# Favorite short stories **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** books-writing-myths\ **Created:** [May 31, 2026, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-short-stories/1030512 "2026-05-31T18:27:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2026, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-short-stories/1030512/1 "2026-05-31T18:27:50Z")
I was in a discussion with friends about our favorite short stories and there wasn’t a single person who could come up with an absolute favorite. We had to narrow it down to a favorite by different authors. I have six stories here and have already broken the choices up by having one of the authors with two stories, the others with one each. I love many other authors and more stories by the authors here though. James White—Custom Fitting—A British tailor has a client preparing to be presented to the Queen. Saki/H.H. Munro—The Interlopers—Not the happy ending I like —Tobermory—I liked this story so much I named a cat of my own for the title character. Robert Heinlein—The Man Who Traveled in Elephants—A fantasty, not his usual scifi, and a wonderful ending. Spider Robinson—True Minds—I got my ratty paperback copy that has this story signed by the author. O. Henry—A Retrieved Reform—Most people remember this author for The Gift of the Magi, but I like this one best. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2026, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-short-stories/1030512/2 "2026-05-31T20:09:52Z")
I like lots of short stories, but one is Robert Heinlein’s “-- All You Zombies --”. ---
**Author:** ![WalterBishop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/aeb1de/32.png) [@WalterBishop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WalterBishop)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2026, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-short-stories/1030512/3 "2026-05-31T20:24:29Z")
I love short stories and typically prefer them to novels. These are my top ten (although it changes every time I try and put a list together): ‘Dance of the Happy Shades’ - Alice Munro. ‘The Inner Room’ - Robert Aikman. ‘Lost Hearts’ - M.R. James. ‘The Jaunt’ - Stephen King. ‘The Echo of Neighbourly Bones’ - Daniel Woodrell. ‘Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote’ - Jorge Luis Borges. ‘The Monkey’s Paw’ - W.W. Jacobs. ‘Why Don’t We Just Kill the Kid in the Omelas Hole?’ - Isabel J. Kim. ‘The Sisters’ - James Joyce. ‘The Birds’ - Daphne Du Maurier. ---
**Author:** ![themapleleaf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/themapleleaf/32/14349_2.png) [@themapleleaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/themapleleaf)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2026, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-short-stories/1030512/4 "2026-05-31T20:31:33Z")
“Rip Van Winkle” and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow - Washington Irving (especially the latter, perhaps my favorite short story) A Queen in Thebes - Margaret Laurence Paul’s Case - Willa Cather The Pedestrian - Ray Bradbury The Kite - W. Somerset Maugham ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2026, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-short-stories/1030512/5 "2026-05-31T20:31:39Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > O. Henry—A Retrieved Reform—Most people remember this author for The Gift of the Magi, but I like this one best. I’m also partial to “The Cop and the Anthem.” James Joyce - “Counterparts” Tim O’Brien - “Too Skinny” William Faulkner - “A Rose for Emily” John Updike - “Dentistry and Doubt” Samuel Beckett - “Dante and the Lobster” Cate Kennedy - “Cold Snap” ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2026, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-short-stories/1030512/6 "2026-05-31T20:36:06Z")
“The Devil and Daniel Webster” by Stephen Vincent Benet is one of my favorites. Benet wrote two sequels. I’ve got “Daniel Webster and the Sea Serpent” but I haven’t been able to find “Daniel Webster and the Ides of March”. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2026, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-short-stories/1030512/7 "2026-05-31T20:40:13Z")
Another favorite of mine is Ursula K. Le Guin’s “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas”. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2026, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-short-stories/1030512/8 "2026-05-31T21:41:59Z")
Henry Miller’s “Sunday after the War” deals with his return from Europe, and visiting his aged parents after years away. They ask him how they look, and he breaks up, “I felt like a murderer”. And he still had issues with his mother. I believe “Sunday after the War” is the name of the story, reprinted in a book of short stories with the same name. ---
**Author:** ![ch51](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ch51/32/3111_2.png) [@ch51](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ch51)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2026, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-short-stories/1030512/9 "2026-05-31T21:54:08Z")
Wandering Willie’s Tale by Sir Walter Scott. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2026, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-short-stories/1030512/10 "2026-05-31T22:12:50Z")
For my money, the greatest science fiction short is “Inconstant Moon”, by Larry Niven. It works wonderfully both as hard and as soft SF: Aside from a touch of outdated terminology, it’s all scientifically sound, but it’s not about the science; it’s about the human reaction. > [@WalterBishop](#): > > ‘Why Don’t We Just Kill the Kid in the Omelas Hole?’ - Isabel J. Kim. We had a thread on this one a while back. My fundamental problem is, what the Hell is wrong with this author, that her first reaction to Omelas is to kill the kid, instead of rescuing them? ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2026, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-short-stories/1030512/11 "2026-05-31T22:35:03Z")
I’ve favored Ambrose Bierce, "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge\*. Thanks for all the suggestions. ---
**Author:** ![teelabrown](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teelabrown/32/8412_2.png) [@teelabrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teelabrown)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2026, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-short-stories/1030512/12 "2026-05-31T22:44:27Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > For my money, the greatest science fiction short is “Inconstant Moon”, by Larry Niven. Ditto this. I also love his story _Bordered In Black_. John Steinbeck - _Of Mice And Men_, although that might be a tad long for a short story - more of a novella, I suppose. Jack London - _All Gold Canyon_. I only found this recently, due to the Coen Brothers filming it practically verbatim as one of the vignettes in their movie _The Ballad of Buster Scruggs_. Guy du Maupassant - _Boule de Suif_. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2026, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-short-stories/1030512/13 "2026-05-31T22:47:38Z")
“The Things They Carried” - Tim O’Brien. “Cathedral” - Raymond Carver. I dislike a lot of his stuff, but this one’s great. “The Conversion of the Jews”, Philip Roth. “Dogs’ Lives”, Michael Bishop. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2026, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-short-stories/1030512/14 "2026-05-31T23:05:57Z")
> [@teelabrown](#): > > Guy du Maupassant - _Boule de Suif_. I read his story The Necklace in school and still remember it. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2026, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-short-stories/1030512/15 "2026-06-01T00:14:45Z")
- I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream – Harlan Ellison - Tell the Women We’re Going – Raymond Carver - A Perfect Day for Bananafish – J.D. Salinger - A Good Man is Hard to Find – Flannery O’Conner - The Last Flight of Dr. Ain – James Tiptree, Jr. - Mother Hitton’s Littul Kittons – Cordwainer Smith - Nightfall – Isaac Asimov - 5,271,009 – Alfred Bester - Playmates – Chuck Rothman ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2026, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-short-stories/1030512/16 "2026-06-01T00:27:54Z")
“Jeffty is Five”-- by Harlan Ellison “It’s a _Good_ Life”–by Jerome Bixby “‘—All You Zombies—’” by Robert Heinlein “Word Processor of the Gods” by Stephen King “The Last Question” -by Isaac Asimov “Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex” by Larry Niven ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2026, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-short-stories/1030512/17 "2026-06-01T00:33:55Z")
I’m thinking 🥵 ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2026, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-short-stories/1030512/18 "2026-06-01T00:44:17Z")
The Enormous Radio - John Cheever The Piano Teacher - John Cheever The Lottery - Shirley Jackson Just Lather, That’s All - Henrnando Tellez A Little Cloud - James Joyce Miss Brill - Katherine Mansfield The Ledge - Stephen King The Mangler - Stephen King off the top of my head - probably think of a bunch more down the road ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2026, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-short-stories/1030512/19 "2026-06-01T01:04:11Z")
Phoebe - O.Henry ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2026, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-short-stories/1030512/20 "2026-06-01T01:16:49Z")
_Survivor Type_ - Stephen King _Croatoan_; _From A to Z in the Chocolate Alphabet_ - Harlan Ellison [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-short-stories/1030512.md?page=2)