who Come at You with Knives is an excellent collection of dark fairy tales.

Anything by Cormac McCarthy. Especially All The Pretty Horses.

Tom McCarthy's first novel (no relation to Cormac) really impressed me. It's about a man who no longer feels his actions are genuine after a debilitating accident forces him to re-learn how to function his body.
"“Ever since learning to move again,” he explains, “I’d felt that all my acts were duplicates, unnatural, acquired.” Like a character in a novel by Philip K. Dick, he comes off as something between a normal person and a programmed automaton""
Eventually he spends the money from the injury lawsuit creating bizarre and elaborate recreations of memories (or invented scenarios) where he felt more 'real' or natural. The book is truly strange, and following the protagonist down the twists of his psychosis is uncomfortably easy, like the border between his mind and yours isn't as thick or as firm as you'd like it to be.


God is Dead by Ron Currie, Jr. is a series of short stories around the premise that God came to Earth as an African woman only to be killed, and subsequently eaten by wild dogs. The stories are about the varying reactions to the confirmed death of God, and include teenage suicide pacts, child-worshipping cults, and an interview with the dog who ate the flesh of God.
It's a quick read (fewer than 200 pages), and the stories will stick with you.

Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson isn't exactly new, but it's easily the most beautiful book I've ever read. It packs more loneliness and pain than should be possible in 219 pages, but every word is perfect. If you like gorgeously constructed, compact prose, read this book.


And for whatever reason, I adore Denis Johnson's Already Dead every time I read it, and then promptly forget the majority of its plot. I couldn't tell you much of what happens, but the characters are bizarrely archetypal forces, and again, the prose is beautiful.

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EDIT: Just realized I missed your stated admired authors. If you're into the Carver-esque, "dirty-realism" scene, God is Dead might not be your thing, and perhaps not even Remainder (which, though psychologically realistic and philosophically intriguing, is not exactly "realism.") Cormac definitely would be, though, if you're not already familiar.

On the "gritty real-life" front, John Brandon's Arkansas was solid and entertaining, but doesn't particularly stand out in my memory. Apart from that, and the novels I mentioned above, I haven't read much in this style recently, apart from the classics (Carver!). Too much school=not enough reading, unfortunately.

i've ordered Herr Pep and Boquita. really pumped to read those. on the internet, Marti Perarnau has interesting guides to various European leagues.

the best soccer book of ALL time though is by Eduardo Galeano, El futbol a sol y sombra, also known as Soccer in Sun and Shadow.

Inverting the Pyramid is Great, How Soccer Explains the World is awesome, and Alex Bellos' book, Futebol: The Brazilian Way of Life is also really, really great.

I had the same issue in january, I wanted to buy a "complete" collection of Tolkiens books but box sets mostly dont contain everything I wanted and the nice ones are really expensive...<br /> <br /> I decided to buy the Harper Collins Anniversary editions (as mentioned in your other post) because they had every book I wanted in a similar size and spine layout. Its not the cheapest way to get all of them but the most satisfying for me... Also by far not the most expensive editions.

The books I got:

Fellowship of the Ring

Two Towers

Return of the King

Hobbit

History of the Hobbit: Mr. Baggins

History of the Hobbit: Return to Bag End

Simarillion

Unfinished Tales

This is a picture of them I found online, missing the second History of the Hobbit book and an one extra, but you get the idea of how they look: Link

I hope this is some help or at least a bit interesting

Its been ~15 years since I read it, but really loved Angry Candy, a collection of very dark short stories. Definitely worth a try. Now I know what to hunt for & re-read tonight :)

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00EYMXTJ4

Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00EYMXTJ4

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/700994

If you enjoy the eBook, I'd be thrilled if you left a short review!! Thanks, Jack :)

I'm glad you liked it! It's actually available for purchase as a kindle book here: https://www.amazon.com/Fluted-Girl-Paolo-Bacigalupi-ebook/dp/B00UJXOYSM but it's also available to read on my website for free: http://windupstories.com/books/pump-six-and-other-stories/the-fluted-girl/

As far as pronouncing my name, it's Batch-ih-gah-loo-pee. Here's a link to me pronouncing it: https://www.teachingbooks.net/pronounce.cgi?aid=13340 Though, I was Italy last year and it sounds a lot better when real Italians say it.

If you plan to read them casually then I would go with the PAPERBACK style you posted. Be aware that now these black spine (2002) editions are printed so many times that spines do not match and unless you buy a set that is listed as 'first printings' they will not match. There are paper variations to the set too when the printings are mismatched. Early printings have a thick paper and

As for the 3 Volume I personally find this set best as I use it for reference, I now have 2 copies of it as I have filled them with notes and am always dipping in and out of them.

I use both sets regularly but for the purposes of most readers the paperbacks are best suited.

The other option is the original hardcovers but by now they are really expensive.

God bless you brother.
"Men in the Sun and Other Palestinian Stories" a book by Ghassan Kanafani. Great stories. Here is an example http://www.reddit.com/r/Palestine/comments/2asay3/letter_from_gaza_ghassan_kanafani/

Amazon link:
http://www.amazon.com/Men-Sun-Other-Palestinian-Stories/dp/0894108573

Look for a copy of "50 Short Science Fiction Tales," Ed. by Isaac Asimov and Groff Conklin,
(c) 1963 by the Crowell-Collier Publishing Company.

Amazon has it for $17.95
http://www.amazon.com/50-Short-Science-Fiction-Tales/dp/0684842963
They list used copies from $7.19.

This is the best collection of short-shorts I've seen. I remember one that was general fiction, but have no idea of the title, haven't seen it since the 70s.

One I enjoyed (and one of the shortest) is "The Choice" by W. Hilton-Young (I wasn't able to find a page for this author, other than an iblist listing at http://www.iblist.com/author4832.htm, which lists only this story). W. Hilton-Young might have been a pseudonym for a general fiction author who didn't what their reputation tarnished by being associated with science fiction. Originally published in Punch - punch.co.uk

It's a bit of a shaggy dog story.

------------
The Choice
by W. Hilton-Young
------------
Before Williams went into the future he bought a camera and a tape recording machine and
learned shorthand. That night, when all was ready we made coffee and put out brandy and glasses
against his return.

"Good-bye," I said. "Don't stay too long."

"I won't," he answered.

I watched him carefully, and he hardly flickered. He must have made a perfect landing on
the very second he had taken off from. He seemed not a day older; we had expected he might
spend several years away.

"Well?"

"Well," said he, "let's have some coffee."

I poured it out, hardly able to contain my impatience. As I gave it to him I said again, "Well?"

"Well, the thing is, I can't remember."

"Can't remember? Not a thing?"

He thought for a moment and answered sadly, "Not a thing."

"But your notes? The Camera? The recording machine?"

The notebook was empty, the indicator on the camera rested at "1" where we had set it,
the tape was not even in the recording machine.

"But good heavens," I protested, "Why? How did it happen! Can you remember nothing at all?"

"I can remember only one thing."

"What was that?"

"I was shown everything, and I was given the choice whether I should remember it or not
after I got back."

"And you chose not to? But what an extraordinary thing to--"

"Isn't it," he said."One can't help wondering why."

------------
Edit: formatting

Modern Day Fables is free at the moment and kind of spooky, if you consider a story where everyone loses their personalities to be scary. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FTBY9UG

BLURB: Fables encourage kids to think about the question, "What would you do?" They're not simply dry lessons on how to live life, but rather imaginative adventures with clever outcomes. Adults need fables too! Modern Day Fables presents eleven stories that ask the reader to dive in to the modern day dilemma at hand. 

• Would you rather live in a screen or in the real world? 
  
• Would you join a club that promises to take all your pain away?
  
• Would you indulge a magical looking pharmaceutical pill that brings you to a new level of enlightenment and eliminates all anxiety in life? 
  
  Not everything is as it appears on the surface. Bend, twist, and unfold reality through these fables that ultimately question the status quo and ask both the adult and kid in you: What would you do?

I teach high school science and a month or two ago I came across a book called "50 chemistry ideas you really need to know". It's a great little run down of the basics and then it goes into some pretty cool modern stuff. My understanding is that it is part of a series.

http://www.amazon.com/Chemistry-Ideas-Really-Need-Series/dp/1848666675

Here are all the local Amazon links I could find:


amazon.co.uk

amazon.ca

amazon.com.au

amazon.in

amazon.com.mx

amazon.de

amazon.it

amazon.es

amazon.com.br

amazon.nl

amazon.co.jp

amazon.fr

Beep bloop. I'm a bot to convert Amazon ebook links to local Amazon sites.
I currently look here: amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, amazon.ca, amazon.com.au, amazon.in, amazon.com.mx, amazon.de, amazon.it, amazon.es, amazon.com.br, amazon.nl, amazon.co.jp, amazon.fr, if you would like your local version of Amazon adding please contact my creator.

Perhaps it was, "In Dreams Begin Responsibilities and Other Stories"

HERE is an Amazon link to check it out.

It was mentioned in Scriptnotes Episode #154 and HERE is a link to the transcript of that episode.

Hope that helps!

If I have to choose 3 I’ll choose 6....

1. “The Tin Drum” by Gunter Grass and translated by Breon Mitchell
   
   
2. Delmore Schwartz’s “In Dreams Begin Responsibilities and Other Stories”
   
   
3. Somerset Maugham’s “The Moon and Sixpence” and “Of Human Bondage”
   
   
4. Chekhov’s “My Life”
   
   
5. Moliere’s plays
   
   
6. Pirandello’s play “Six Characters in Search of an Author”
   
   (My picks indicate that I enjoy fiction with existentialist themes and well developed characters that addresses the inevitable despair of being a human being with introspection and humor)

You're from Washington, you say? From this collection.

Edit: Just remembered this one. Favorite line is from a story called "Love Too Long:" "I want to rip her arm off. I want to sleep in her uterus with my foot hanging out. Some nights she lets me lick her ears and knees. I can't talk about it. It's driving me into a sorry person."

Definitely check out Barry Hannah

http://www.amazon.com/Airships-Barry-Hannah/dp/0802133886/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1368635335&sr=8-2&keywords=barry+Hannah

http://www.amazon.com/Ray-Barry-Hannah/dp/0802133878/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1368635382&sr=1-1&keywords=barry+Hannah+ray

and Leonard Michaels.

http://www.amazon.com/Sylvia-Novel-Leonard-Michaels/dp/0374271070/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1368635430&sr=1-3&keywords=leonard+michaels

http://www.amazon.com/Girl-Monkey-New-Selected-Stories/dp/1562791206/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1368635430&sr=1-8&keywords=leonard+michaels

I would also suggest Charles Bukowski, Flannery O'Conner.

Also, a professor at my University is an amazing author and very similar to Carver. His name is Kevin Canty. I would suggest this book.

http://www.amazon.com/Stranger-This-World-Stories/dp/0679763945/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1368635511&sr=1-3&keywords=Kevin+Canty

Harlan Ellison's collection of short stories, Angry Candy.

Another short story in that collection, "Paladin of the Lost Hour", won him one of his many Hugos, though the story it's from, "Eidolons", is my favorite in the book.

If you want another example of his work, you can read in full a short story he wrote called "Susan" (the name of his current wife) some years ago. It's fairly stunning, and can be read (unfortunately, with some transcription errors) here.

Chris: A few book recommendations:

What If? by Randall Munroe (of xkcd fame)

50 Chemistry Ideas You Really Need to Know by Hayley Birch

Why does Asparagus make your wee smell? by Andy Brunning

Also I know it hasn't come out in the past year, but it would be remiss not to mention Surely You're Joking, Mr Feynman. I LOVE this book.

Edit: xckd... yikes. I'm going to get excluded from geek club for that one, aren't I? Corrected.

Read a book, I am reading this Eduardo Galeano book and recommend it. Each chapter is usually one page, and max four or five pages. Great for intermittent reading.

El futbol a sol y sombra (Spanish Edition) https://www.amazon.com/dp/843231255X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_EuhFDbWBWT0DN

He just released a short story called "Glitch" a few weeks ago. I just read it today...it was pretty good.

http://amzn.com/B00L2KEX1E

I've seen some of the volumes for sale in UK Bookshops occasionally but it's a much more niche series than LOTR or The Silmarillion, the easiest way to purchase them would probably be on Amazon.

The books have been published individually in various paperback or hardback editons such as:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Book-Lost-Tales-History-Middle-earth/dp/0261102222/

Or in hardback compilations such as this:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Complete-History-Middle-Earth-Part/dp/0007149158/

As for what to read after see my other post in this very thread:

https://www.reddit.com/r/lotr/comments/5kr66r/my_late_christmas_present_was_definitely_worth/dbr12xk/

Helping Friendly Book. Although he would probably want you to buy Mike's Corner: Daunting Literary Snippets http://www.amazon.com/dp/0821223895/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_awdm_N8Skub1E67SHX

I think you can find that in Pump Six, his short story collection, along with many other awesome Paolo stories: Amazon

You can find it as a stand alone eBook as well: Amazon

Sapience.

We already have self-aware AI. That doesn't mean that it thinks about it's place in the future and actively learns new things (or takes action) to preserve it.

A very good short story on the difference can be read in Hugh Howley's Glitch.