Short stories, novellas and poetry

There is nothing like a good short story collection. They are like sensory overload, an emotional orgy. Beautiful things bombarding you, one after the other. It is a magical experience. They need to be gobbled up in one sitting, and then sifted through again, slowly, and read out of order. There is a whole sort of ritual I go through when approaching short story collections.


Fragile Things, Neil Gaiman.
I just finished this, and it was a reading experience like no other. The poems and stories, his varied subject matter. He can tackle fantasy, sci-fi... every sort of supernatural entity out there with grace.


Unexpected Magic, Diana Wynne Jones.
I've never read a book with a more appropriate title. These stories are unexpected and magical. And Everard's Ride will turn you into a pile of goo.


The Complete Stories, Evelyn Waugh.
It was fresh and exciting because Evelyn shook things up. Some stories were in letter form, some in screen-play format. And his Catholic light always shone through. Evelyn is the British Fitzgerald, with hope.


Old New York, Edith Wharton.
Edith writes about girls, and how flippancy and jealousy and uncontrollable emotions are so often their down-fall. It's not subject matter that people touch much, especially in our postmodern feminist society.


The Martian Chronicles, Ray Bradbury.
There never has been, and never will be a book like this one. I've read some good sci-fi, but nothing that affected me like this did.


Flappers and Philosophers, F. Scott Fitzgerald.
F. Scott writes emotional, heartbreaking stories. But surprisingly, he can be really funny too. Like Beatrice Bobs her Hair.


Just So Stories, Rudyard Kipling.
My mom used to read these aloud to us, and sadly, I was a three-year-old who believed anything, and I thought they were true.


Tales of Beedle the Bard, JK Rowling.
I want to be a child in a world where these are my fairy tales. I like that JK wrote some really moral stories without being annoyingly heavy-handed.


I, Robot, Isaac Asimov.
If there is one thing I am a giant sucker for, it's stories that make me question humanity. Which is basically what I, Robot is all about.

I like books too much. They're like ~*a drug*~ or something. I updated my DeviantArt yesterday. Take a peak. Also, listen to this.