25 Great Short Stories

I'm the kind of guy who loves to read (and write) short stories. Studying, analyzing, evaluating...I've spent a lot of time and energy on them. Short stories are clearly different than novels, with an incredibly unique chemistry and vibe. If you haven't read any since high school, then I strongly recommend the entries on this list. Some are old, some new, some foreign, many not, yadda yadda yadda. Check out this list, read some stories, and enjoy!

- "A&P" by John Updike
- "All Summer in a Day" by Ray Bradbury
- "Amigo Brothers" by Piri Thomas
- "Bullet in the Brain" by Tobias Wolff
- "The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allen Poe
- "Early Autumn" by Langston Hughes
- "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker
- "Fiesta, 1980" by Junot Diaz
- "Following the Notes" by Pia Z. Ehrhardt
- "Greenleaf" by Flannery O'Connor
- "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut
- "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson
- "The Man in the Black Suit" by Stephen King
- "The Mark on the Wall" by Virginia Woolf
- "Missing Women" by June Spence
- "Mule Killers" by Lydia Peelle
- "My Kid's Dog" by Ron Hansen
- "The Sea Fairies" by Maura Stanton
- "The Secrets of Summer" by Bret Easton Ellis
- "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin
- "The Swimmer" by John Cheever
- "Tandolfo the Great" by Richard Bausch
- "To Room Nineteen" by Doris Lessing
- "What You Pawn I Will Redeem" by Sherman Alexie
- "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" by Joyce Carol Oates

Many of these stories can be found online, but the obvious place to look is your local Barnes & Noble or a used book store. Many of these authors, particularly Stephen King and Ray Bradbury, have entire short story anthologies you can snag. And all of them are top-notch. Happy reading!