Sometimes, especially when I am in a reading rut or just can’t decide what genre or title on my vast TBR list I want to read next, I will take a break from the vast tomes of my favourite authors and dip a toe into a short story collection. They are perfect for those brief moments in time when you are ‘between books’ or are perhaps suffering from that dreaded disease, the book hangover; they’re brilliant for when you want to try out a new author, giving you snippets of their work and allowing you to decide whether or not to delve into their longer works and of course they’re perfect bathroom reading material. No need to remember the intricacies of the previous chapters, just read a complete story and move on to the next.
We asked our Social media followers for their recommendations and we have here for you a list of 10 short story collections for toe dippers.
Fragile Things – Neil Gaiman
An excellent choice for our top placed selection.
You never quite know what you will get with Gaiman, other than unnerved that is. This is his second collection of short stories and is guaranteed to delight you.
Complete Short Stories – Somerset Maugham
Running Gaiman a very close second are the exotic locations and beautiful people that inhabit Somerset Maugham’s short stories and with over 90 tales across the two volumes, it’s a lot of literature to enjoy.
We’ll Always Have Paris – Ray Bradbury
Our third placed collection is by renowned author Ray Bradbury; described as “eerie and strange, nostalgic and bittersweet, searching and speculative” there’s bound to be something for everyone in this collection of short stories.
Kiss Kiss – Roald Dahl
A collection of Dahl’s adult short stories that includes “Parson’s Pleasure” and “The Landlady,” and one about a baby that gets fed some sort of special food and gradually turns into a giant bee — just the kind of thing only Dahl could pull off. Full of twists and turns and dark humour this is a gem of a book.
Complete Short Stories – Mark Twain
Over sixty of Mark Twain’s wonderfully atmospheric tales, many of them rollicking and uproarious, some sombre and even shocking with ‘The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County’ and ‘The Man Who Corrupted Hadleyburg’ included, this collection gives an insight into the author’s earliest works and is a perfect addition to your bookshelves.
The Steppe – Anton Chekhov
Your choice for sixth place is The Steppe; a collection of short stories that reveals Anton Chekhov’s evolution from a novice writer to a master of short narrative form. Gusev, The Kiss and The Duel are included and are well worth adding to your TBR list.
Revolting Rhymes – Roald Dahl
Dahl makes a second appearance in our top 20 with this brilliantly disgusting collection of children’s poetry that just has to be read out loud.
Night Shift – Stephen King
For a man who is known for his (very) long novels Stephen King writes a damned fine short; his short stories are often deeply disturbing and can often do in a few pages what his longer volumes sometimes miss.
Bazaar of Bad Dreams – Stephen King
Two in a row for the modern master of horror; this is his latest collection of short stories and includes such tales as The Dune and Bad Little Kid both of which I absolutely adored..
Tales of Mystery – Edgar Allan Poe
Our final choice for the featured top ten is another book to be read with the lights on and your feet firmly tucked under the duvet, Poe weaves his magic through this collection of short stories as only he can.
As top tens go, I think this is one of my favourites. I have always enjoyed the short story genre and think they make the perfect break between my larger reads.
10 of 2024’s Most Anticipated Reads
The For Reading Addicts Book of the Year 2023
Are You Willing to Unite Against Book Bans?
Roald Dahl Censorship Creates Grotesque Versions of Classics
For Reading Addicts Book of the Year 2022
short stories and no O Henry, Maupassant ? Kipling was a master too, though he’s so non-PC these days.. James Joyce was brilliant with “Dubliners” and pleeeease don’t leave out Katherine Mansfield – she is absolutely brilliant in this form.