Never too Late to Read Classics discussion

These titles are for all those readers who either simply enjoy shorter works or for those who may not always have time for the longer novels and such. For those latter readers, no time may be wasted!

Remember -- Edgar Allan Poe claimed that the perfect short story should adhere to the following rules:
Length: the story can be read in one sitting.
Ending: the story should end in its climax.
Unity of effect: the story should only have one mood.

2022 shorts reads will be conducted as thus:
-- Any SHORT STORY TITLE suggested here should be NO LONGER than 100 pages.
-- Alternating months will focus on an AUTHOR and ONE of that writer's short stories accompanied with suggestions of collections that story appears within and 2-3 other stories by the author.

Please suggest and vote on:
-- Short stories NO LONGER than 100 pages.
-- Authors who have written multiple short stories.

If we have multiple suggestions for short stories and/or authors but not enough votes, suggestions will be closed.

Suggested Stories:
-- The Rocking-Horse Winner by D.H. Lawrence (found within The Woman Who Rode Away and Other Stories)
-- Skeleton by Ray Bradbury (found within The October Country) - 1 vote
-- The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe
-- It's a Good Life by Jerome Bixby (found within The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume One, 1929-1964)
-- The Door in the Wall by H.G. Wells (found within The Door in the Wall and Other Stories) - 1 vote
-- The Signalman by Charles Dickens (found within Mugby Junction)
-- The Power of Darkness by E. Nesbit (found within From the Dead: The Complete Weird Stories of E. Nesbit)
-- The Meek One by Fyodor Dostoevsky (found within The Gambler and Other Stories
-- Barn Burning by William Faulkner

Suggested Authors:
-- D.H. Lawrence
-- James Joyce -- 2 votes
-- J.P. Donleavy - 1 vote
-- W. Somerset Maugham - 1 vote
-- Rudyard Kipling
-- Mark Twain
-- Shirley Jackson - 2 votes
-- Kate Chopin - 1 vote
-- Eudora Welty - 2 votes
-- Guy de Maupassant - 1 vote
-- Neil M Gunn

I need to look at my collections from an Author and see if I can find a suggestion.
I have enjoyed shorts in-between difficult reads. It helps with relaxing the mind for me.

Same here, Lesle. I love a good shot story but I'll have to check stuff I have to find a good suggestion.

D.H. Lawrence wrote lots of short stories and novellas-some darker in tone than others.
We read The Rocking-Horse Winner in high school and it still stands out.

Guy de Maupassant wrote short stories I think. I've not read him yet, so can't say much.

I'd like to nominate some of the greatest short stories ever, collected in Dubliners by James Joyce

Short stories NO LONGER than 100 pages

Skeleton, Ray Bradbury
The open window, Saki
The mad molecule, J P Donleavy
The masque of the red death, Poe
It's a good life, Jerome Bixby
The door in the wall, H G Wells
The signalman, Dickens
The power of darkness, Edith Nesbit

-- Authors who have written multiple short stories

The authors above (except Bixby)

I would love to reread Dubliners. Is The Dead shorter than 100 pages? And would suggest as well short stories by William Faulkner, another great 20th century writer. Barn Burning might be a good story to start with.

Diane wrote: "I would love to reread Dubliners. Is The Dead shorter than 100 pages? And would suggest as well short stories by William Faulkner, another great 20th century writer. Barn Burning might be a good st..."

Yes - The Dead is under 100 pages.

John wrote: "Diane wrote: "I would love to reread Dubliners. Is The Dead shorter than 100 pages? And would suggest as well short stories by William Faulkner, another great 20th century writer. Barn Burning migh..."

Sorry - The Dead is under 100 pages!

Update to planning thread coming by the weekend.

Stil time to suggest short story reads or authors who have written many short stories!

If you see a title or author suggested already that you are interested in reading, please vote.

Somerset Maugham has written many excellent short stories, as well as longer works.

I suggest Elizabeth Gaskell. There are various collections of her short stories available. One of her stories is The Old Nurse's Story which has only 53 pages. (But some of hers are ghost stories so my suggestion may belong in a different category for this group. Please move or ignore this if it isn’t suitable here.)

Trisha it should be fine. Samantha's genre is just short stories not genre based. Thank you for the suggestions!

I read The Meek One by Fyodor Dostoevsky earlier this year, 60ish pages. It's also in the collection of short stories The Gambler and Other Stories so will be my suggestion.

Thank you everyone for your patience and for your suggestions. I added a few more author suggestions. Special shout-out to Mike for including where your suggested short story can be found, as I quickly realized members may need or want to know this information.

Note: A couple recently read works were left off the suggestions list.

Please vote for which suggested stories and authors you would like to read with the group next year. If you suggested a story or author, remember that does count as voting for it/the writer.

Remember: the goal is 6 stories and 6 authors.

Piyangie wrote: "Guy de Maupassant wrote short stories I think. I've not read him yet, so can't say much."

Samantha I didnt see this one in the Author list? Does he not have short stories?

Lesle wrote: "Piyangie wrote: "Guy de Maupassant wrote short stories I think. I've not read him yet, so can't say much."

Samantha I didnt see this one in the Author list? Does he not have short s..."

I remember even looking him up last night. Unsure of what happened. My error. He's added. Thanks for catching it!

I would suggest Anton Chekhov and Katherine Mansfield if we have not read them already.

And I vote for Eudora Welty and Maugham.

I vote for James Joyce, Shirley Jackson and J P Donleavy.

We have many great suggestions for stories and writers for 2022's short reads.

Vote for who / what you'd like to read with the group by Wednesday, December 1st for a true schedule to be created.

I'd like to suggest/vote for another author please - Neil M. Gunn.

I think I’ve already supported Faulkner and James Joyce. I’ll also vote for Eudora Welty.

Once Upon a Time in the North by Philip Pullman

I would like to second the stories Skeletons by Ray Bradbury and The Door in the Wall by H.G. Wells.
I'd also like to second the authors Shirley Jackson and Kate Chopin please.

Blueberry wrote: "Once Upon a Time in the North by Philip Pullman"

Blueberry, Pullman's story misses our mark, as it was originally published in 2008. In time, though... :)

Thank you everyone for your short story title and author suggestions. Suggestions are closed!

Please take a few days to ONLY VOTE for titles and authors ALREADY suggested.

We have had very few votes so far... I could make a diverse schedule for next year's shorts via mod choice and the few votes we have had on our suggestions, but we would prefer more voting. :)

NOTE The book Skeletons I cannot find the contents of, and it's currently unavailable on Amazon. The short story Skeleton is in The October Country.

Thank you, Bernard. After Mike mentioned where his suggested story is found, I made sure to check for each of them. Many if not all of the stories can be found easily and are in the public domain. That should help matters.

Samantha wrote: "Blueberry wrote: "Once Upon a Time in the North by Philip Pullman"

Blueberry, Pullman's story misses our mark, as it was originally published in 2008. In time, though...."

Oops, I missed that.

Some more votes as requested: Skeleton, The door in the wall, and the Maupassant story.