Favorite short story?

SRodi811 · April 2014

My English department is trying to come up with some new short stories to teach to our freshman. What are some of your favorite short stories?

kpow · April 2014

I really love The Frozen Thames by Helen Humphreys. It's a book of (very) short stories about times in history when the Thames froze. So, the stories all have a connection.

It's an obvious suggestion, but Sherlock Holmes are all so good. I just read The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes for the short stories category of the SBC and could not put it down.

beebe918 · April 2014

Quitters Inc by Stephen Kind is my all time favorite short story but it's been a few years since I read it, can't say for certain whether it's appropriate for freshmen.

oliversbear · April 2014

The Affair at the Victory Ball is my all-time favorite Hercule Poirot tale and it's a short story.

I'm also a big fan of O. Henry and Guy de Maupessant stories.

Edited to add: The Lottery was just scary. It wasn't bad, just scary and creepy, to the point that I never have to read it again.

If you can find them, some of Kathryn Forbes stories from Mama's Bank Account (you may know it as I Remember Mama) might be worth it, though they are a bit "dated" for modern readers.

I could recommend chapters from Cheaper By the Dozen (the chapters are fairly self-contained remembrances, but they do overall tell the story of growing up in the Gilbreth house), but with the same caveat.

Ali2b1g · April 2014

I have two favorites: The Long Walk and Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption. Both written by Stephen King.

amaryann210 · April 2014

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce. Mine are a little macabre, but these stand out in my mind.

Young_Love · April 2014

I loved reading "The Scarlet Ibis" with my freshmen. Not sure if you already read that one. We also loved "The Most Dangerous Game."

j*&p* · April 2014

Most of my favorites tend to fall into the genre fiction category and might not be what you're looking for for an English class, but I'll throw them out there anyway in case they're looking for variety:

Murder Mysteries by Neil Gaiman

Loser by Chuck Palhunuik (sp?) - this is DEFINITELY not something any of my English teachers would have attempted in class - a group of frat guys on acid go on The Price is Right. It's told in 2nd person, which I would usually hate, but it made me laugh out loud.

Dog-man and Cat-bird by Chuck Wendig

Product Placement by Chuck Wendig

The Boy Who Hangs the Stars by Mercedes M. Yardley

The Truth is a Cave in the Black Mountains by Neil Gaiman

Maggie Steifvater, Tessa Gratton and Brenna Yovanoff have a book of their collected short stories in a book called Curiosities. There are some fun ones in there too.

These are some I've taught in class and the students have really liked:

Gaston by William Saroyan

Bluebirdbluebirdthrumywindow by Sonia Sanchez

Aunt Moon's Young Man by Linda Hogan

Two Kinds by Amy Tan (an excerpt from The Joy Luck Club)

I also just discovered a cool site called Open Culture that has free cultural and educational media. It has some Neil Gaiman stories offered for free if anyone is looking.

SRodi811 · April 2014

Thanks everyone! I'll definitely be looking these up!

PhoenixRising11 · April 2014

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

The Lady or the Tiger by Frank Stockton

The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry

The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe

The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell

The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant

j*&p* · April 2014

I forgot to add all of Laini Taylor's short stories in the Lips Touch book. All three are fantastic, though probably the first and last would be more school appropriate.

pinkybooklover09 · April 2014

I just broke out into a cold sweat thinking about The Lottery. Scary ass scary short story.

My favorite short story is Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx but it's definitely not appropriate for freshmen.

Favorite short story?

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