Wednesday, January 1, 2014

My Top Ten Short Story Picks for 2013

Looking back on my reading this past year was a bit of a surprise.  I barely read any novels!?!  I did reread a great number of my Georgette Heyer novels.  I love how she tells a story and brings her characters to life.  They're also full of humor, not the belly laughs kind, but humor that pokes fun at human nature.  I love that.  The book that I most enjoyed this year was Brandon Sanderson's "The Alloy of Law", which I passed on to my grandson.  If you want to learn how to build a fantasy world, this is a great example.

What I did read a lot of this year was short stories.  And that reading was all over the genres.  I discovered Terry Pratchett's "Turntables of the Night" and Robert Bloch's "That Hell-Bound Train", dipped into both Sherwood Anderson and Richard Matheson's work and discovered the greatness of Ambrose Bierce.

A very rich source of my reading came from the online zines.  There is so much great work out there in the ether.  Of course I didn't read everything and I didn't stick to any one particular genre, but the noir/crime short stories seemed to have stuck with me the most.  As always, I've composed my list of ten stories that have really resonated with me as both a reader and a writer.  In no particular order, here are my top online picks for the year 2013.

1.  SALVAGES by Gabrielle Hovendon

2.  CASSOULET by Maggie Wolff Peterson

3.  LATE NIGHT ON ROUTE 17 by Libby Cudmore

4.  WAITING ON THE 6:15 by Kieran Shea

5.  EVERYBODY KNOWS ABOUT A BROKEN HEART by Kent Gowran

6.  EYE SPY by Charles Gramlich

7.  LOVE AND OTHER WOUNDS by Jordan Harper

8.  STRINGTOWN ROAD by Richard Prosch

9.  JUST THE FACTS: A ZOMBIE STORY by Cat Rambo

10.  CONFEDERATES by Charles Dodd White

And just because I love the title and it was such a wild and weird story

THE SHOOT-OUT AT THE BURNT CORN RANCH OVER THE BRIDE OF THE WORLD by Catheryn M. Valente

Well, those are some of my favorites, there were so many more that I wish I could add, but then the list would go on forever and you'd all get bored.  What are some of your favorite short stories from 2013?  Feel free to share them in the comments.  Everyone loves a good short story!

 

9 comments:

Naomi Johnson said...

I've spent a lot of time these past couple of months re-reading Georgette Heyer also. There is no better author to turn to in times of stress for an escape into a world of wit and humor and sometimes even adventure. I just finished (for the umpty-umpth time in my life) re-reading These Old Shades last night. Avon and that chicken-skin fan cracks me up every time.

sandra seamans said...

Yes, she is the best for comfort reading, Naomi. I love "These Old Shades" but my favorite for humor is "Friday's Child". I usually giggle all the way through :)

Naomi Johnson said...

Oh, yes, Ferdy and his Nemesis!

sandra seamans said...

Yes, he is so wonderfully drawn and the book is just full of everyone doing the wrong things for the right reasons.

Dusty said...

http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/skaftun_04_13/


I've read this about three times this year.

Kieran Shea said...

Me? Really? Wow.

Kent said...

Thank you, Sandra. Amazing company to be in.

sandra seamans said...

Clark's World has a reputation for publishing great stories, Dusty. I'll be sure to check it out.

And yes, Kieran, Wow, that's what I thought when I read your story.

Thank you for the great read, Kent. Your stories always surprise me and I love that.

Charles Gramlich said...

So glad you enjoyed "Eye Spy." I've read several of the others on this list and certainly agree they are great. And now I have some more good ones to read that I missed. :)