LeoneLeoniNow it is time to give a little love to those little stories in your life. Share your love for your favorite shorts of any form. What is a short story or novella that doesn’t get the attention that it deserves? Recommend to readers what shorts you would suggest they start with.

This book changed my life. Not strictly because of the content, but because of how lyrically it is written. It changed how I looked at writing and my writing practices.

The plot is simple, and very engaging. The reader is swept along with the quickly moving story of love, adventure, betrayal and mystery.

But more than anything, I was struck by how effortless it felt. And then I learned that George Sand wrote is extemporaneously, and made almost no edits. The fluidity is apparent to this day.

The novella is available in the public domain and you can download it here.

As for short stories, they are a great way to read fantastic literature without the commitment of a novel. And we all suffer from lapses in long attention spans from time to time. One of my recent favorites is Revenge by Yoko Ogawa. These tight miniatures are woven together. They are simultaneously fresh and ancient.

Some of the best story collections are edited by Michael Sims. He curated The Dead Witness, a collection of Victorian detective stories. He also brought together a book for Penguin Classics called Victorian Women in Crime: Forgotten Cops and Private Eyes from the Time of Sherlock HolmesIt’s a fabulous way of exploring the genre and presents rare examples to enjoy. And luckily for everyone, he has another volume coming out called The Phantom Coach of Victorian ghost stories.

3 thoughts on “ARMCHAIR BEA 2014 – Novellas & Short Stories”

  1. Happy to find your recommendations. I plan to add them to my short story list for my short works reading challenge. I agree with you on the value of exploring the short form. I often find new authors to add to my list as a result of reading an anthology.

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