Here’s the deal: I don’t have a lot of time to read. And, if it’s been an especially long day, because the kids didn’t sleep, or the dog ate a dead bird at the park (that may have been today), by the time I do have a chance to sit down and read, my attention span is pretty comparable to that of a fruit fly (or a middle schooler after lunch).
So, short stories are really my jam. I love being able to read something deep, and thought-provoking, from beginning to end, in one night. Then, I can put the book down, spend the next four nights watching The Bachelor and scrolling Instagram, and eventually come back to my more intellectual pursuits without missing a beat (or having to re-read those first four chapters all over again).
In hopes that you, too, will fall in love with the genre, I’ve compiled a list of my absolute favorite short story collections (a few of which, TBH, I haven’t actually finished yet). The majority of those included on this list are written for adults, but I threw in one awesome YA option as well (heads up all you teachers of the middle grades).
I hope you find something you love, or that helps you see the world from a new perspective, or, even better, happens to do both.
The Short Story Book List:
Lot by Bryan Washington: Bryan Washington‘s stories are painfully real, and raw, but simultaneously lyrical and heartwarming. Washington has the magical ability to depict the messy, awkward, traumatic, and tragic events of everyday life in a way that is eye-opening, without being too precious or on the nose thematically. What I love most about this book is that the stories are all interrelated, but can also be read and understood in isolation. The collection tells the stories of the array of characters whose lives intersect in some way with the “protagonist’s”–an LGBTQ+, biracial young boy who is “coming of age” in a rapidly gentrifying part of Houston. I had to read some of these stories a few times over, not because the language itself is difficult, but because the narratives weren’t as “tidy” as I’m used to. This novel was so fresh and fascinating, and I can’t wait to read more of what Bryan Washington has to offer.
Buy It Here:
The Office of Historical Corrections by Danielle Evans: This was a recent Book of the Month selection and I’ve really been trying to savor it. As of this week, I’ve only read the first three stories, so I can’t speak to the entire book, but so far, so GREAT. Each of the stories I’ve read thus far is timely and thought-provoking. While each one deals with issues of race, gender, intolerance, and the role of social media in setting the boundaries of what our society considers socially acceptable, there was one in particular that really struck me, and that I have continued to think about for weeks. This story in particular follows a “troubled” college student as she almost “accidentally” (?) morphs into a more controversial version of herself. And, when she finally takes a minute to look around and observe how she is being perceived, she doesn’t backtrack, or apologize, but, instead, further embraces her new persona, and continues to push the boundaries, just to see if she can. The story is strange and fascinating and got me thinking about what really motivates people to so wholeheartedly embrace and endorse certain controversial beliefs and perspectives.
Buy It Here:
Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri: Pulitzer Prize Winner Alert! I actually read this story collection in college, after I was required to read one of Lahiri’s other books, The Namesake. Both of these books are still on my living room shelf, as they were my first real introduction to new immigrant literature (not sure if that’s a real genre?). Both The Namesake and The Interpreter of Maladies focus on the protagonist’s struggle to assimilate to a new culture, while simultaneously clinging to, or being pulled back by, the emotional and physical ties of “home” (despite the fact that home isn’t really the right word for it anymore). Lahiri is a lyrical storyteller and a masterful shaper of real and complex characters, many of whom I still think about years after reading about them.
Buy It Here:
The Paper Menagerie by Ken Liu: This is a really fascinating and versatile collection of short stories. Including a blend of historical and science fiction, dystopia, fantasy, and a few more realistic depictions of the immigrant and/or human experience. ALL of these stories taught me something new, and really made me think, but I think my favorite was probably the last story, The Man Who Ended History: A Documentary, in which scientists invent a time machine that will allow one person to travel back in time to the Japanese occupation of Manchuria, and hold those responsible for the atrocities committed there accountable. This story opened my eyes to an important part of world history I previously did not know much about, but also posed some pretty deep philosophical questions about what history actually is, and who it “belongs” to. I would definitely recommend getting a hard copy (vs. audiobook) of this one, as you will probably want to annotate it.
Buy It Here:
The Yellow Wallpaper, Herland, and Selected Stories by Charlotte Perkins Gillman: I’ve talked this one up before, and won’t stop now! This story collection was written in the early 1900s, and is a must-read for anyone even remotely interested in feminist literature. “The Yellow Wallpaper” is part horror story, part feminist critique of the ways in which perinatal mental health disorders were, and still are, so often ignored and misunderstood by mainstream society. It is probably one of the most personally influential short stories I’ve ever read. The rest of the stories in this collection are simultaneously diverse and congruous, and would be great fodder for a woman’s circle or feminist book club. (If you start one, invite me please!)
Buy It Here:
Flying Lessons and Other Stories: This is an anthology of young adult short stories by some of the GREATS of both YA and children’s literature, including Ellen Oh, Jaqueline Woodson, Matt De La Pena, Kwame Alexander, etc. Most of these stories could be classified as “coming of age” tales, but the characters, settings and experiences are so much more textured and diverse than the stories I personally grew up reading. There are several LGBTQ+ stories included in this collection, and it’s an eye-opening and inspiring read for both kids and adults.
Buy It Here:
