30.An Upheaval 1886, by Anton Chekov: A governess is insulted when her room is searched by the lady of the house, who is looking for a stolen brooch. Seems like a chapter from a book rather than a complete story.
29.The Door 1939, by EB White: Hard to believe this bleak, psychedelic tale is from the same dude who wrote Charlotte's Web
28.The Chrysanthemums 1946, by John Steinbeck: A great one to start off with! A sad story set in the depression about a woman fooled by a shady peddler when he pretends to take an interest in her flowers.
27. Ivy Day in the Committee Room 1946, by James Joyce: I have never read anything by Joyce, including this story which was the first one in this collection that I just couldn't get through. Even the title bored me.
26. Father Wakes Up the Village 1935, by Clarence Day: Obnoxious and unlikeable story about a jerk obsessed with having ice in his drink, excerpted from "Life with Father." I tried watching that movie a few times, because it seemed like something I would like but based on this story it makes sense that it didn't work for me.
25. The Curfew Tolls 1935, by Stephen Vincent Benet: A thought-provoking story about how different the world might be if certain men were born just a few years sooner or later.
24. The Giaconda Smile 1921, by Alduous Huxley: Huxley uses a modern-day (to him) woman to imagine the type of scenario that might account for the much-discussed expression worn by the Mona Lisa. Very cool.
23. The Man Who Shot Snapping Turtles 1942, by Edmund Wilson: Not sure why I liked this weird story of a guy obsessed with protecting the ducks in his pond from snapping turtles. Then he does a 180 and nixes the ducks to build a canned turtle soup empire.
22. The Man of the House 1949, by Frank O'Connor: a young Irish boy, a good boy, does a very naughty thing and is forgiven by his mother.
21. A Good Man is Hard to Find 1953, by Flannery O'Connor: Wow! This is one of those famous short stories that I was aware of but never read. I always assumed it was about dating and trying to find a husband. Holy cow was I wrong. Brutal and disturbing, I'll never forget this one.
20. Theft 1930, by Katherine Anne Porter: For me, a forgettable story about the theft of a purse.
19. The Other Two 1904, by Edith Wharton: Although certainly more scandalous in 1904, the story still seems relatable today; about a man who’s keeps running into his twice-divorced wife’s ex-husbands socially.
18. The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse 1938, by William Saroyan: The title pretty much says it all except that now I want to read everything this man ever wrote.
17. The Man Higher Up 1908, by O Henry: There's a sucker born every minute, sometimes you're the windshield and sometimes you're the bug. A long, wordy joke that took a long time to get to the punchline.
16. Looking Back 1951, by Guy de Maupassant: A contessa and a priest discuss their paths and conclude that love and pain are inextricably combined, but if you don't have them in your life you don't have a life
15. The Masque of the Red Death 1842, by Edgar Allan Poe: Now THAT was a pandemic. Masks and lockdowns didn't work then, either.
14. The Lottery 1948, by Shirley Jackson: Of COURSE I'm reading this one again. It's as chilling the 50th time as the first.
13. A. V. Laider 192o, by Max Beerbohm: A guy on vacation gets fooled big time by a fellow guest who claims he can read palms.
12. Only the Dead Know Brooklyn 1932, by Thomas Wolfe: Maybe the dead also know what the point of this story was or why it's considered great.
11. Putois 1915, by Anatole France: If you're a M*A*S*H fan, think Captain Tuttle; Seinfeld fans, think Susie.
10.Graven Image 1943, by John O'Hara: Perfect illustration of my college Marketing professor's favorite phrase: When you make the sale, stop talking.
9. The Shot 1831, by Aleksandr Pushkin: Meh. Russian dude nurses a grudge and practices shooting; then declines to kill his nemesis when he has the chance.
8. The Courting of Dinah Shadd 1890, by Rudyard Kipling: This seemed more like a chapter pulled from a larger novel and it was a little hard to get into because of the thick dialect used by the Mulvaney character. But after settling into the rhythm it's a satisfying story about a cursed union.
7. The Jockey 1941, by Carson McCullers: The first in this collection where I had my usual reaction to short stories. I have no idea what the point of this one was or why it's considered great.
6. Brooksmith 1892, by Henry James: Having tried and failed to read several of James' novels, I'm happy to find that I can tolerate and even enjoy him in short story format. This could be described as Bertie and Jeeves meet Bartleby the Scrivener.
5. The Other Side of the Hedge 1947, by EM Forster: This one was kind of like an abstract painting, different people probably see different things. For me it was about the question of progress and technology - at what point does it start to detract from the human experience.
4. The Saint 1947, by VS Pritchett: A man describes how at age 17 he lost his faith in the Church of the Last Purification, of Toronto, Canada. Funny and poignant.
3. The Standard of Living 1941, by Dorothy Parker: I love Dorothy Parker so much! I defy anyone to read this story and not picture Mike Myers as Dr. Evil when he discovers a million dollars isn't what it used to be.
2. The Three-Day Blow 1925, by Ernest Hemingway: During a storm, two young men sit in a cabin in Missouri getting shitfaced drunk. They discuss baseball, books, and women. Then they decide to grab their shotguns and go out hunting.
1. The Garden Party 1937, by Katherine Mansfield: Laura Sheridan feels guilty when her well-to-do family goes ahead with a party on the day they learn of the death of a neighbor, who is poor.