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Short Story Appreciation Discussion - October 2024 (Patreon)

Published:
2024-10-26 20:21:19
Imported:
2026-06
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Dear Book Club Readers ---

Your comments in our last short story appreciation thread made for fascinating reading. So it would be wonderful to hear what short stories you are enjoying alongside your other reading this month.

Our short story appreciation thread is a place to mindfully check in and share what works of short fiction have resonated with us recently.

The best way to appreciate the magic of short stories is to dive into some great ones and start discussing your insights and impressions with others. So let us know:

What short stories are you appreciating at the moment?

Let us know anything that has resonated with you during your short story excursions:

  • Powerful subtext

  • Compelling themes

  • Resonant passages

  • Your favourite writers

  • Beautifully crafted lines

  • Complex character studies

  • Elements you want to examine

  • Stories you want to recommend

  • Reflections, musings, and insights

  • How the stories inform your wider reading

This is the place to put your short story appreciations and get other readers weighing in on your thoughts!

Curated Short Stories:

I have also specially curated three stories for you to enjoy. This is, of course, completely optional. Don't feel like you need to read all three. I recommend sampling the opening lines, or the first few paragraphs, of each one and seeing which one pulls you in. Spend time with the story that most speaks to your heart and make a note of the author you resonates with you.

My aim is to offer you short masterworks that will inform your wider reading and prove to be a delight in and of themselves. I love these works, and believe that being attentive to the themes, characters, and style of writing will prove to be very rewarding.

The short stories I would like to recommend for you are:

And as the spooky season is upon us, if you wish to enjoy more vintages of horror literature, then you may like to check out this video in which I run through a dozen of my personal favourite tales of terror.

I would love to know what you make of the chosen stories. Which one did you focus on? Why did the style or theme resonate with you? If you read a different short story, let us know your thoughts on it. Or tell us about your favourite story.

All short stories can be found in the anthology That Glimpse of Truth, which makes an excellent collection for deepening your appreciation of the short story form.

Thank you so much for sharing your love of great literature with us.

Happy reading, everybody!

Files

Previews only

Comments

Ylva

Oh, The Tell-Tale Heart. One of my Poe favourites. The Christopher Lee reading was new to me though. How delightfully creepy, and what a perfect fit of voice and story. Thank you so much for sharing all these wonderful sources with us, Benjamin. We’re so lucky! I’m currently in the midst of moving and travelling so my reading has been restricted. I did, however, hear about the lost Bram Stoker short story that was recently discovered and had to check it out. Another nice tale for the season: https://github.com/mmastrac/gibbet-hill?tab=readme-ov-file

Kelly R.

Ooh, that tale by Poe has some strong Macbeth vibes! Even the “damn spot!” The pale blue eye caught my attention. There is a Netflix film by that title with a favourite of mine, Christian Bale. And one of the main characters is actually EA Poe! Has anyone else watched it? The surprise twist ending managed to redeem the entire thing for me.

Librarian Barbie

I’ve read The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin, Bloodchild by Octavia Butler, and I’m digging into collections by J. California Cooper and Alice Walker. I’m remembering now that I took a class in college on the short story. Core memory unlocked about how much I love this form.

Hannah

I read the Signal Man and the Tell tale Heart and really enjoyed both but probably the Dickens a bit more. There is something so eerie about that Victorian style writing to me and the setting of the railway. The creepiest bit was when the signal man got up as if the light had gone on, even though the narrator hadn't seen it. Goosebumps!

Estella

Great suggestions! I just read "The Dinner" by Alfonso Reyes. It's a haunting story about a man who finds that reality is not what he think it is (I don't want to say too much). I just learned about this writer recently - I did some research on him and found this: "Jorges Luis Borges called Reyes 'the greatest prose writer in the Spanish language of any age'". I can say that I enjoyed this story very much and I am looking forward to finding other works by him. The Tell-tale Heart by Poe is one of my favorites! All of these stories are haunting in their own way and I enjoyed reading them. My reading of The Dinner went along with the same theme as the ones Ben recommended which made this fun! I always enjoy the Short Story Appreciation and Poetry Appreciation portions that occur within our main readings. It really adds to the reading experiences! Thanks Ben!

Andy D

I read The Tell-Tale Heart and went on to read Murders In The Rue Morgue and absolutely loved it. Planning on watching the original 70’s Carrie movie tonight with my daughter (her favorite SK book along with Firestarter) Happy Halloween to all 🎃 Edit: just read The Monkey's Paw... so good, gave me chills!

Phil
>>153635518

Yes I have and the movie was so I good it prompted me to read the book, which was fantastic as I read it twice over. The actor who portrayed Poe was spectacular in his performance. And the story was riveting was it not?!

Phil

I cannot sleep because I am so creeped out. Just read “The Lake” by Ray Bradbury. My spine is quivering. There’s no way I’m closing my eyes anytime soon.

Karen Werner

I just finished reading Song of Solomon. Wow so impressive. Such an interesting and surprising tale. I could not stop reading it once I was about 20 pages in. I know I want to read more of her.❤️

Peter Rigby

I just read, Jorge Luis Borges's short story "The Gospel According to Mark." A different kind of horror all together. Wonderful descriptions and a study of group character.