SA Book & Challenge Lovers discussion

Read 25 short stories and novellas of your choice to complete this challenge. To keep things simple, any work of fiction less that 150 pages long will qualify. In other words, you can use any story that is not long enough to qualify for any of our normal challenges.

Since several of our challenges have tasks requiring you to read a collection of short stories, you may, of course, list those stories individually here, and then use the book as a whole to complete tasks in other challenges.

This challenge starts now and will end on 31 December 2011

Happy reading!

Lauren's Shortlist:
Edit: Looking at my planning list, I should rename this my James Tiptree jr. Challenge.

1. The Last Flight of Doctor Ain by James Tiptree jr. Still the most amazing short story I've ever read. Re-read it for the umpteenth time, and it hasn't gotten even a little bit old.
2. The Veldt by Ray Bradbury
3. Kaleidoscope by Ray Bradbury
4. The Other Foot by Ray Bradbury
5. The Highway by Ray Bradbury
6. The Man by Ray Bradbury
7. The Long Rain by Ray Bradbury
8. The Rocket Man by Ray Bradbury
9. The Fire Balloons by Ray Bradbury
10. The Last Night of the World by Ray Bradbury
11. The Exiles by Ray Bradbury
12. No Particular Night or Morning by Ray Bradbury
13. The Fox and the Forest by Ray Bradbury
14. The Visitor by Ray Bradbury
15. The Concrete Mixer by Ray Bradbury
16. Marionettes, Inc. by Ray Bradbury
17. The City by Ray Bradbury
18. Zero Hour by Ray Bradbury
19. The Rocket by Ray Bradbury
20. The Star by Arthur C. Clarke
21. The Man Who Walked Home by James Tiptree jr.
22. Sanctuary by Carole Johnstone
23. The Mirror by K.V. Taylor
24. His Only Company, The Walls by Brad C. Hodson
25. Paris by Todd Edwards

Progress: 25/25

Lu's list:

My spot!

1. The Warder of the Door by Robert Eustace and L.T. Meade
2.The Story of Sevens Hall By E. and H. Heron
3.The Gateway of the Monster by William Hope Hodgson
4.The Red Hand by Arthur Machen
5.The Haunted Woman by Allen Upward
6.The Ghost with the Club-Foot by Robert Barr
7.The Curious Activities of Basil Thorpenden by Vernon Knowles
8.The Necromancer by Donald Campbell
9.Waste Manor by L. Adams Beck
10.The House of Fenris by John Cooling
11.The Prince of Barlocco by Mark Valentine
12.The Legacy of the Viper by C.P. Langeveld
13.The Sheelagh-na-gig by Mary Anne Allen
14.The Black Veil by A.F. Kidd
15.Like Clockwork by R.B. Russell
16.Spirit Solutions by Rosalie Parker
17.The Last Flight of Doctor Ain by James Tiptree jr.
18. It's catching by David Sedaris
19. Keeping up by David Sedaris
20. The Understudy by David Sedaris
21. This Old house by David Sedaris
22. Buddy, Can you spare a Tie? by David Sedaris
23. Road Trips by David Sedaris
24. What I learned by David Sedaris
25. That's Amore by David Sedaris
26. The monster mash by David Sedaris
27. In the waiting room by David Sedaris
28. Solution to Saturday's puzzle by David Sedaris
29. Adult figures changing toward a concrete toadstool by David Sedaris
30. Memento Mori by David Sedaris
31. All the beauty you will ever need by David Sedaris
32. Town and Country by David Sedaris
33. Aerial by David Sedaris
34. The man in the hut by David Sedaris
35. Of man and mice by David Sedaris
36. April in Paris by David Sedaris
37. Crybaby by David Sedaris
38. Old Faithful by David Sedaris
39. The Smoking Section by David Sedaris

Completed

I almost never read short stories. This will be a new experience for me. :P

✔1. Pumpkin-Head by Joyce Carol Oates
✔2. The Story of The Stabbing by Joyce Carol Oates
✔3. Babysitter by Joyce Carol Oates
✔4. Bonobo Mama by Joyce Carol Oates
✔5. The Beating by Joyce Carol Oates
✔6. Amputee by Joyce Carol Oates
✔7. Bounty Hunter by Joyce Carol Oates
✔8. The Barter by Joyce Carol Oates
✔9. Honor Code by Joyce Carol Oates
✔10. The Last Flight of Doctor Ain by James Tiptree jr.
✔11. Clockwork Fagin by Cory Doctorow
✔12. Shambling With The Stars by Jesse Petersen
✔13. Probate by Joyce Carol Oates
✔14. Death Certificate by Joyce Carol Oates
✔15. Sourland by Joyce Carol Oates
✔16. Legionnaires by T.C McCarthy
✔17. Some Fortunate Future Day by Cassandra Clare
✔18. Last Ride of The Glory Girls by Libba Bray
✔19. Days Beset By Demons by Shawn Cheng
✔20. Hand in Glove by Ysabeau S. Wilce
✔21. The Ghost of Cwmlech Manor by Delia Sherman
✔22. Gethsemane by Elizabeth Knox
✔23. The Summer People by Kelly Link
✔24. Peace in our Time by Garth Nix
✔25. Nowhere East by Christopher Rowe

Progress 25/25

How do you do that little tick Kahlan?

The tick is just a symbol you can copy-paste into your text box :)

My prospective list:
☐ 1. H.P. Lovecraft: The Colour out of Space
☐ 2. H.P. Lovecraft: The Whisperer in Darkness
☐ 3. H.P. Lovecraft: The Shadow Over Innsmouth
☐ 4. H.P. Lovecraft: The Haunter of the Dark
☑ 5. Stephen King: 1922
☑ 6. Stephen King: Big Driver
☑ 7. Stephen King: Fair Extension
☑ 8. Stephen King: A Good Marriage
☐ 9. Shirley Jackson: We Have Always Lived in the Castle
☐ 10. Stephen King: Dolan's Cadillac
☐ 11. Stephen King: The End of the Whole Mess
☐ 12. Stephen King: Suffer the Little Children
☐ 13. Stephen King: The Night Flier
☐ 14. Stephen King: Popsy
☐ 15. Stephen King: It Grows on You
☐ 16. Stephen King: Chattery Teeth
☐ 17. Stephen King: Dedication
☐ 18. Stephen King: The Moving Finger
☐ 19. Stephen King: Sneakers
☐ 20. Stephen King: You Know They Got a Hell of a Band
☐ 21. H.G. Wells: The Time Machine
☐ 22. H.G. Wells: The Invisible Man
☑ 23. Thomas Mann: Mario and the Magician
☑ 24. Richard Matheson: Nightmare at 20,000 Feet
☐ 25. Richard Matheson: Dress of White Silk

Current progress: 6/25 | (24%)

✔
Or you can type in " 004;".
Remove the space between the zeroes and the quotes.

Lauren, is there a minimum page count for these? Some of the stories I have are only 20 pages long and it kinda feels like cheating. :P

Thanks for the tick info :)

Kahlan: Since short stories aren't all that popular in this group, I decided not to make a minimum page count for now, but I may do so if we create a new challenge. This is entirely negotiable though.

If anything, I consider 20 pages to be an average-length short story, maybe even longish. I'm reading a fairytale collection and some stories are only 2 pages long (short, but not that unusual). To me those do feel like cheating so I'm leaving them out. Other fairytales are longer, but they're such thin stories I don't include them either. On the other hand, one of my favourite short stories is only 7 pages long, and reading that doesn't feel like cheating at all.

Since the challenge allows for anything under 150 pages, you're welcome to list whatever you feel is suitable.

Like Kahlan I've hardly ever read short stories. I love that since joining I've tried more books and genres that I would have otherwise ignored.

1. Looking for Jake by China Miéville
2. Foundation by China Miéville
3. The Ball Room by China Miéville
4. Reports Of Certain Events In London by China Miéville
5. Familiar by China Miéville
6. Entry Taken From A Medical Encyclopaedia by China Miéville
7. Details by China Miéville
8. Go Between by China Miéville
9. Different Skies by China Miéville
10. An End To Hunger by China Miéville
11. 'Tis The Season by China Miéville
12. Jack by China Miéville
13. On The Way To The Front by China Miéville
14. The Tain by China Miéville
15. The Sultan and His Vow - The Arabian Nights
16. The Story of the Merchant and the Genie - The Arabian Nights
17. The Three Calenders, Sons of Kings and the Five Ladies of Bagdad - The Arabian Nights
18. The Story of the Three Sisters - The Arabian Nights
19. The Story of Aladdin - The Arabian Nights
20. The History of Ali Baba and the Forty Robbers - The Arabian Nights
21. The Story of Sinbad the Sailor - The Arabian Nights
22. Mowgli's Brothers - The Jungle Book
23. Kaa's Hunting - The Jungle Book
24. Tiger! Tiger! - The Jungle Book
25. The White Seal - The Jungle Book

Completed: 25/25

liez's spot


1. Calling For Angels - Alex Smith
2. Prison to Praise - Merlin Carothers
3. 1922 - Stephen King
4. Big Driver - Stephen King
5. Fair Extension - Stephen King
6. A Good Marraige - Stephen King
7. The Yellow Wallpaper - Charlotte Gilman
8. Love Hurts - Jim Butcher
9. The Marrying Maid - Jo Beverley
10. Rooftops - Carrie Vaughn

completed: 10/25

Hey Lauren I am interested in that short story that you call the most amazing short story you have ever read (the last flight of Doctor Ain). What's it about (without spoilers please)? My favorite short story is still The Star by Arthur C. Clarke. Amazing twist in that story. I like the implications of that twist. So I was wondering what your most amazing short story was about.

It's actually really hard to say what it's about without spoiling it. The title sort of serves as the only spoiler-free summary I can give - it's about a microbiologist named Ain who is on a flight that will be his last (for reasons I don't want to reveal).

It's very short though (just seven pages in my book), so why not read it? You can find the pdf for that story and one of her others here: http://mtsu32.mtsu.edu:11072/3050/Sto...

If you read it let me know what you think. I found it a tad confusing at first, but it improved with re-reads. It's one of those stories with lots of small details that become significant once you know how it ends.

I think I am going to have to buy it since for some reason my computer won't recognize and open the file. I have tried to get to it from several angles and each time my computer says that it looks like I am not connected to the internet. But I am. I will try later again or I will try to get it another way.

Oh bugger, sorry. I couldn't access it either, but I thought that was just my crap connection. Try googling the title though - several of her stories are available online, and Dr AIn is one of the most famous, so you should find it. The first line is "DOCTOR AIN WAS recognized on the Omaha-Chicago flight."

Oh nice! So you sent me a link you knew wouldn't work. And here I thought we were friends. Real nice ;P
Just kidding!
I have used the first line and found the story on the first try. It is a great story but I still like The Star better. If you haven't read that one it also is very short only 4 pages on a pdf file of which I have a link that at least works for me. Read it! if you haven't read it already. Considereing our discussions and the fact you liked the last flight of doctor Ain I think you will love it.
The link is: http://faculty.winthrop.edu/kosterj/W...

Lol, sorry - with my connection I never know if something just doesn't work or if it's only me that can't access it.

I read The Star - I certainly didn't see that coming! It was a great ending, but I have to say Clarke's writing isn't remotely as good as Tiptree's in Dr Ain, which is partly why I like her story so much.

I have a similar problem in reverse. I have a great connection but a crappy computer. I really need to update it since I haven't done that in 8 or 9 years and my computer is antique in some respects but in others it still works fine.

The Star isn't as cerebral (I've always wanted to use that word in a sentence). There is nothing that makes you reread the story because you haven't understood anything like you do want and need to do with the Tiptree story. But I have reread it several times over the years and it is still my favorite short story. The greatness of the Star is in its end and that it makes you think about the end. I have that less with the Tiptree story. It has made me interested in reading more of Tiptree's stories.

Isn't this nice. We're having a nice discussion and we both have an extra story for this challenge. It sounds a bit sarcastic but I didn't mean it like that.
I know of another great story along the lines of these two stories but I can't remember what it is called and if it is online. I will check it in my library. I have it but I am not sure in which book and let you know.

Barbara wrote: "The Star isn't as cerebral (I've always wanted to use that word in a sentence)."

I love the word cerebral :)

There's something about sci fi short stories that really sticks with you. There are stories whose titles and authors I've forgotten, but whose ideas stick with me for years. It's often stories with the kinds of devastating endings like "The Star" has, or with a very striking image. For example there's this story called "A Pail of Air" by Fritz Leiber. I don't remember much about the story's plot, but I remember the pail of air - the story is set in a dystopian future where it's so cold that the characters go outside in a protective suit collect condensed air in a bucket.

I wanted to re-read some of Tiptree's stories with this Women in Sci Fi bookclub that I found. I haven't kept up, but I still want to write essay reviews for my blog on the stories. I've done one so far, on "And I Awoke and Found Me Here on the Cold Hill's Side".

All of these are by George RR Martin. A mix of short stories and novellas.

1. Only Kids are Afraid of the Dark
2. The Fortress
3. And Death His Legacy
4. The Hero
5. The Exit to San Breta
6. The Second Kind of Loneliness
7. With Morning Comes Mistfall
8. A Song for Lya
9. This Tower of Ashes
10. And Seven Times Never Kill Man
11. The Stone City
12. Bitterblooms
13. The Way of Cross and Dragon
14. The Lonely Songs of Laren Dorr
15. The Ice Dragon
16. In The Lost Lands
17. Meathouse Man
18. Remembering Melody
19. Sandkings
20. Nightflyers
21. The Monkey Treatment
22. The Pear-Shaped Man
23. A Beast for Norn
24. Guardians
25. The Road Less Traveled* (screenplay)
26. Doorways* (screenplay)
27. Shell Games
28. From the journal of Xavier Desmond
29. Under Siege
30. The Skin Trade
31. Unsound Variations
32. The Glass Flower
33. The Hedge Knight
34. Portraits of His Children

Even if screenplays don't count I'm now officially done. Wohoo!

Congrats :)

Congratz Crusader :)

nice going Crusader!

Thanks. It took me a week, but I got there!

It took me a little longer than a week, but I think I am done ;P

Congratz Barbara!

Done!

Nice, congrats!

Oooh... And eek, I'm going to have to do almost all of them in a single month. 0_0

1.The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black
2. A Reversal of Fortune by Holly Black
3. The Boy Who Cried Wolf by Holly Black
4. The Night Market by Holly Black
5. The Dog King by Holly Black
6. Virgin by Holly Black
7. The Coat of Stars by Holly Black
8. Paper cuts Scissors by Holly Black
9. Going Ironside by Holly Black
10. The Land of Heart's Desire by Holly Black
11. The Poison Eaters by Holly Black
12. 2 B R 0 2 B by Kurt Vonnegut
13. Mr Spaceship by Philip K Dick
14. UFO in Kushiro by Haruki Murakami
15. Landscape with Flatiron by Haruki Murakami
16. All God's children can dance by Haruki Murakami
17. Thailand by Haruki Murakami
18. Super-frog saves Tokyo by Haruki Murakami
19. Honey Pie by Haruki Murakami
20. The Dabba Dabba Tree by Yasutaka Tsutsui
21.Hello, Hello, Hello! by Yasutaka Tsutsui
23. Rumours about me by Yasutaka Tsutsui
24. Don't Laugh by Yasutaka Tsutsui
25. Farmer Airlines by Yasutaka Tsutsui
26. Bear's Wood Main Line by Yasutaka Tsutsui
27. The very edge of Happiness by Yasutaka Tsutsui
28. Commuter Army by Yasutaka Tsutsui<
29. The World is Tilting by Yasutaka Tsutsui
30. The Last Smoker by Yasutaka Tsutsui
31. Salmonella Men on Planet Porno by Yasutaka Tsutsui
32. Bad for the Heart by Yasutaka Tsutsui
33. The Crystal Crypt by Philip K. Dick
34. Go Carolina by David Sedaris

Done!
Well, at least I learned something from this challenge : Short stories are not for me.

I think you have to be very careful when you pick them. For me mainstream short stories tend to be very boring, but sf and horror stories have cool ideas and pack a punch.

Haha, I didn't even realise I'd completed this - just kept hunting for another story to read. I really, really enjoyed the Japanese ones. Especially Murakami. :)

*does the dance of challenge completion*

Done! I'm still not a fan of short stories but maybe I won't totally avoid them like I used to.

It took me quite a bit longer than I thought it would.

Hey you are still in time so congrats!

And there are some great short stories out there you just have to find them.

Just read The Star by Arthur C Clarke when I saw the link . . . still digesting . . .

I love sci-fi and horror short stories especially when they end with a kind of twist . . .

This one does that. It has quite the impact especially round this time of the year. I still love it and I have read it at least 10 times and I know what is coming and still every time I am like WOW at the end.
I haven't read that many short stories by Arthur C. Clarke but the ones I have read did have twists at the end, not all of them as dramatic but still a twist and I love his stories.