Open book thread: Short story edition |
by Gina Dalfonzo |
I'm sometimes given a gentle and much-needed reminder by one or the other of our Pointificators, that not everyone has time for the lengthy books that we always seem to be recommending around here. That's why I thought some of you might be interested in a find I recently came across on the discount shelves at our church bookstore. Eyes to See, Volumes One and Two, are collections of short stories that, in the words of editor Bret Lott, "seek to speak to and of the greatest story ever told: the love of God for us, a love so deep He gave His only begotten Son that we might have life everlasting."
The writers represented in Volume One include, among others, G. K. Chesterton, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Shusaku Endo, Flannery O'Connor, Leo Tolstoy, and Anthony Trollope. Those in Volume Two include Chesterton, O'Connor, and Tolstoy again, plus Frederick Buechner, Charles Dickens, Sarah Orne Jewett, George MacDonald, John Updike, Charles Williams, and more. Those are some stellar lineups. And by design, these are books that are easy for the time-deprived to pick up, read a story or two, and then put back down for later.
Despite the occasional rant, I really do enjoy the form on the whole. Maybe someday I'll put together a list of my favorite short stories to post here. And I'd be interested to hear about your favorites as well.
I've not read many 'short story' collections. The most recent was Flannery O'Connor's "A Good Man is Hard to Find, and other short stories".
That was the first time I read O'Connor... Loved it.
Posted by: Steve (SBK) | January 23, 2009 at 04:42 PM
I also enjoy O'Connor, but I have to take her in small doses or I'd become even more hopelessly cynical than I already am.
O. Henry is probably my favorite short story author. The Ransom of Red Chief and The Romance of a Busy Broker are two of my favorites.
My brother recently introduced me to a book that's a collection of short short stories--50 words or less. They're quite clever. I don't have any with me to share, unfortunately.
Posted by: Anna | January 24, 2009 at 07:01 PM
You might enjoy reading Russell Kirk's *Ancestral Shadows.* Wow, what a writer.
Posted by: Kim Moreland | January 26, 2009 at 10:43 AM