# Favorite Short Story **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 23, 2017, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-short-story/791970 "2017-07-23T22:34:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2017, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-short-story/791970/81 "2017-07-26T22:38:24Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > Funny, I remember a Dahl story about an antiques dealer, but it features a Hepplewhite commode. The one where he says he just wants the legs? that’s a great story. James Thurber wrote some stories that had me laughing on my ass, but I can’t think of any in particular I’ve read in a long time, though. I love Dahl and Thurber. I would have mentioned “The Body” by Stephen King if I thought it counted as a short story. I never really got into King, but I like that story/novella, and _Dolores Claiborne_. Another I forgot to mention that I have read several times is PG Wodehouse’s “The Great Sermon Handicap.” I’ve forgotten which collection it’s from, but it’s a Jeeves and Bertie, and it’s a ROFL. ---
**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:** [July 26, 2017, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-short-story/791970/82 "2017-07-26T22:53:55Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > James Thurber wrote some stories that had me laughing on my ass, but I can’t think of any in particular I’ve read in a long time, though. [The Secret Life of Walter Mitty](http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1939/03/18/the-secret-life-of-walter-james-thurber) ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2017, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-short-story/791970/83 "2017-07-26T23:00:25Z")
SF: “The Mountains of Mourning” Lois McMaster Bujold Mystery: “The Honour of Israel Gow” G.K. Chesterton Fantasy: “The Little Black Train” Manly Wade Wellman Humor: “The Macbeth Murder Mystery” by James Thurber ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2017, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-short-story/791970/84 "2017-07-26T23:16:46Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > SF: “The Mountains of Mourning” Lois McMaster Bujold Excellent choice. I love Bujold. As apparently, do you. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2017, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-short-story/791970/85 "2017-07-26T23:24:27Z")
Mother Hitton’s Littul Kittons, Cordwainer Smith. (I found a link to the full story online, but I’m not certain of its copyright, so erring on the side of caution and not posting it.) ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2017, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-short-story/791970/86 "2017-07-26T23:45:15Z")
[Singing my Sister Down](http://will.tip.dhappy.org/blog/Porn%20Recommender/.../book/by/Margo%20Lanagan/Singing%20My%20Sister%20Down/Margo%20Lanagan%20-%20Singing%20My%20Sister%20Down.html), by Margo Lanagan, is the short story I’ve read recently that’s stuck with me the most. Full text at the link. Then there’s this super-short Kahlil Gibran story from “Diary of a Madman” (I think): > [@](#): > > A fox looked at his shadow at sunrise and said, “I will have > a camel for lunch today.” And all morning he went about looking > for camels. But at noon he saw his shadow again—and he said, “A > mouse will do.” Words to live by. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2017, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-short-story/791970/87 "2017-07-27T00:25:01Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > SF: “The Mountains of Mourning” Lois McMaster Bujold > > Mystery: “The Honour of Israel Gow” G.K. Chesterton > > Fantasy: “The Little Black Train” Manly Wade Wellman > > Humor: “The Macbeth Murder Mystery” by James Thurber Missed edit window: I chose these by category, only to realize there’s a lot of overlap here. “The Mountains of Mourning” and “The Macbeth Murder Mystery” are mysteries as well, and “The Little Black Train”, although fantasy, has an element of SF in it, too. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2017, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-short-story/791970/88 "2017-07-27T00:32:32Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > [The Secret Life of Walter Mitty](http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1939/03/18/the-secret-life-of-walter-james-thurber) That’s not one of my favorites. > [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > Humor: “The Macbeth Murder Mystery” by James Thurber Now that one I love. And I love the one I’ve forgotten the name of, where he complains to his publisher about them sending him too many copies of his book, and sending copies to old addresses where he hasn’t lived in years. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2017, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-short-story/791970/89 "2017-07-27T03:10:05Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > James Thurber wrote some stories that had me laughing on my ass, but I can’t think of any in particular I’ve read in a long time, though. “The Night the Bed Fell” “The Night the Ghost Got In” “The Dog That Bit People” Just for starters. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Toledo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/34f0e0/32.png) [@Toledo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toledo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2017, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-short-story/791970/90 "2017-07-27T03:30:19Z")
“The Star” by Arthur C. Clarke “The final Question” by Isaac Asimov “To build a fire” by Jack London. “Heavy Rescue” by Nicolas Montserrat (sp?) “The nine billion names of God” by Arthur C. Clarke “Flowers for Algernon” ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2017, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-short-story/791970/91 "2017-07-27T03:47:44Z")
> [@Crane](#): > > \*The Storyteller \*- Saki Lots of my favorites already mentioned, and this one is is good, but I have always felt the Saki masterpiece to be “The Open Window.” _Romance at short notice was her speciality_ ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2017, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-short-story/791970/92 "2017-07-27T04:35:11Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > Funny, I remember a Dahl story about an antiques dealer, but it features a Hepplewhite commode. See post 76. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2017, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-short-story/791970/93 "2017-07-27T13:41:33Z")
No mention of [Sholem Aleichem](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sholem_Aleichem)? His Tevye stories are absolutely wonderful! ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2017, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-short-story/791970/94 "2017-07-27T14:18:40Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > “The Mountains of Mourning” and “The Macbeth Murder Mystery” are mysteries as well. “[The MacBeth Murder Mystery](http://userhome.brooklyn.cuny.edu/anthro/jbeatty/COURSES/Macbeth/thurber.htm)” isn’t really a mystery. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2017, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-short-story/791970/95 "2017-07-27T14:24:17Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > “The Night the Bed Fell” > > “The Night the Ghost Got In” > > “The Dog That Bit People” > > Just for starters. 😃 I would call those essays, or anecdotal pieces. They’re not fiction, but embellished reality. I prefer them to the Thurb’s actual short stories; “The Dog That Bit People” is one of the funniest short pieces anywhere. My favorite actual short story of his is “The Catbird Seat,” but it’s nowhere near my top ten bestest stories. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2017, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-short-story/791970/96 "2017-07-27T14:26:55Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Where to start? How about some obscure ones? > > “‘Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You, My Lad’” > “Casting the Runes” > > Both from The Collected Ghost Stories of M. R. James LOVE M.R. James. What’s cozier than the idea of Christmas ghost stories in an Oxford college? But I’m a “Count Magnus” man all the way. ---
**Author:** ![chaika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chaika/32/405_2.png) [@chaika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaika)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2017, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-short-story/791970/97 "2017-07-27T14:31:05Z")
A few of my favorites that have not yet been mentioned (I think): Chekhov, “The Lady with the Little Dog” and “The Bride” Varlam Shalamov, “A Child’s Drawings” Penelope Lively, “The Darkness Out There” Mavis Gallant, “In Youth is Pleasure” Alice Munro, “Meneseteung” ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2017, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-short-story/791970/98 "2017-07-27T19:49:38Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > Stephen King’s _1408_ and _That Thing, You Can Only Say What it is in French_ > [@bobot](#): > > Dolan’s Cadillac. Stephen King > Rita Hayworth And Shawshank Redemption. S.K. > [@teela\_brown](#): > > **The Body** , by Stephen King > [@RivkahChaya](#): > > I would have mentioned “The Body” by Stephen King if I thought it counted as a short story. I never really got into King, but I like that story/novella, and _Dolores Claiborne_. I freaking love Stephen King’s short stories! I think that’s where he really shines; as compared to his novels; which I also enjoy. My #1 would probably be Survivor Type. #2 would probably be The Jaunt. For non Stephen King I’d have to say Flatland. It blew my mind when I first read it as a kid. > **[Flatland](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flatland)** > > Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions is a satirical novella by the English theologian, Anglican priest and schoolmaster Edwin Abbott Abbott, first published in 1884 by Seeley & Co. of London. Written pseudonymously by "A Square", the book used the fictional two-dimensional world of Flatland to satirise the class and gender hierarchies of Victorian society, but the novella's more enduring contribution is its examination of dimensions. A sequel, Sphereland, was written by Dionys Burger in 1957.... OK, Wikipedia is calling it a novella; but it’s short; and I think there’s even a youtube version of the story. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2017, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-short-story/791970/99 "2017-07-27T20:38:32Z")
> [@Enright3](#): > > I freaking love Stephen King’s short stories! I think that’s where he really shines; as compared to his novels; which I also enjoy. I had to check and make sure I didn’t write this. Stephen King’s shorts tend to leave out the more tedious aspects of his generally great writing. He is truly a master of the short story. I also love _The Jaunt_. Probably one of his creepiest. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2017, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-short-story/791970/100 "2017-07-27T21:59:49Z")
I have a cousin who is an orthopedic surgeon, and will happily explain why “Survivor Type” couldn’t happen. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-short-story/791970.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-short-story/791970.md?page=6)