Do you enjoy reading a short story?

[Isabella]

J. wrote: "I love short stories. Borges had a lot to do with that!"

Ilove his short stories too. He is a real pillar of modern literature. His idea of universe being a library is fascinating. And the book without the beginning and the end - the human life. Such a deep philosophy and all the books in the hands of one LIBRARIAN!!!

[Michael]

Maybe I'm an odd duck but I have trouble getting into fantasy and sci-fi short stories, even though I absolutely love reading fantasy and sci-fi novels. On the other hand, I love reading so-called literary short stories, though most literary novels don't interest me quite as much. One short story that bridges the gap for me is "Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned" by Wells Tower.

[[deleted user]]

Michael wrote: "Maybe I'm an odd duck but I have trouble getting into fantasy and sci-fi short stories, even though I absolutely love reading fantasy and sci-fi novels. On the other hand, I love reading so-called..."

I think this is part of..a big part of the reason I am having with the short stories as well.

Thanks for the heads up on "Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned" by Wells Tower.

[Michael]

You're welcome, Danny. Pretty sure there's also an audio file of the author reading the story here: http://www.theguardian.com/books/audi....

[[deleted user]]

Michael wrote: "You're welcome, Danny. Pretty sure there's also an audio file of the author reading the story here: http://www.theguardian.com/books/audi...."

Thanks again Michael..

[Greg]

I tend to read short stories online more than in print or eBook format.

[Gaines]

I absolutely love short stories, if written well. Sometimes fewer words = much more powerful.

[Richard]

I love reading a good short story. I don't know if anyone else has mentioned it, but one of the greatest places I've found for short science fiction is The Year's Best Science Fiction anthologies edited by Gardner Dozois. Every year I buy a copy and many great hours of reading ensue.

[Jennifer (bunnyreads)]

Before the internet and places like goodreads, anthologies were a way for me to try out new authors without having to commit to a huge book. It was always a big plus if there were a couple of authors I liked in there as we'll.

[Gaines]

I remember getting hooked on a big volume called "Norton's Anthology of Short Fiction" back when I was in high school. Some of it was even borderline spec fic! :-)

[[deleted user]]

Richard wrote: "I love reading a good short story. [...] one of the greatest places [...] is The Year's Best Science Fiction anthologies ..."

I used to enjoy a good short story - and I am thinking back now to when the 'Year's Best' came out under a Gollancz yellow cover, edited by (I think) John Carnell. Over the years my tastes have changed so now I normally go for longer work, but the short story still has its place.
Best of all are probably short stories linked within a given world-scene, saving the author a lot of background development each time - classic examples could be The People: No Different Flesh by Zenna Henderson, or the Anita series or Pavane, both by Kieth Roberts. Could anyone come up with some other examples?

[Richard]

Lionel wrote: "I used to enjoy a good short story - and I am thinking..."

I too enjoy the short stories that take place in an authors universe. One of my favorites is Robert Reed, who I found by reading the anthologies. He usually has a story included in the collection and many times they have been stories from his Marrow universe.

[Dale]

I'm not a big fan of short stories. There just isn't the time for good character development.

[Richard]

Dale wrote: "I'm not a big fan of short stories. There just isn't the time for good character development."

A good story is more than just character development. I think one of the best parts of short stories is seeing how the author can tell you something wonderful with fewer words. Don't get me wrong, some ideas and concepts need a lot of space. I guess that's where the talent comes in. Can you keep me interested whether it's short or long?

[William]

I enjoy the short story format. I sometimes think that a novel I'm reading would be a great short story, but the author is trying too hard to stretch it into a novel.

One thing that kills a short story, though, is a weak ending. If you read a novel with an intricate plot or an evolving character, you can forgive it for having a weak ending, because you got so much else out of the work. A short story that doesn't have a 'twist' or a statement that makes you think at the end is completely forgettable.

[Andrew]

My primary way of consuming stories are multi-season shows, 100+hr video game playthroughs, and books that are, at minimum, part of a trilogy.

I want to be immersed. I want to live in other worlds long enough that it's sad when it's time to leave. Unfortunately, this makes it difficult for me to really go out of my way to read (or write) short stories. The only time I find myself reading one is when I haven't had my fill of an author yet (Isaac Asimov's shorts, Garth Nix's Across the Wall, etc.)

[K.P.]

I enjoy the occasional short story. Sometimes I need a break from novel-length books.

I'm putting together a collection of interrelated ones to print later this year.

[Angélique (MapleBooks)]

I used to read a lot of short stories, then I stopped for a long time. I tried a few times to read some again but I just got bored or utterly confused. However, I'm currently finishing Irregular Verbs and Other Stories and it is absolutely amazing. It's clever, there are a tons of great ideas in each single short stories, and it brings you in all different kinds of world/settings.
So in the end, I think it's more about finding a good short novelist... and I somewhat believe it's harder to find that a good novelist. :)

[Kal]

My issue with short stories is like many here have said, once they really start to get interesting, they're over. I do like how some authors use them to explore an idea or character, in that case they can be very interesting.

[Stan]

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the "Dangerous Visions" collections, edited by Harlan Ellison. Wonderful short stories dealing with "dangerous" subjects such as racism and incest in science fiction terms. Stories by some of the real greats in speculative fiction, and definitely not boring. Also, try reading some of the short fiction of James Tiptree, Jr. (Alice Sheldon). Very thought-provoking and engaging. The short story form is indeed very difficult to write; each word must essentially advance the piece. The novel form can accommodate much more abstract thought, such as the entire chapter devoted to the color white in "Moby Dick."

There's also a current trend in writing "flash fiction"—shorts of 500 words or less. These are extremely difficult to write, in that they require the author to demonstrate surgical precision in the choice of words. I've tried a couple of those, and they're really challenging...but very satisfying when done right—in a sort of haiku way.

[[deleted user]]

Ah! Found it - I knew there had been a similar thread to this one running a few months ago. Its here https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/911703-linked-short-stories

That thread concentrates on linked stories, which I think are a good way to work - it allows the author the excitement and immediacy of a short story, but also allows for the world building and character development that would normally require more length

[Grace]

This was a really fascinating thread to read. I've been plunging into the short-story scene (writing), and it's cool to see what people expect of shorts, and where they tend to fall short (excuse the pun). :)

[Anna]

I don't really like short stories. I like when the story consists of several books. There is nothing more thrilling than a sense of new part expectation.)

[Rok]

If the story is good enough I don't care how long or short it is. Example, I love comic books, and if you think about it those are the shortest but yet the longest stories ever. On going comics that stretch on for over 100 even two hundred even go on for decades. Now yes it is a comic but a story is a story and just because something comes with awesome artwork does not make it any less of a story. The single comic may even have only twenty some pages where a novel can have 300 or so. But novels end, they don't continue for decades.
When it really comes down to it you read what you want, another example is Lord of the Rings, I no longer read the beginning sorry but the Tom Bombadil part is too damn slow.
If it's a good story then read it no matter how long or short it is.

[Grace]

"Just because something comes with awesome artwork does not make it any less of a story."

This is my new favorite defense for comics.

[T. K. Elliott (Tiffany)]

I've tended to only read short stories that are ancillary to novel series, but I'm trying to expand my horizons. I came across Kristine Kathryn Rusch's Flower Fairies the other day, and that really worked for me. She manages to get a lot of back-story and characterisation and emotion into a very small space.

Some stories are just small enough that a few thousand words is just the right size - but fully-developed and beautiful in every detail for all that. Sort of dwarf stories, like dwarf daffodils.

[Gaines]

I love short stories. It's amazing to me sometimes that such short pieces of prose can carry the reader off to a completely different work, or mood, or time.

[Rok]

Grace wrote: ""Just because something comes with awesome artwork does not make it any less of a story."

This is my new favorite defense for comics."

I totally agree and have said this myself. Well said.

[Gonzalo]

Hi Everybody! How are you? This short story is a gift for you. I hope you like it, and if you do, be sure to COMMENT and SHARE. Thanks very much! Gonzalo https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...

[Rok]

Grace wrote: ""Just because something comes with awesome artwork does not make it any less of a story."

This is my new favorite defense for comics."

Why do I have to defend comics, could i be defending myself? Looks like someone has a thing against comics, or maybe art. Like I said in my statement, "Read what you want to read" why does what people read have to be a competition or talked down on. I've been noticing there are a lot of book snobs out here who think because they have read all of War and Peace and not as a class assignment, they think comic book lovers are beneath them, Why is that? What is everything a competition, can't people read what they want and like things they like because they want to like it.
But what do I know.
I read comics.

[William]

I'm a fan of sci-fi short stories. I'm currently running a series of posts on my blog, where I look at one issue of each major sci-fi/fantasy magazine, and most of the minor ones. Once I finish that series, I plan to look at short story websites and 'best of the year' anthologies, so I'll be doing a lot of short story reading.

So far, I've been really disappointed with a lot of what I've read. There have been a few bright spots, and I plan to check out additional issues in those cases. Analog had a couple of interesting stories, although I thought the endings needed a little something. I was impressed by Aurealis. Andromeda Spaceways In-Flight Magazine had some really good stories, but also a much larger number of mediocre and terrible stories.

[Stephanie]

I enjoy short stories, but like the original poster claims, a lot of them are ho-hum. Fortunately, I have access to lots and lots of older pulp magazines as well as collections (Amazon had a whole series ed. available for 99c each for a 12 hour period last year).

[Nima]

i haven't read many... but i found "The last question" of Asimov fascinating.

[James]

They can be hit or miss but that can be said about longer stories as well. I love short stories by Ray Bradbury and Stephen King. There are also tons of good ones I've come across from indie publishers.

[Michael]

I really haven't read a lot of short stories the last few years, other than those that tied into novels or series I had read first.

I remember when short stories seemed to be the majority of my reading, though. I used to devour Analog every month and I remember reading a lot of anthologies as a teen (Annual Best... sort of things). I think writing a good short-story is very different than writing a good novel and it seems many authors can do one but not the other.

[Gaines]

We're reading Who Goes There? in the Short Fiction group right now. It's either a short novella or a very long short story. I finished it last night and was left a bit spooked.