Judge me by the short stories I like

[imp]

Judge me by the short stories I like

Two more fantastic short story collections:
'Here's Your Hat, Where's Your Hurry' by Elizabeth McCracken (Avon Books, 1993). The title story is about a woman who turns up at people's houses and convincingly presents herself as a long lost great aunt, staying for as long as it takes for her to get found out, and typifies the book's panorama of weirdos and lonely outsiders in the US literary tradition. 9.12 out of 10.

'No One Belongs Here More Than You' by Miranda July (Scribner, 2007), which are mostly very short stories, but most of which contain enough substance and honesty to justify reading. Her odd characters articulate stuff we'd probably prefer to keep inside our heads. 8.71 out of 10.

[Incandenza]

Judge me by the short stories I like

ursus arctos wrote:

My cousin is actually one of the leading American authorities on Barthelme, but I've never shared his unbridled enthusiasm.

Ursus, is your cousin the author of the new and highly regarded Barthelme biography?

[Amor de Cosmos]

Judge me by the short stories I like

I read Stephen Leacock's Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town shortly after my arrival in Canada and confess I didn't really get it. A few weeks ago I picked it up again, read the introduction, fell about laughing and haven't stopped since. It's utterly brilliant and every Canadian writer and comic I can think of owes Leacock some type of debt, large or small.

He is so wonderfully laconic with a turn of phrase that seems crafted to emphasise the humility within every situation.

On gaining his PhD:

"The meaning of this degree is that the recipient is examined for the last time in his life, and is pronounced completely full. After this, no new ideas can be imparted to him."

[erwin]

Judge me by the short stories I like

My very favourite of all time is Jack London's To Build a Fire.

I'm shivering just thinking about it.

[Jon]

Judge me by the short stories I like

I think one of the first books I ever read in Spanish was a collection of Jack London short stories, which included that one.