Expert: RYHE BGERT34T - 10/2/2008

Question
Hi!
I really enjoy reading. I like to read first a short story of an author, and then if I like it, continue reading that author... My problem is that, nowadays, with so much information, I can't select anything... What short stories do you think are the most interesting?

Thanks,
Alexandra

Answer
Hi

Yes, that is a dilemma most of us face. Which author to take up? What kind of stories would be interesting?

Generally most people like a story with a twist, and something that really grips you -- as those who are interested in short stories are either doing so because of lack of time or because they don't have the patience to sit with a novel.

The answer boils down to what YOU are generally interested in. A good pointer would be the kind of movies you tune in to. Are they thrillers? Or comedies? Or romances? Or something off-beat?

However, there are a few short story writers, who are appreciated almost unanimously --- like O Henry, Edgar A Poe, Sir Arthur C Doyle, and Stephen Leacock. Try Henry's After Twenty Years, Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart, and Doyle's Silver Blaze (a Sherlock Holmes story).

Along with these, you may also look up these stories: Ambrose Bierce's An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, Kate Chopin's Story of an Hour, Anton Chekov's The Bet, James Joyce's Araby, James Thurber's The Night the Bed Fell, Katherine A Porter's Rope.

Happy Reading!
Krishna.