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Selected Shorts: American Classics
A compilation of classic tales by great American writers performed by terrific actors, with a lineup ranging from Eudora Welty’s hilarious story of an independent young woman striking out on her own, "Why I Live at the P.O." read to wacky perfection by Stockard Channing to Joyce Carol Oates’ sly, creepy tale of a teenage girl’s seduction by a dangerous drifter, "Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?," read poignantly by Christine Baranski to Edgar Allen Poe’s terrifyingly delicious "The Black Cat," read by René Auberjonois. Other featured stories include Alice Walker’s "Everyday Use" read by Carmen de Lavallade, John Cheever’s "Christmas is a Sad Season for the Poor" performed by Malachy McCourt, Amy Tan’s "Rules of the Game" read by Freda Foh Shen and Jerry Stiller reading John Sayles laugh-out-loud classic "At the Anarchists’ Convention" by John Sayles.
Audible Audio
First published April 1, 2010
5 people are currently reading
85 people want to read
About the author
Amy Tan
99 books11.2k followersAmy Tan (Chinese: 譚恩美; pinyin: Tán Ēnměi; born February 19, 1952) is an American writer whose novels include The Joy Luck Club, The Kitchen God’s Wife, The Hundred Secret Senses, The Bonesetter’s Daughter, Saving Fish From Drowing, and The Valley of Amazement. She is the author of two memoirs, The Opposite of Fate and Where the Past Begins. Her two children’s books are The Chinese Siamese Cat and The Moon Lady. She is also the co-screenwriter of the film adaptation of The Joy Luck, the librettist of the opera The Bonesetter’s Daughter, and the creative consultant to the PBS animated series Sagwa the Chinese Chinese Cat.
Tan is an instructor with MasterClass on writing, memory and imagination. She is featured in the American Masters documentary Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir. She was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters and recently received the National Humanities Medal. She serves on the board of American Bird Conservancy.
Her forthcoming book The Backyard Bird Chronicles began as a journal in 2016, when she turned to nature for calm. She also began taking drawing classes with John Muir Laws (The Laws Guide to Nature Journaling and Drawing, and The Laws Guide to Drawing Birds). During the pandemic shutdown, she drew birds only in her backyard, documenting behaviors she found puzzling. Over time she identified 64 species of birds that have visited her backyard in Marin County. By 2022, she had more than nine journals of sketches and notes, which her editor at Knopf suggested she publish. The book, which will be released in April 2024, has already received high praise:
“Much of great writing comes from great interest, and in The Backyard Bird Chronicles, Amy Tan shows us how the world fascinates her, especially the birds. The result is both unexpected and spectacular.”
—Ann Patchett, author of These Precious Days
“What an enchanting and illuminating book! How lucky for us that Amy Tan has turned her genius, her deep empathy and insight, her keen eye for what is telling, to birds. Every page of these chronicles radiates warm curiosity, wonder, and delight.”
—Jennifer Ackerman, The Genius of Birds
“This is one of the most infectious and convincing books about nature I’ve read. For the bird-watcher, the would-be bird-watcher, or for the bird-watching skeptic, this offers great delight and unexpected intrigue. Through Tan’s ecstatic eyes, what could be a dry treatise on ornithological happenings becomes something far more fun and much more profound. It’s really a book about seeing.”
—Dave Eggers, author of Ungrateful Mammals
“Anybody even mildly interested in birds, or thinking about getting interested in birds (which are, after all, the indicator genus for the health of the planet), will want this book perched on their shelf, if only for the gift of Amy Tan’s eye and the example she gives us of how to pay attention. What a treasure.”
—Robert Hass, Pulitzer Prize-Winning author of Summer Snow: New Poems
“Backyard Bird Chronicles is fun reading. It shows how we can become engaged emotionally, literally and artistically with the natural world—to joyfully learn about the most accessible and yet wild animals, the often rare and beautiful birds that choose to come and live near and sometimes with us.”
—Bernd Heinrich, author of Mind of the Raven
“With this book as your guide, embark into the bird world Amy Tan. This is an intimate view, a sort-of love affair with the birds and their behavior, that Amy has come to know over several years. Within the leafy universe of her own backyard, she has quietly beheld, patiently observed, and taken in-depth notations of an extensive array of bird species. In colorful detail, she describes various bird’s behavior, while capturing their beauty in exquisitely rendered illustrations. Species include fearsome predators and watchful prey, long distance migrants and hometown residents. Through her unique insight and gift as an author and
Tan is an instructor with MasterClass on writing, memory and imagination. She is featured in the American Masters documentary Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir. She was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters and recently received the National Humanities Medal. She serves on the board of American Bird Conservancy.
Her forthcoming book The Backyard Bird Chronicles began as a journal in 2016, when she turned to nature for calm. She also began taking drawing classes with John Muir Laws (The Laws Guide to Nature Journaling and Drawing, and The Laws Guide to Drawing Birds). During the pandemic shutdown, she drew birds only in her backyard, documenting behaviors she found puzzling. Over time she identified 64 species of birds that have visited her backyard in Marin County. By 2022, she had more than nine journals of sketches and notes, which her editor at Knopf suggested she publish. The book, which will be released in April 2024, has already received high praise:
“Much of great writing comes from great interest, and in The Backyard Bird Chronicles, Amy Tan shows us how the world fascinates her, especially the birds. The result is both unexpected and spectacular.”
—Ann Patchett, author of These Precious Days
“What an enchanting and illuminating book! How lucky for us that Amy Tan has turned her genius, her deep empathy and insight, her keen eye for what is telling, to birds. Every page of these chronicles radiates warm curiosity, wonder, and delight.”
—Jennifer Ackerman, The Genius of Birds
“This is one of the most infectious and convincing books about nature I’ve read. For the bird-watcher, the would-be bird-watcher, or for the bird-watching skeptic, this offers great delight and unexpected intrigue. Through Tan’s ecstatic eyes, what could be a dry treatise on ornithological happenings becomes something far more fun and much more profound. It’s really a book about seeing.”
—Dave Eggers, author of Ungrateful Mammals
“Anybody even mildly interested in birds, or thinking about getting interested in birds (which are, after all, the indicator genus for the health of the planet), will want this book perched on their shelf, if only for the gift of Amy Tan’s eye and the example she gives us of how to pay attention. What a treasure.”
—Robert Hass, Pulitzer Prize-Winning author of Summer Snow: New Poems
“Backyard Bird Chronicles is fun reading. It shows how we can become engaged emotionally, literally and artistically with the natural world—to joyfully learn about the most accessible and yet wild animals, the often rare and beautiful birds that choose to come and live near and sometimes with us.”
—Bernd Heinrich, author of Mind of the Raven
“With this book as your guide, embark into the bird world Amy Tan. This is an intimate view, a sort-of love affair with the birds and their behavior, that Amy has come to know over several years. Within the leafy universe of her own backyard, she has quietly beheld, patiently observed, and taken in-depth notations of an extensive array of bird species. In colorful detail, she describes various bird’s behavior, while capturing their beauty in exquisitely rendered illustrations. Species include fearsome predators and watchful prey, long distance migrants and hometown residents. Through her unique insight and gift as an author and
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews
August 29, 2015
I don't usually enjoy audiobooks, but these short stories were great. Each one was told by an actor, and the actor chosen to read each story was spot on. Particularly hilarious: "The Anarchists' Convention," written by John Sayles and read by Jerry Stiller.
February 12, 2023
Another terrific collection of stories in the Selected Shorts audiobook collection. The one that stands out (and they are all good) is Stockard Channing's reading of Eudora Welty's "Why I live at the P.O." All I can say is WOW.
January 6, 2019
I have a love/hate relationship with short stories. But recently have found that while I don’t really enjoy single author short story collections, a one off classic can really be sublime and perfect. I finally understand that they can do things that simply can’t be done in full length fiction. That being said, I didn’t love every short story in this multi author collection, but all the actor narrators were great and the three stand out stories for me where “Where are Going, Where have you Been” by Joyce Carol Oates, “The Black Cat” by Edgar Allan Poe and “Christmas is a Sad Season for the Poor” by John Cheever (spot on narration by Malachy McCourt).
June 29, 2019
This was an audio book performance of the stories listed in the description. All the stories are classics, most of which I read some time ago. My favorite short story of all time "Where are you going, where have you been?" by Joyce Carol Oates is included in the selections.
It was a joy listening to all of the stories. Some were quite funny. In particular, "At the Anarchists’ Convention" made me smile throughout. John Sayles managed to respect being elderly and still suffuse the story with honesty.
It was a joy listening to all of the stories. Some were quite funny. In particular, "At the Anarchists’ Convention" made me smile throughout. John Sayles managed to respect being elderly and still suffuse the story with honesty.
September 14, 2023
Had me giggling to myself all day. Least favorite was the cat one, too sad. Favorite was the Jerry Stiller one.
March 13, 2025
An excellent collection, read to perfection. The Black Cat was read in the most thrilling way, Game made me laugh with its sinister humor, Everyday Use seemed like a rite of passage for mothers with adult children. Fantastic.
April 13, 2022
ReedIII Quick Review: Modestly interesting collection of classic stories engaging and worthy of the excellent expert performances. As always lots of variety.
January 7, 2021
2 stars because the stories weren't terrible, but I definitely wasn't having as much fun listening to the presenters as the audience was when this was recorded :/ So much laughter at things that...weren't that funny??? Maybe I was missing out on the facial expressions of the actors or something IDK. Luckily this was short.
Also, I was expecting some sort of connecting theme between the stories (other than "classic authors") but there really wasn't any. Some of the stories (I'm thinking of the chess story in particular) I don't know why they were written. Without any context of other work by the same author, they felt random/arbitrary.
Also, I was expecting some sort of connecting theme between the stories (other than "classic authors") but there really wasn't any. Some of the stories (I'm thinking of the chess story in particular) I don't know why they were written. Without any context of other work by the same author, they felt random/arbitrary.
January 25, 2018
This is the first audiobook I've reviewed for GoodReads. What a delightful set of stories, performed before live audiences by actors who do them full justice: Stockard Channing reading a cheeky Eudora Welty tale, David Straitharn a manic story by Donald Barthelme, Christine Baranski a tense Joyce Carol Oates piece, René Auberjonois capturing the crazy in Edgar Allen Poe, and so on. My favorite is Malachy McCourt telling John Cheever's gloriously funny Christmas is a Sad Season for the Poor. You can spend a worse four hours than listening to these gems.
January 28, 2018
I listened to the audio version of this Selected Shorts - A Celebration of the Short Story. While not all the short stories deserve the 4 stars, I enjoyed the opportunity to "read" 8 different authors. Each was read by an actor which added to the story. Each lasted about 30 minutes, so they were a good length and while I am not much of a short story fan this made me look up the authors and I will be adding some of their novels to my reading list.
November 30, 2018
I listened to this in the audiobook format and it is an excellent collection of short stories performed by a variety of people. The performer who did Edgar Allen Poe’s "Black Cat" was especially fantastic. My favorite story overall was "Game" by Donald Barthelme, and the performance was also well done. "At the Anarchists' Convention" was also quite good and I found myself laughing out loud.
September 21, 2019
Fantastic collection, each story was unique from the other in topic, style or type. Of course, the audio version is best. Because it is based on live performances of special actors or orators. Amy Tan’s story of the young female chess champion is so clever and funny. John Sayles’ piece on the anarchists convention is laugh out loud funny, read by Jerry Stiller. Edgar Allen Poe, well creepy as only he can do. A must!
January 15, 2021
I got this book from the library on audiobook in order to listen to "At the anarchist's convention" by John Sayles (narrated by Jerry Stiller), which was recommended to me by a friend. And I admit: I laughed. Then I ended up listening to the rest of the stories while I was deep cleaning my kitchen. I didn't love all of them, and it's possible that I only listened to them all because I was already caught up on all my favorite podcasts, but hey.
November 16, 2016
I listened to this as an audio book--not my favorite way to "read" a book but I have to say the particular readers of these stories did the stories justice. I especially liked Rene Auberjonois reading "The Black Cat" by Edgar Allan Poe, Stockard Channing reading Eudora Welty's "Why I Live at the P.O., and Jerry Stiller was hilarious reading John Sayles' "At the Anarchist's Convention".
December 16, 2017
Some of the stories on here are amazing and worth 5 stars or more, like "The Anarchist's Convention", read by Jerry Stiller. Another one is about a teenage girl getting harassed by a man. It is disturbing, almost harrowing to listen to.
April 25, 2017
I'm so glad I discovered this. Or rather, was introduced to this by a friend. Every story, a joy to listen to. (Audible)
June 26, 2017
Excellent selection of short stories brilliantly performed.
September 20, 2018
Audiobook. Entertaining stories, especially since they were read by actors.
October 12, 2018
I listened to this in Audible. Great short stories read to live audiences by actors who performed them amazingly. Not all of them were four stars, but overall fun to listen to.
October 29, 2018
Loved "Everyday Use". And props to the guy who read "Black Cat", he could not have embodied Poe more if he tried :P
February 3, 2019
This was an uneven collection. Some of the stories were excellent and others were just okay. The first one, by Amy Tan, was especially strong, which may have raised expectations too high.
December 10, 2019
Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been by Joyce Carol Oates and The Black Cat by Edgar Allen Poe were both excellent.
February 27, 2020
Really enjoyable! I particularly liked the rendition of "Why I Live at the P.O." by Eudora Welty.
July 28, 2020
Great selection, well presented. Loved some, liked some. Overall, very well done. 👍
November 18, 2020
A good collections of American classics, from Joyce Carol Oates to John Cheever.
January 23, 2021
Some of the stories were good but some were disturbing. The narraters were fantastic, though--Christine Baranski, Jerry Stiller, etc.
February 19, 2021
Delightful, well-written and beautifully read.
November 3, 2021
Amy Tan’s story was the best. The others were just OK.
February 3, 2022
3.5 Stars. Some of the stories were better than others (better narrated and easy to follow, some stories I had no idea what was happening). Sometimes there was audience laughter that was more annoying than helpful like a laugh track. I wondered so many times "why are people laughing here?"
Notable stories:
Amy Tan's Rules of the Game. Good story and excellent narration.
Donald Barthelme's Game. Recognizable actor's voice reads a simple story that is equally plot and character driven without needing to go too deep into either plot or character as it would have been superfluous.
Edgar Allan Poe's The Black Cat read by René Auberjonois (who I just looked up and is a recognizable character actor) was by far the best story here with tremendously powerful narration by this actor. It was so good I listened twice.
Joyce Carol Oates' Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been read by Christine Baranski is a stunningly good read. The dramatic flair by this uniquely talented actress added complexity to a remarkably simple story (which makes it effective).
The remaining stories I lost track of what was happening rending them ineffective stories despite having good readers like Jerry Stiller that has the delivery, but I couldn't follow the story. A story read by very talented Stockard Channing (Grease! Rizzo) was hard to follow despite being narrated by such a legit actress.
I will give this another listen and perhaps the second time, stories that lost me will resonate. I'll look forward to hearing again the striking readings of the notable stories above (namely Baranski and Auberjonois.
Notable stories:
Amy Tan's Rules of the Game. Good story and excellent narration.
Donald Barthelme's Game. Recognizable actor's voice reads a simple story that is equally plot and character driven without needing to go too deep into either plot or character as it would have been superfluous.
Edgar Allan Poe's The Black Cat read by René Auberjonois (who I just looked up and is a recognizable character actor) was by far the best story here with tremendously powerful narration by this actor. It was so good I listened twice.
Joyce Carol Oates' Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been read by Christine Baranski is a stunningly good read. The dramatic flair by this uniquely talented actress added complexity to a remarkably simple story (which makes it effective).
The remaining stories I lost track of what was happening rending them ineffective stories despite having good readers like Jerry Stiller that has the delivery, but I couldn't follow the story. A story read by very talented Stockard Channing (Grease! Rizzo) was hard to follow despite being narrated by such a legit actress.
I will give this another listen and perhaps the second time, stories that lost me will resonate. I'll look forward to hearing again the striking readings of the notable stories above (namely Baranski and Auberjonois.
October 26, 2023
LOVED this. Great stories and great performances. I didn't know this series (Selected Shorts) existed, I will definitely check out others online.
Favorites: Amy Tan, Donald Barthelme, Eudora Welty, John Cheever, John Sayles
Least Favourite: The Oates story is very stressful to listen to while stuck in traffic. Not the fault of the story but- shiver. Creepy AF.
Skipped: Poe killing a cat
*******CONTENT
Amy Tan's "Rules of the Game", performed by Freda Foh Shen. A strict Chinese mother bedevils her chess prodigy daughter.
Donald Barthelme's "Game", performed by David Strathairn. Playing cosmic chicken in a nuclear bunker.
Eudora Welty's "Why I Live at the P.O.", performed by Stockard Channing. Hilarious story of an independent young woman striking out on her own.
Edgar Allan Poe's "The Black Cat" performed by René Auberjonois. Terrifyingly delicious Poe masterpiece.
Joyce Carol Oates' "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" performed by Christine Baranski. Sly, creepy tale of a teenage girl’s seduction by a dangerous drifter.
John Sayles' "At the Anarchists’ Convention", performed by Jerry Stiller. Laugh-out-loud classic.
Alice Walker's "Everyday Use", performed by Carmen de Lavallade. Siblings disagree about a precious piece of their family heritage.
John Cheever's "Christmas Is a Sad Season for the Poor", performed by Malachy McCourt. A high-rise elevator operator is overwhelmed by his riders’ holiday generosity.
Favorites: Amy Tan, Donald Barthelme, Eudora Welty, John Cheever, John Sayles
Least Favourite: The Oates story is very stressful to listen to while stuck in traffic. Not the fault of the story but- shiver. Creepy AF.
Skipped: Poe killing a cat
*******CONTENT
Amy Tan's "Rules of the Game", performed by Freda Foh Shen. A strict Chinese mother bedevils her chess prodigy daughter.
Donald Barthelme's "Game", performed by David Strathairn. Playing cosmic chicken in a nuclear bunker.
Eudora Welty's "Why I Live at the P.O.", performed by Stockard Channing. Hilarious story of an independent young woman striking out on her own.
Edgar Allan Poe's "The Black Cat" performed by René Auberjonois. Terrifyingly delicious Poe masterpiece.
Joyce Carol Oates' "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" performed by Christine Baranski. Sly, creepy tale of a teenage girl’s seduction by a dangerous drifter.
John Sayles' "At the Anarchists’ Convention", performed by Jerry Stiller. Laugh-out-loud classic.
Alice Walker's "Everyday Use", performed by Carmen de Lavallade. Siblings disagree about a precious piece of their family heritage.
John Cheever's "Christmas Is a Sad Season for the Poor", performed by Malachy McCourt. A high-rise elevator operator is overwhelmed by his riders’ holiday generosity.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews