Jul 18, 2017 if you love to laugh then youre in luck, because weve gathered 50 of the funniest books of all time on this cantmiss list. Theyve lived there so long, there are only legends. Book club discussion questions for short story and essay collections. Read on for more reading groupfriendly short story collections.
The real world is chockfull of great stories that are perfect for discussion with your book club. Generic book club questions for every fiction genre. The right sort of short stories can also be great for. Teachers love using short stories in the classroom for so many reasons. Aug 21, 2017 book club discussion questions for short story and essay collections. In addition, if youre reading psychological thrillers or supernatural books, you may want to check out these book club questions i created specific to those genres. The only reason i go to clubs is for nights like this. From classics published in the 1900s to a short story that exploded in late 2017, here are ten.
Short book club recommendations sarahs bookshelves. As a bonus, listen to a spotify playlist inspired by one of the stories in the book. The best book club books that will encourage discussion in your book. Touching on those moments in life when you wish to act out but choose to stay in the shadows, this short collection of short stories is a perfect fit. Short stories we love haunting fiction, a beautiful book about the less pretty parts of love, oprahs bookclub pick and more superb slices of writing. Short stories your book club will love knopf doubleday. Just about any of the pieces in ninetynine stories of god would do here, honestly, but i love the firm wink of aubade, only the third story in the book. There are so many great short stories that i was unable to trim the list to 100 titles. In an upcoming book club meeting, we are discussing the shortstory collection runaway by canadian alice munro, winner of the 20 nobel prize in literature as a master of the contemporary short story. The next category for the 2018 reading challenge is a book you can read in a day.
Oct 28, 2015 touching on those moments in life when you wish to act out but choose to stay in the shadows, this short collection of short stories is a perfect fit for any book club. Eleven classic short stories by the great french master of the form. Here are some of our favorite short stories for middle schoolers to share with your students. By keith rice 12 months ago its no secret that were big fans of book clubs and the community and camaraderie they promote we have one after all. Our book club is a kind and respectful place, where everyones opinions matter but we share discussion time. Bringing stories to life at short story reading club.
Book clubs often give short stories short shrift tru. Geronimo the italian journalist rodent has penned dozens of highly illustrated earlyreader chapter books. The story begins with a toxic relationship that reminded me of the one in. If you already read and loved david sedariss santaland diaries, this is the next book you should add to your book club tbr list. And about a winepress, the machine used to press the grapes from which wine is made. Plus, students enjoy discussion around the conflicts and themes in short stories. Rsvp below, read a short story, join a live discussion with the author on zoom. Cold comfort farm, by stella gibbons published in 1932 in satirical response to romantic rural literature popular at the time, stella gibbons cold comfort farm is a rollicking read about flora poste, a broke 19yearold metropolitan orphan who decides to impose herself upon her remote farming relatives, the starkadders. In dictatorships, only one person is really allowed to speak. Drew finds more benefits to running club than health. Pick a story, maybe two or three, and youve got an easy month of reading, capped by an engaging discussion.
The africa book club short reads competition features short stories drawn from contributors across the african continent. We had just finished a light dinner and a bottle of wine. Short stories for book clubs penguin random house library. The tales are imaginative, fun and a great depiction of a loving family in everyday situations. If your book club has tired of novels and nonfiction, consider a change of pace. Haunting fiction, a beautiful book about the less pretty parts of love, oprahs bookclub pick and more superb slices of writing. Each chapter in this wonderful earlyreaders chapter book is an individual story and makes for a great introduction to the concept of short stories in general. From the dark and dry to the witty and wry, from the fictive to the factual, from travel logs to comedic blogs, this extensive collection of humor both classic and new inclu.
Read jonathan papernicks defense of the short story for the prosenpeople where he declares. Oct 19, 2015 an intricately crafted short story is a window into a fully developed world in a bitesized nugget. Everything begins and ends at the kentucky club wikipedia. Thus we have huge collection of short stories, in various short story categories, by many famous and new writers, from india. Amy hempel, housewife this is the shortest story on this lista few words shorter than lydia daviss, evenbut packs a lot of drama into that single sentence.
In addition to requiring less of a time commitment, they are an easy way to expose your students to new authors and genres. Short stories are perfect for teaching literary terms and vocabulary. These short stories in english include vocabulary help and some have vocabulary and comprehension quizzes. We already have a stellar list of lifechanging nonfiction books you can read in a day, so today were focusing on fiction. Reading a bad short story is like fine, who cares, next. A great short story can get our students thinking and making connections. Here are our recommendations for short story collections, with a reading guide for each. Swim back to me by ann packer is an unforgettable collection of short stories that we cant get enough of.
The right sort of short stories can also be great for book clubs, particularly at busy times of the year. Pick multiple stories by one author, or in one genre, or from one time period, or from the same. When getting through an entire book feels a little too ambitious for your monthly book club theres no reason to skip a meeting. Jul, 2017 just about any of the pieces in ninetynine stories of god would do here, honestly, but i love the firm wink of aubade, only the third story in the book.
For busier months, or even just for a change of pace, consider choosing a short story to discuss. Sittenfelds debut short story collection contains stories of domestic drama, and men and women adrift. If a reader hasnt started reading by the morning of the club s meetup, theyre screwed. This could be a long book, or a very short book, depending on. You can read two or three short stories per meetup, and still end up with less homework than a book.
But, the books on this list are especially shortaround 300 pages or less. So your club can try more challenging, avant garde, or controversial stories. Short story collections for book clubs knopf doubleday. I tend to think all book club selections should be on the short side to accommodate a variety of reading schedules for book club members.
A young husband and wife looking for some fun with dogs. This collection of christmas stories that are painfully funny. The stories are wildly varied, but concentrate on people facing ethical and moral dilemmas, where good and bad are not so easily defined. Do you think any of the stories could be expanded into a fulllength book. An intricately crafted short story is a window into a fully developed world in a bitesized nugget. Short book club recommendations are 300 pages or less, yet will still spark lively book. Unfulfilled, because the stories end on what appears to be an unfinished conclusion that leaves you hanging, thinking you know what happened to the character or going forward, or how the situation ends, but not completely sure. Short story collections, short stories, books barnes. Also, the best short stories are every bit as engaging and meaningful as the best novels. All the short stories in this book are superb, but the tuesday night club is one of the most poignant and beautiful tales. Popular short stories books showing 150 of 100,000 interpreter of maladies hardcover by.
Dec 14, 2017 in one of my past book clubs, we literally only read books that included discussion questions at the end of the book because we wanted to be certain wed have a meaningful discussion. Ten short books that will spark lively book club discussion. These individual short stories are the best of the best and the even better news is that theyre available for free online for you to peruse. Darcy book club pick and talked with author judy blundell.
This highly anticipated collection has lived up to its hype with stories following astronauts, bootleggers, and even ouija boards. Yet, theyre incredibly meaty and will spark lively book club discussions despite their brevity. For most people, that requires multiple reading sessions. What we talk about when we talk about love by raymond carver. Short stories we love haunting fiction, a beautiful book about the less pretty parts of love, oprahs book club pick and more superb slices of writing. Below is a list of generic book club questions that will work for nearly every fiction genre. A surprising number of classics that most of us read in school are short the great gatsby, of mice and men, heart of darkness, fahrenheit 451, ethan frome. This collection of short stories by author audrey kalman left me feeling both introspective and unfulfilled. Short stories, to paraphrase neil gaiman, take us around the universe or break our hearts with only a few thousand words.
The background to this short story is the tropical island of. With a short story, they can read it in one lunch break. And when i write a book or a story, i too am the only one speaking, no matter how i hide behind my characters. It is a short story book club but its not english class. This book of short stories is insanely inventive, is sometimes a bit disturbing, and will give your book club so much to talk about you may never go home.
Tightly plotted with an economical approach to language, a short story can. Popular short stories books meet your next favorite book. My current book club group is much more casual, but perhaps too much so. Whether bingeing the newest season of your favorite tv show, listening to an audiobook or engrossed in the pages of a novel, stories are experienced in hours, days, months and occasionally years.
Africa book club short story competition africa book club. The best part about being in a book club is getting to spend an afternoon drinking coffee and talking for hours about your new favorite book. Apr 02, 2019 winner of the 1972 national book award for fiction, oconnors collection includes 12 stories that were previously unpublished. Despite the prestigious award, munro wasnt an obvious choice. Winner of the 1972 national book award for fiction, oconnors collection includes 12 stories that were previously unpublished. Each one of lahiris short stories contains enough material for a novel, yet. Welcome to your story club online short story publisher welcome to your story club. If youre looking for a place where youll find likeminded people who are fanatic about short stories, then youre in the right place. If you or your book club is new to short story collections, try starting out with one of the most masterful short storytellers.
So if your club meets once a month, you have no excuse for not finishing your book club book you only need to devote eight or ten minutes a day to it. Start a short story club instead of a book club lifehacker. We accept unpublished fiction and creative nonfiction submissions, not exceeding 3,500 words, and whose setting and context are primarily set in africa, or written by african authors. John mullan on jhumpa lahiris unaccustomed earth guardian book club.
Set in chronological order, the bookpacked with her detailed prose and dark, humorous voiceis a reminder that shes one of the 20th centurys greats. Five winning books for an activitybased book club geronimo stilton series, by geronimo stilton scholastic, grades. This book of short stories is insanely inventive, is sometimes a bit. We encourage budding and upcoming writers by publishing their short stories from various genres. This world needs greater understanding, and a wellwritten short story can pierce the heart like a bullet and stay with a reader for the rest of her life. Nov 08, 2019 below is a list of generic book club questions that will work for nearly every fiction genre. One evening, the devil, a sisters confession, the beggar, the drunkard, the adopted son, an artifice, my uncle sosthenes, father milon, the piece of string, and solitude. Full of aptly and hilariously named characters such as the jersey. Welcome to short story club its like a book club, but for short stories. When youre crunched for time theyre also a quick escape and a great introduction to a writers work. The menu included green salad, charbroiled chicken breasts. Look outside the novelbecause even short stories can inspire long. Click a button to find the best short stories from the authors below. Reviewed by amy gruzesky this debut collection of nine short stories by anjali sachdeva is mesmerizing, enchanting and sometimes, jarring but definitely worth reading.