Constant Reader discussion

When it is my next turn to suggest our book choice for my in person reading group I thought I might try once again to take them outside their usual reading choices, last year I took them to speculative fiction, and to get them this time to read short stories. So what would you list as the 3 best collections you 've ever read? I'd prefer collection that stands on its own right rather than Collected Shorts, or Anthologies or Best of X. And not way back in time, keep them fairly modern - 20th 21st century. Thanks

I liked In Sunlight or In Shadow: Stories Inspired by the Paintings of Edward Hopper. Seven different authors wrote short stories about Edward Hopper’s paintings.

My very favorite anthology of all the ones we've used here is You've Got to Read This: Contemporary American Writers Introduce Stories that Held Them in Awe because of the insights included before each story by a well known writer. Unfortunately, all of the writers doing the introducing are from the U.S. so I don't know how U.K. readers would feel about that. However, the short story writers are not all American. I think this might be good for first time short story readers because the introductions lend a lot to the experience.

Maybe I wasn’t clear. I’m looking for short story collections by a single author.

Oh, wow! Somehow I missed your sentence about not wanting anthologies. I'm getting ready to go to the CR get together tomorrow. Maybe that addled my brain. Let me think and I will return.

Tx Barb Give everyone my regards Have a great meeting

I mostly stick to regular book length fiction, but I've read and enjoyed both of these, especially the first one:
What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky
Vampires in the Lemon Grove

I also intend to read the one I posted about in this topic yesterday. It may be different in another way too, the author is a Texan and I think the stories may be set here -- not sure tho:
Black Light

I enjoyed Birds of America by Lorrie Moore.

THE HOUSE ON MANGO STREET by Sandra Cisneros. I read it a couple of years ago and loved it. Here’s what I wrote at the time.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Also, THIS IS HOW YOU LOSE HER by Junot Díaz. Here’s a link to what I wrote a few years ago.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Sheila I thouroughly enjoyed Men Without Women.

Alice Hoffman’s BLACKBIRD HOUSE. I read this last year, and along with the previous two I posted, has really endured in my memory. And so you have now 3 recommendations from a person who often claims not to really like the short story format. I may have to rethink that belief about myself. At any rate, here’s the link to what I wrote about this collection of stories by a single author.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Great suggestions. Keep them coming. I have to find a list for the group to choose from and which are also preferably available via our Library

As Borges once wrote, "Unlike the novel, the short story may me, for all purposes, essential."

Here's some collections I return to often:

* There Are Little Kingdoms, Kevin Barry There are Little Kingdoms

* The Street of Crocodiles, Bruno Schultz The Street of Crocodiles

* The Paris Stories, Mavis Gallant, Paris Stories
* The Coast of Chicago, Stuart Dybek, The Coast of Chicago
* Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Alice Munro Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage: Stories
* Collected stories of Eudora Welty and Grace Paley both full of gems.

New LoA edition of Selected Stories of Nancy Hale looks promising, though I've read only one story, "The Empress's Ring," which was quite good.Where the Light Falls: Selected Stories of Nancy Hale

Probably way more than you wanted, but I tend to get carried away concerning short stories ...

Tx Tom a couple in there which I do not know so will investigate .

Sheila, I recommend Live Show, Drink Included by Vicky Grut which has been shortlisted for the Edge Hill Short Story Prize 2019.

'Vicky Grut reveals her knack for summoning up characters so real they’ll follow you around your house.'

Bernadette wrote: "Sheila, I recommend Live Show, Drink Included by Vicky Grut which has been shortlisted for the Edge Hill Short Story Prize 2019.

'Vicky Grut reveals her knack for summoning up char..."

Bernadette, I read this little gem. An excellent collection of short stories. Thanks for recommending it. I would have missed some good stories.

Definitely second Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage: Stories. Or anything by Alice Munro, for that matter.

Two others you might consider are Fortune Smiles, which has some really moving stories, including one about abandonment post-Hurricane Katrina, a father dealing with his wife's death, a couple dealing with severe chronic disease, and a pedophile trying to care for a couple of abandoned girls. He writes in a way that is very accessible, with strong characters and strong plots. The other is A Visit from the Goon Squad. This one is a little more ambitious as a set of interlinking stories examining memory, inspired by Proust's In Search of Lost Time. Includes one story that is a PowerPoint presentation, so a little bit different. But also has some poignant, memorable characters as well.

Thanks everyone. After much thought and having to discard so many because of the lack of their availability in our library system (remember we Brits are not prolific readers of the short form) excluding authors we'd read as novelists, wanting to read a collection I hadn't read, I've come up with a short list for my in person book group to choose from (I've also added some to my own to be read list) . They will make a choice later this month, the library where we meet will deliver the books for the following month, Nov, and we shall discuss at our Dec meeting. So here's the list I came up with. It will be interesting to see which one they choose.

Dusk and Other Stories by James Salter
Anything Is Possible by Elizabeth Strout
Dear Life by Alice Munro
Beautiful Days by Joyce Carol Oates

Please keep us up to date here, Sheila, regarding the collection that is chosen and the group's reaction to the stories. I would have recommended anything by Alice Munro so I'm delighted to know that her books are available in the UK.

I have been eyeing Dear Life.

Will do Barb

I felt that Anything Is Possible was excellent.

The group has picked the Elizabeth Strout Anything is Possible

Good choice.

Oh good, I loved that one. They might want to consider reading My Name is Lucy Barton as an optional side read. Strout started with that short novel, then expanded the story with Anything is Possible. It stands on its own too though.

Barb I’ve just started it on audio