18 books like Great American Short Stories

What to read after Great American Short Stories — books similar to it, matched on shared themes.

In the Midst of Life. Tales of Civilians Ambrose Bierce · 1891 · ★ 4.0 · 252p · ≈ 8h · Challenging A collection of 26 stories: Soldiers (15 stories) "A Horseman in the Sky" An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge "Chickamauga" "A Son of the Gods" "One of the Missing" "Killed at Resaca" "The Affair at Coulter's Notch" "The Coup de Grâce" "Parker Adderson, Philosopher" "An Affair of Outposts" "The Story of a Conscience" "One Kind of Officer" "One Officer, One Man" "George Thurston" "The… Shares: Confederacy, Union, Hanging, United States Civil War

Great American Short Stories [48 stories] Washington Irving · 1984 · 699p · ≈ 23h · Moderate Anthology contains: The legend of Sleepy Hollow -- Rip Van Winkle -- The spectre bridegroom -- Young Goodman Brown Rappaccini's daughter The fall of the House of Usher The gold bug -- Pit and the pendulum The cask of amontillad Captain Kidd's money -- Benito Cereno -- The lightning-rod man -- The diamond lens -- The celebrated jumping frog of Calaveras County -- The £1,000,000 bank-note -- The… Shares: Confederacy, Union, Hanging, United States Civil War

An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge Ambrose Bierce · 1980 · ★ 4.0 · 28p · ≈ 56m · Moderate "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" (1890) is a short story by the American writer and Civil War veteran Ambrose Bierce. Described as "one of the most famous and frequently anthologized stories in American literature", it was originally published by The San Francisco Examiner on July 13, 1890, and was first collected in Bierce's book Tales of Soldiers and Civilians (1891). The story, which is set… Shares: Union, Hanging, Classic Literature, Short Stories

Whirligigs O. Henry · 1910 · ★ 3.7 · 314p · ≈ 10h · Challenging O. Henry's short, simple stories are noted for their careful plotting, ironic coincidences, and surprise endings. Contents: The World and the Door; The Theory and the Hound; The Hypotheses of Failure; Calloway's Code; A Matter of Mean Elevation; "Girl"; Sociology in Serge and Straw; The Ransom of Red Chief; The Marry Month of May; A Technical Error; Suite Homes and their Romance; The Whirligig of… Shares: American Short stories, Classic Literature, Short Stories

Winter Dreams F. Scott Fitzgerald · 2004 · ★ 3.7 · 48p · ≈ 1h · Moderate "Winter Dreams" is a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald that first appeared in Metropolitan Magazine in December 1922, and was collected in All the Sad Young Men in 1926. It is considered one of Fitzgerald's finest stories and is frequently anthologized. In the Fitzgerald canon, it is considered to be in the "Gatsby-cluster," as many of its themes were later expanded upon in his famous novel The… Shares: American Short stories, Short Stories

South Sea Tales Jack London · 1911 · ★ 3.8 · 157p · ≈ 5h · Challenging Despite the heavy clumsiness of her lines, the Aorai handled easily in the light breeze, and her captain ran her well in before he hove to just outside the suck of the surf. The atoll of Hikueru lay low on the water, a circle of pounded coral sand a hundred yards wide, twenty miles in circumference, and from three to five feet above high-water mark. On the bottom of the huge and glassy lagoon was… Shares: American Short stories, Short Stories

Waifs and Strays O. Henry · 1917 · 78p · ≈ 2h · Challenging Urban teens take center stage in a pair of edgy short story collections. Waifs and Strays presents 15 previously published works by Canadian fantasy writer Charles de Lint, including "May This Be Your Last Sorrow" from The Essential Bordertown and "There's No Such Thing," which appeared in Yolen and Greenburg's anthology Vampires. In its first appearance, "Sisters," tells of precocious… Shares: American Short stories, Short Stories

Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules David Sedaris · 2005 · ★ 3.6 · 344p · ≈ 11h · Moderate From the internationally bestselling author of Me Talk Pretty One Day, David Sedaris, comes a collection of his favorite short stories from acclaimed authors such as Flannery O'Connor, Jhumpa Lahiri, Tobias Wolff, and more.David Sedaris is an exceptional reader. Alone in his apartment, he reads stories aloud to the point he has them memorized. Sometimes he fantasizes that he wrote them.… Shares: American Short stories, Short Stories

The Crusade of the Excelsior Bret Harte · 1887 · 250p · ≈ 8h · Challenging The speaker, though apparently more at his ease at sea, was in dress and appearance fully as unnautical as Banks. As he leaned over the railing, his white, close-fitting trousers and small patent-leather boots gave him a jaunty, half-military air, which continued up to the second button of his black frock-coat, and then so utterly changed its character that it was doubtful if a greater contrast… Shares: American Short stories, Social life and customs, Classic Literature

The Four Million O. Henry · 1906 · ★ 4.0 · 225p · ≈ 7h · Challenging The Four Million is the second published collection of short stories by O. Henry originally released in 1906. There are twenty five stories of various lengths including several of his best known works such as "The Gift of the Magi" and "The Cop and the Anthem". The book's title refers to the then population of New York City where many of the stories are set. The stories include; Tobin's Palm The… Shares: American Short stories, Social life and customs, Classic Literature, Short Stories

Rolling Stones O. Henry · 1910 · ★ 2.5 · 292p · ≈ 9h · Challenging The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. The first settled line-up consisted of Brian Jones (guitar, harmonica), Ian Stewart (piano), Mick Jagger (lead vocals, harmonica), Keith Richards (guitar), Bill Wyman (bass) and Charlie The Rolling Stones (also published under the name Space Family Stone in the United Kingdom) is a 1952 science fiction novel by Robert A.… Shares: American Short stories, Classic Literature, Short Stories

Tales of Terror [12 stories] Edgar Allan Poe · 1971 · 296p · ≈ 9h · Moderate Pit and the Pendulum Cask of Amontillado Fall of the House of Usher Tell-tale HeartMasque of the Red Death Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar / by E.A. Poe -- The signal man / by C. Dickens -- The mummy's foot / by T. Gautier -- Markheim -- The body snatcher / by R.L. Stevenson -- Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge / by A. Bierce -- What was it? / by F. O'Brien. Shares: Hanging, Classic Literature, Short Stories, Horror

Une page d'amour Émile Zola · 1878 · 406p · ≈ 13h · Challenging Je me decide a joindre a ce volume l'arbre genealogique des Rougon-Macquart. Deux raisons me determinent. La premiere est que beaucoup de personnes m'ont demande cet arbre. Il doit, en effet, aider les lecteurs a se retrouver, parmi les membres assez nombreux de la famille dont je me suis fait l'historien. La seconde raison est plus compliquee. Je regrette de n'avoir pas publie l'arbre dans le… Shares: Psychology, Social life and customs, Classic Literature

Welcome to the Monkey House Kurt Vonnegut · 1950 · ★ 4.2 · 310p · ≈ 10h · Moderate Welcome to the Monkey House is a collection of Kurt Vonnegut’s shorter works. Originally printed in publications as diverse as The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and The Atlantic Monthly, these superb stories share Vonnegut’s audacious sense of humor and extraordinary range of creative vision. Includes the following stories: “Where I Live” “Harrison Bergeron” “Who Am I This… Shares: American Short stories, Short Stories

Law of the Desert Born Louis L'Amour · 1983 · ★ 4.0 · 245p · ≈ 8h · Moderate This first-rate collection of short stories by the incomparable Louis L’Amour showcases the legendary writer at his very spinning a fascinating and wholly authentic set of unforgettable tales. In these extraordinary stories, we meet a man who is forced to defend himself by taking another’s life—and must pay for his actions in a most punishing manner; a young thrill-seeker who finally finds a… Shares: American Short stories, History

When God Laughs and Other Short Stories Jack London · 1911 · ★ 3.0 · 148p · ≈ 4h · Challenging Released in 1911, When God Laughs, and Other Stories is the eleventh collection of short stories by Jack London. In contrast with most of his other work that had been released at the time, When God Laughs is set in Polynesia. The book consists of twelve short stories that range from humorous to shocking. Shares: American Short stories, Short Stories

Cathedral Raymond Carver · 1983 · ★ 4.3 · 238p · ≈ 7h · Moderate Twelve stories deal with loneliness, loss, the tragic banality of everyday life, and redemption. Shares: American Short stories, Short Stories

Mirrorshades - Una Antologia Ciberpunk Bruce Sterling · 1986 · ★ 4.4 · 239p · ≈ 7h · Moderate "The definitive cyberpunk short fiction collection." Shares: American Short stories, Short Stories

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