Best American Short Stories

[David]

Anybody out there read this year's Best American Short Stories, edited by Ann Patchett? What do you think?

[peg]

Dave-

Thanks for the invitation to join the Short Story Lovers Group!

I look forward to buying the Best American Short Stories every September and this year is no exception. I haven't had time to delve into the book yet but I will post a comment as soon as I do.

[David]

Hey -- the New York Times has a discussion thread going about the short story, even as we speak!

Here's what they write:
"The author Stephen King was the editor of “The Best American Short Stories 2007.” He writes that although he read many good short stories, many seemed 'show-offy rather than entertaining, self-important rather than interesting, guarded and self-conscious rather than gloriously open, and worst of all, written for editors and teachers rather than for readers.'"

That's quite a statement by Stephen King, isn't it?

Here's the liink for the discussion:
http://news.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10...

[Carol]

I just saw this and was coming here to post about it! I was struck by this depressing yet probably accurate comment:

"There are so few amateur readers left… it is not surprising that stories are being written for editors and teachers, since they are the main audience."

[Dominique]

I haven't read this years but I'm definitely looking forward to a purchase sometime in the near future.

[David]

Anybody read the latest volume of Best American Short Stories yet -- the one edited by King? I'd love to hear what people think of it.

[Kathy]

Yes, I'm reading it now. I've read four of the stories and it's a mixed bag, but that's typical. I'll say more when I've read the whole thing.

[Geoffrey]

Just want to say that these annual anthologies are the best introduction to new writers out there whom we readers can become familiar with and pursue.
Pushcart is good for that as well.

[Geoff]

Geoffrey, Pushcart is much better as an intro to new writers; the BASS series tends to rehash familiar (read: New Yorker) names. Though I would guess King strayed from that familiar formula. Though I would also guess he's substituted a worse formula. But my days of buying BASS are long past.

[Geoffrey]

I don`t read them often enough to notice the difference. I never read the New Yorker as the lit there has never been particularly appealing to me, so I am blank there as well.
Thanks Geoff for enlightening me. The best way for me to acquaint myself with unrecognized writers is through anthologies. Although for some, my unrecognized writer might be ^you mean you have never heard of so and so^?

[Geoffrey]

I guess I`ve read 5 or 6 of these BASSes and Pushcarts and I have finally come across one that is overwhelming me. I just started the 1999 BASS by Amy Tan and out of the first 6 stories I am jumping up and down in joy over 5 of them.
Perhaps I am more attuned to Amy than I suspected I`d be. Now it is imperative that I add to my present joy and join her club. I have never read it, but was much impressed with the movie.