Books with category 🩳 Short Stories
Displaying books 49-96 of 151 in total

How to Talk to Girls at Parties

How to Talk to Girls at Parties is a captivating graphic novel that follows the story of Enn, a fifteen-year-old boy who finds the world of girls to be a complete mystery. His friend Vic, on the other hand, seems to have it all figured out. Their lives take an unexpected turn when they decide to crash a local party, only to find out that the girls there are extraordinarily unique.

Based on the Locus Award-winning short story by Neil Gaiman, a renowned author, and brought to life with the vivid ink-and-watercolor illustrations by the acclaimed Daytripper duo, Gabriel B\u00e1 and F\u00e1bio Moon, this original hardcover graphic novel is an unforgettable experience that blends elements of fantasy and science fiction with the relatable struggles of adolescence.

Stories of Your Life and Others

2016

by Ted Chiang

Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang is a collection that combines the very strange with the heartbreakingly familiar. The stories present characters who face sudden and inevitable changes, such as the rise of automatons or the arrival of aliens, and must find a way to maintain some sense of normalcy.

With a blend of sharp intelligence and humor, Chiang's stories explore what it means to be alive in a world filled with uncertainty, beauty, and wonder. This collection includes the following stories:

  • Tower of Babylon
  • Understand
  • Division by Zero
  • Story of Your Life
  • Seventy-Two Letters
  • The Evolution of Human Science
  • Hell is the Absence of God
  • Liking What You See: A Documentary

Additionally, the collection features Story Notes that provide insights into the creation of each piece. Stories of Your Life and Others has been recognized as a contemporary classic and includes 'Story of Your Life,' which inspired the major motion picture Arrival.

The View from the Cheap Seats

2016

by Neil Gaiman

An inquisitive observer, thoughtful commentator, and assiduous craftsman, Neil Gaiman has long been celebrated for the sharp intellect and startling imagination that informs his bestselling fiction. The View from the Cheap Seats brings together for the first time ever more than sixty pieces of his outstanding nonfiction.

Analytical yet playful, erudite yet accessible, this cornucopia explores a broad range of interests and topics, including authors past and present; music; storytelling; comics; bookshops; travel; fairy tales; America; inspiration; libraries; ghosts; and the title piece, at turns touching and self-deprecating, which recounts the author’s experiences at the 2010 Academy Awards in Hollywood.

Insightful, incisive, witty, and wise, The View from the Cheap Seats explores the issues and subjects that matter most to Neil Gaiman—offering a glimpse into the head and heart of one of the most acclaimed, beloved, and influential artists of our time.

Thirteen Ways of Looking

2016

by Colum McCann

From the author of the award-winning novels Let the Great World Spin and TransAtlantic comes an eponymous novella and three stories that range fluidly across time, tenderly exploring the act of writing and the moment of creation when characters come alive on the page.

The collection delves into the lifetime consequences that can come from a simple act, and the way our lives play across the world, marking language, image, and each other. Thirteen Ways of Looking is framed by two author’s notes, each dealing with contemporary issues at home and in Ireland, the author's birthplace.

Brilliant in its clarity and deftness, this collection reminds us why Colum McCann is considered among the very best contemporary writers. Accompanied by three equally powerful stories set in Afghanistan, Galway, and London, this is a tribute to humanity's search for meaning and grace.

The Moth & the Flame

2016

by Renée Ahdieh

The Moth & the Flame, a short story set in the world of A Wrath & the Dawn, begins with a playful exchange of barbed wit between two striking characters: the Captain of the Guard, Jalal al-Khoury, and a haughty handmaiden, Despina. As their interaction escalates into a fateful wager, it becomes clear that Jalal may have met his match in Despina, who is equally entranced by the dashing Jalal.

Their initial tempestuous battle of wills soon transforms into a passionate affair, which is unexpectedly deepened by a tragic turn of events. This narrative is a poignant exploration of love's complexity, set against a rich backdrop that fans of the series will find deeply engaging.

The Crown & the Arrow

2016

by Renée Ahdieh

Seventy-one days and seventy-one nights had come and gone since Khalid began killing his brides. This dawn, Khalid would mark the loss of the seventy-second girl, Shahrzad al-Khayzuran. Khalid didn't know how many more of these dawns he could take. And there was something about this latest girl that piqued his interest.

Not only had she volunteered to marry him, but at their wedding ceremony, she had seemed not the least bit afraid. In fact, what he had seen in her eyes was nothing short of pure hatred. She was about to lose her life. Why wasn't she afraid? Why did she hate him so? He had never before gone to his wife's chambers before her death at dawn. Tonight would be different.

Stars Above

2016

by Marissa Meyer

The universe of the Lunar Chronicles holds stories—and secrets—that are wondrous, vicious, and romantic. How did Cinder first arrive in New Beijing? How did the brooding soldier Wolf transform from young man to killer? When did Princess Winter and the palace guard Jacin realize their destinies?

With nine stories—five of which have never before been published—and an excerpt from Marissa Meyer’s novel, Heartless, about the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland, Stars Above is essential for fans of the bestselling and beloved Lunar Chronicles.

  • The Keeper: A prequel to the Lunar Chronicles, showing a young Scarlet and how Princess Selene came into the care of Michelle Benoit.
  • Glitches: In this prequel to Cinder, we see the results of the plague play out, and the emotional toll it takes on Cinder. Something that may, or may not, be a glitch….
  • The Queen’s Army: In this prequel to Scarlet, we’re introduced to the army Queen Levana is building, and one soldier in particular who will do anything to keep from becoming the monster they want him to be.
  • Carswell’s Guide to Being Lucky: Thirteen-year-old Carswell Thorne has big plans involving a Rampion spaceship and a no-return trip out of Los Angeles.
  • After Sunshine Passes By: In this prequel to Cress, we see how a nine-year-old Cress ended up alone on a satellite, spying on Earth for Luna.
  • The Princess and the Guard: In this prequel to Winter, we see a young Winter and Jacin playing a game called the Princess and the Guard…
  • The Little Android: A retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid,” set in the world of The Lunar Chronicles.
  • The Mechanic: In this prequel to Cinder, we see Kai and Cinder’s first meeting from Kai’s perspective.
  • Something Old, Something New: In this epilogue to Winter, friends gather for the wedding of the century…

Mistborn: Secret History

Mistborn: Secret History is a companion story to the original Mistborn trilogy. As such, it contains HUGE SPOILERS for the books Mistborn (The Final Empire), The Well of Ascension, and The Hero of Ages. It also contains very minor spoilers for the book The Bands of Mourning.

Mistborn: Secret History builds upon the characterization, events, and worldbuilding of the original trilogy. Reading it without that background will be a confusing process at best. In short, this isn't the place to start your journey into Mistborn. (Though if you have read the trilogy—but it has been a while—you should be just fine, so long as you remember the characters and the general plot of the books.) Saying anything more here risks revealing too much. Even knowledge of this story's existence is, in a way, a spoiler. There's always another secret.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is a collection of twelve short stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, featuring his famous detective Sherlock Holmes. These tales showcase Holmes' remarkable powers of deduction and the wide variety of cases that come his way, ranging from the bizarre to the highly dangerous. Aided by his loyal friend Dr. John Watson, Holmes solves each mystery with his signature wit and ingenuity.

This edition of the timeless classic ensures that the reader will be engrossed in the thrilling adventures of one of literature's most enduring characters. From the enigmatic 'Red-headed League' to the chilling 'The Adventure of the Speckled Band,' and the peculiar 'The Adventure of the Copper Beeches,' readers will be taken on a journey through the dark, foggy streets of Victorian London, where danger and intrigue lurk around every corner.

The Bane Chronicles

Fans of The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices can get to know warlock Magnus Bane like never before in this collection of New York Times bestselling tales, in print for the first time with an exclusive new story and illustrated material.

This collection of eleven short stories illuminates the life of the enigmatic Magnus Bane, whose alluring personality, flamboyant style, and sharp wit populate the pages of the #1 New York Times bestselling series, The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices.

Originally released one-by-one as e-only short stories by Cassandra Clare, Maureen Johnson, and Sarah Rees Brennan, this compilation presents all ten together in print for the first time and includes a never-before-seen eleventh tale, as well as new illustrated material.

Kitchen

Kitchen is an enchantingly original book that juxtaposes two tales about mothers, love, tragedy, and the power of the kitchen and home in the lives of a pair of free-spirited young women in contemporary Japan. Mikage, the heroine, is an orphan raised by her grandmother, who has passed away. Grieving, Mikage is taken in by her friend Yoichi and his mother (who is really his cross-dressing father) Eriko. As the three of them form an improvised family that soon weathers its own tragic losses, Banana Yoshimoto spins a lovely, evocative tale with the kitchen and the comforts of home at its heart.

In a whimsical style that recalls the early Marguerite Duras, Kitchen and its companion story, Moonlight Shadow, are elegant tales whose seeming simplicity is the ruse of a very special writer whose voice echoes in the mind and the soul.

Fragments of Horror

2015

by Junji Ito

Fragments of Horror offers a new collection of delightfully macabre tales from Junji Ito, a celebrated master of horror manga. The stories range from the terrifying to the comedic, and from the erotic to the loathsome.

Readers will encounter an old wooden mansion that turns on its inhabitants, a dissection class with a most unusual subject, and a funeral where the dead refuse to rest in peace. These chilling narratives mark Junji Ito's much-anticipated return to the realm of horror.

Sword of Destiny

Geralt of Rivia is a witcher, a man whose magic powers, enhanced by long training and a mysterious elixir, have made him a brilliant fighter and a merciless assassin. Yet he is no ordinary murderer: his targets are the multifarious monsters and vile fiends that ravage the land and attack the innocent.

This is a collection of short stories, following the adventures of the hit collection THE LAST WISH. Join Geralt as he battles monsters, demons and prejudices alike...

I Am Legend and Other Stories

Robert Neville is the last living man on Earth... but he is not alone. Every other man, woman, and child on Earth has become a vampire, and they are all hungry for Neville's blood.

By day, he is the hunter, stalking the sleeping undead through the abandoned ruins of civilization. By night, he barricades himself in his home and prays for dawn.

How long can one man survive in a world of vampires?

This collection includes the following stories:

  • I am legend
  • Buried talents
  • The near departed
  • Prey
  • Witch war
  • Dance of the dead
  • Dress of white silk
  • Mad house
  • The funeral
  • From shadowed places
  • Person to person

The Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy 2015 Edition

2015

by Rich Horton

This seventh volume of the year's best science fiction and fantasy features over thirty stories by some of the genre's greatest authors, including Elizabeth Bear, Paul Cornell, Cory Doctorow, James Patrick Kelly, Yoon Ha Lee, Kelly Link, Ken Liu, Sandra MacDonald, K.J. Parker, Robert Reed, Peter Watts, and many others. Selecting the best fiction from Asimov's, Clarkesworld, F&SF, Lightspeed, Subterranean, and other top venues, The Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy is your guide to magical realms and worlds beyond tomorrow.

Single, Carefree, Mellow

2015

by Katherine Heiny

Single, Carefree, Mellow is that rare and wonderful thing: a debut that is superbly accomplished, endlessly entertaining, and laugh-out-loud funny.

Maya is in love with both her boyfriend and her boss. Sadie's lover calls her as he drives to meet his wife at marriage counseling. Gwen pines for her roommate, a man who will hold her hand but then tells her that her palm is sweaty. And Sasha agrees to have a drink with her married lover's wife and then immediately regrets it. These are the women of Single, Carefree, Mellow, and in these eleven sublime stories they are grappling with unwelcome houseguests, disastrous birthday parties, needy but loyal friends, and all manner of love, secrets, and betrayal.

In Cranberry Relish Josie's ex—a man she met on Facebook—has a new girlfriend he found on Twitter. In Blue Heron Bridge Nina is more worried that the Presbyterian minister living in her garage will hear her kids swearing than about his finding out that she's sleeping with her running partner. And in The Rhett Butlers a teenager loses her virginity to her history teacher and then outgrows him.

In snappy, glittering prose that is both utterly hilarious and achingly poignant, Katherine Heiny chronicles the ways in which we are unfaithful to each other, both willfully and unwittingly. Maya, who appears in the title story and again in various states of love, forms the spine of this linked collection, and shows us through her moments of pleasure, loss, deceit, and kindness just how fickle the human heart can be.

Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances

2015

by Neil Gaiman

Trigger Warning is a mesmerizing collection of short stories and poems by the acclaimed author Neil Gaiman. This anthology explores the transformative power of imagination and the hidden depths of reality.

In Adventure Story—a thematic companion to the novel The Ocean at the End of the Lane—Gaiman delves into themes of death and the stories we carry with us. A Calendar of Tales offers a collection of short pieces inspired by the months of the year, featuring tales of pirates, March winds, and an igloo made of books.

Gaiman's The Case of Death and Honey presents an ingenious twist on Sherlock Holmes, while Nothing O'Clock is a special Doctor Who story written for the beloved series. The never-before-published Black Dog revisits the world of American Gods, following Shadow Moon on a haunting journey.

Gaiman's literary alchemy transports readers to a world where the fantastical becomes real and the everyday is incandescent. A treasury of wonders, Trigger Warning engages the mind, stirs the heart, and shakes the soul.

Selected Stories of Anton Chekhov

2015

by Anton Chekhov

Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky, the highly acclaimed translators of War and Peace, Doctor Zhivago, and Anna Karenina, which was an Oprah Book Club pick and million-copy bestseller, bring their unmatched talents to The Selected Stories of Anton Chekhov, a collection of thirty of Chekhov’s best tales from the major periods of his creative life.

Considered by many the greatest short story writer, Anton Chekhov changed the genre itself with his spare, impressionistic depictions of Russian life and the human condition. From characteristically brief, evocative early pieces such as “The Huntsman” and the tour de force “A Boring Story,” to his best-known stories such as “The Lady with the Little Dog” and his own personal favorite, “The Student,” Chekhov’s short fiction possesses the transcendent power of art to awe and change the reader. This monumental edition, expertly translated, is especially faithful to the meaning of Chekhov’s prose and the unique rhythms of his writing, giving modern readers an authentic sense of his style and a true understanding of his greatness.

This Night So Dark

This Night So Dark is the breathtaking short story that connects the first two novels in the Starbound trilogy, These Broken Stars and This Shattered World. Tarver still has nightmares about the night, six months before the Icarus crash, when he rescued a group of civilian researchers being held hostage by brutal mercenaries.

Now Tarver and Lilac must reconcile his memories of that fateful night with the truth that they uncovered on a mysterious planet after the Icarus crashed. This story includes bonus preview chapters from This Shattered World.

Spirits Abroad

2014

by Zen Cho

If you live near the jungle, you will realize that what is real and what is not real is not always clear. In the forest, there is not a big gap between the two.

A Datin recalls her romance with an orang bunian. A teenage pontianak struggles to balance homework, bossy aunties, first love, and eating people. An earth spirit gets entangled in protracted negotiations with an annoying landlord, and Chang E spins off into outer space, the ultimate metaphor for the Chinese diaspora.

Straddling the worlds of the mundane and the magical, Spirits Abroad collects ten science fiction and fantasy stories with a distinctively Malaysian sensibility.

The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven

2013

by Sherman Alexie

Sherman Alexie’s darkly humorous story collection weaves memory, fantasy, and stark reality to powerfully evoke life on the Spokane Indian Reservation. The twenty-four linked tales in Alexie’s debut collection—an instant classic—paint an unforgettable portrait of life on and around the Spokane Indian Reservation, a place where “Survival = Anger x Imagination,” where HUD houses and generations of privation intertwine with history, passion, and myth.

We follow Thomas Builds-the-Fire, the longwinded storyteller no one really listens to; his half-hearted nemesis, Victor, the basketball star turned recovering alcoholic; and a wide cast of other vividly drawn characters on a haunting journey filled with humor and sorrow, resilience and resignation, dreams and reality.

Alexie’s unadulterated honesty and boundless compassion come together in a poetic vision of a world in which the gaps between past and present are not really gaps after all.

A Modest Proposal and Other Satirical Works

2013

by Jonathan Swift

The originality, concentrated power and ‘fierce indignation’ of his satirical writing have earned Jonathan Swift a reputation as the greatest prose satirist in English literature. Gulliver’s Travels is, of course, his world renowned masterpiece in the genre; however, Swift wrote other, shorter works that also offer excellent evidence of his inspired lampoonery. Perhaps the most famous of these is A Modest Proposal, in which he straight-facedly suggests that Ireland could solve its hunger problems by using its children for food.

Also included in this collection are The Battle of Books, A Meditation upon a Broomstick, A Discourse Concerning the Mechanical Operations of the Spirit and An Argument Against Abolishing Christianity in England. This inexpensive edition will certainly be welcomed by teachers and students of English literature, but its appeal extends to any reader who delights in watching a master satirist wield words as weapons.

The Transfer

2013

by Veronica Roth

Complete your Divergent library with the Four stories! Fans of the Divergent series by #1 New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth will be captivated by "Four: The Transfer," the first of four stories, each between fifty and seventy-five pages long, set in the world of Divergent and told from Tobias's perspective.

In "The Transfer," readers witness Tobias's aptitude test, Choosing Day, and the moment he is given the infamous nickname "Four."

Vampires in the Lemon Grove: Stories

2013

by Karen Russell

From the author of the novel Swamplandia! comes a magical and uniquely daring collection of stories that showcases the author’s gifts at their inimitable best.

Within these pages, a community of girls held captive in a Japanese silk factory slowly transmute into human silkworms and plot revolution. A group of boys stumble upon a mutilated scarecrow that bears an uncanny resemblance to a missing classmate they used to torment. A family’s disastrous quest for land in the American West has grave consequences.

In the marvelous title story, two vampires in a sun-drenched lemon grove try to slake their thirst for blood and come to terms with their immortal relationship.

We Live in Water

2013

by Jess Walter

We Live in Water is a darkly comic and moving collection of short stories by New York Times bestselling author Jess Walter. This suite of diverse stories explores personal struggles and diminished dreams, marked by the author's wry wit and generosity of spirit, making him a favorite among booksellers and readers alike.

These stories range from comic tales of love to social satire and suspenseful crime fiction. Journey through hip Portland, once-hip Seattle, never-hip Spokane, a condemned casino in Las Vegas, and a bottomless lake in the dark woods of Idaho. This is a world of lost fathers and redemptive con men, of meth tweakers on desperate odysseys, and men committing suicide by fishing.

In the title story, "We Live in Water," a lawyer returns to his corrupt hometown to find his father, who disappeared 30 years earlier. In "Thief," a blue-collar worker turns unlikely detective to solve the mystery of which of his kids is stealing from the family fund. "Anything Helps" sees a homeless man trying to raise money to buy his son the new Harry Potter book. In "Virgo," a newspaper editor attempts to get back at his superstitious ex-girlfriend by screwing with her horoscope.

Also included are "Don't Eat Cat" and "Statistical Abstract of My Hometown, Spokane, Washington," both of which achieved cult status after their first publication online. This collection reveals Jess Walter as a ridiculously talented writer and one of the freshest voices in American literature.

Moonlight Shadow

Moonlight Shadow is a tale of love and loss, exploring the depths of human emotion and the powerful bonds that tie people together. In this story, Satsuki struggles to move on from the death of her beloved, a pain shared by Hiiragi, who dresses in his late sister's school uniform as a form of remembrance. The enigmatic Urara, with her unique ability to discern people's phone numbers with just one glance, believes that on one special day, under certain conditions, it is possible to reunite with lost loved ones. Could this be true for Satsuki and Hiiragi, who are haunted by the memories of those they cannot forget?

Birds of a Lesser Paradise

Birds of a Lesser Paradise is a heartwarming and hugely appealing debut collection that explores the way our choices and relationships are shaped by the menace and beauty of the natural world.

Megan Mayhew Bergman's twelve stories capture the surprising moments when the pull of our biology becomes evident, when love or fear collides with good sense, or when our attachment to an animal or wild place can't be denied. In "Housewifely Arts," a single mother and her son drive hours to track down an African Gray Parrot that can mimic her deceased mother's voice. A population control activist faces the ultimate conflict between her loyalty to the environment and her maternal desire in "Yesterday's Whales." And in the title story, a lonely naturalist allows an attractive stranger to lead her and her aging father on a hunt for an elusive woodpecker.

As intelligent as they are moving, the stories in Birds of a Lesser Paradise are alive with emotion, wit, and insight into the impressive power that nature has over all of us.

The News from Spain: Seven Variations on a Love Story

2012

by Joan Wickersham

The author of the acclaimed memoir The Suicide Index returns with a virtuosic collection of stories, each a stirring parable of the power of love and the impossibility of understanding it. Spanning centuries and continents, from eighteenth-century Vienna to contemporary America, Joan Wickersham shows, with uncanny exactitude, how we never really know what's in someone else's heart—or in our own.


Wickersham's gift is for capturing the habits of mind that lead even smart people to deceive themselves. Her book makes you slow down and listen, and then watch for people to reveal themselves. Elegantly structured, emotionally compelling... Short stories don't get much better than this.

Blasphemy: New and Selected Stories

2012

by Sherman Alexie

Sherman Alexie’s stature as a writer of stories, poems, and novels has soared over the course of his twenty-book, twenty-year career. His wide-ranging, acclaimed stories from the last two decades, from The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven to his most recent PEN/Faulkner award-winning War Dances, have established him as a star in modern literature.

A bold and irreverent observer of life among Native Americans in the Pacific Northwest, the daring, versatile, funny, and outrageous Alexie showcases all his talents in his newest collection, Blasphemy, where he unites fifteen beloved classics with sixteen new stories in one sweeping anthology for devoted fans and first-time readers.

Included here are some of his most esteemed tales, including "What You Pawn I Will Redeem," "This is What it Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona,” "The Toughest Indian in the World,” and "War Dances.” Alexie’s new stories are fresh and quintessential—about donkey basketball leagues, lethal wind turbines, the reservation, marriage, and all species of contemporary American warriors.

An indispensable collection of new and classic stories, Blasphemy reminds us, on every thrilling page, why Sherman Alexie is one of our greatest contemporary writers and a true master of the short story.

This Is How You Lose Her

On a beach in the Dominican Republic, a doomed relationship flounders. In the heat of a hospital laundry room in New Jersey, a woman does her lover's washing and thinks about his wife. In Boston, a man buys his love child, his only son, a first baseball bat and glove. At the heart of these stories is the irrepressible, irresistible Yunior, a young hardhead whose longing for love is equaled only by his recklessness—and by the extraordinary women he loves and loses: artistic Alma; the aging Miss Lora; Magdalena, who thinks all Dominican men are cheaters; and the love of his life, whose heartbreak ultimately becomes his own.

In prose that is endlessly energetic, inventive, tender, and funny, the stories in This Is How You Lose Her lay bare the infinite longing and inevitable weakness of the human heart. They remind us that passion always triumphs over experience, and that “the half-life of love is forever.”

Burning Bright

2012

by Ron Rash

Burning Bright is a masterful collection of short stories by the acclaimed author Ron Rash. This collection captures the eerie beauty, stark violence, and rugged character of Appalachia, weaving together tales that span from the Civil War to the present day.

In this collection, Rash brings to life unforgettable characters, each etched from the haunting landscapes of Appalachia. Through these stories, readers will find themselves immersed in a world that is both raw and alluringly melancholy.

One standout story in the collection is "Back of Beyond," where a pawnshop owner profits from stolen goods, including those of his own nephew, and finds himself embroiled in family tensions. In "Lincolnites," a pregnant wife of a Lincoln sympathizer finds herself in Confederate territory and takes drastic measures to protect her family. The title story, "Burning Bright," follows a small-town woman who marries an outsider, only for her husband to become a suspect in a series of arson attacks.

These stories not only explore a previously hidden territory but also reveal the dark yet lyrical heart of Rash's characters and their home.

Ferragost

A short story featured in Review of Australian Fiction and later put on Marchetta's website.

Lady Celie of the Lumateran Flatlands is visiting the Belegonian spring castle on the isle of Ferragost. Cut off from the rest of Belegonia by poor weather, she is confined to the island with four others, including the mysterious castellan of the castle. When the body of one of the guests is discovered on the rocks outside the east tower, Celie is not only considered a suspect, but finds herself embroiled in events that are entwined with her own kingdom's cursed history, as well as the future of the entire land of Skuldenore.

Free Four: Tobias Tells the Divergent Knife-Throwing Scene

2012

by Veronica Roth

#1 New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth retells a pivotal Divergent scene (chapter 13) from Tobias's point of view. This thirteen-page scene reveals unknown facts and fascinating details about Four's character, his past, his own initiation, and his thoughts about new Dauntless initiate Tris Prior.

The Golden Ball And Other Stories

2012

by Agatha Christie

Is it a gesture of goodwill or a sinister trap that lures Rupert St. Vincent and his family to a magnificent estate?

How desperate is Joyce Lambert, a destitute young widow whose only recourse is to marry a man she despises?

What unexpected circumstance stirs old loyalties in Theodora Darrell, an unfaithful wife about to run away with her lover?

In this riveting collection of short stories, the answers are as unexpected as they are satisfying. The Queen of Mystery takes bizarre romantic entanglements, supernatural visitations, and classic murder to inventive new heights.

Cuentos de Amor de Locura y de Muerte

2011

by Horacio Quiroga

Cuentos de Amor de Locura y de Muerte is a collection of short stories by Horacio Quiroga that delves into the themes of illness, family tragedy, personal despair, geographical exile, and the often brutal nature of humanity. This anthology, selected by the author himself, showcases Quiroga's mastery of the short story form, often drawing comparisons to the works of Edgar Allan Poe, Rudyard Kipling, and Jack London.

The stories explore the humanization of animals, with rational thought guiding the narratives, yet ultimately succumbing to the brute force of man. Another prevalent theme is the dehumanization of individuals who surrender to their most primitive instincts, leading to conflict and the unfolding of various plots. The element of appearance also plays a significant role, as Quiroga invites readers to question their initial perceptions, culminating in the author's own revelations.

Hana

2011

by Lauren Oliver

Lauren Oliver's riveting, original digital story is set in the world of her New York Times bestseller Delirium. The summer before they're supposed to be cured of the ability to love, best friends Lena and Hana begin to drift apart. While Lena shies away from underground music and parties with boys, Hana jumps at her last chance to experience the forbidden.

For Hana, the summer is full of wild music, dancing, and even her first kiss. But on the surface, Hana must be a model of perfect behavior. She meets her approved match, Fred Hargrove, and glimpses the safe, comfortable life she'll have with him once they marry. As the date for her cure draws ever closer, Hana desperately misses Lena, wonders how it feels to truly be in love, and is simultaneously terrified of rebelling and of falling into line.

In this digital story that will appeal to fans of Delirium and welcome new admirers to its world, readers will come to understand scenes from Delirium through Hana's perspective. Hana is a touching and revealing look at a life-changing and tumultuous summer.

Octocéfalo

OCTOCÉFALO es un experimento. Unir a 8 escritores en torno a temáticas fantásticas, en un trabajo editorial que busca linkear los textos como perlas de un collar, o cabezas en una estaca, como gustes. La idea es unir la experiencia narrativa literaria con gráfica (el libro es ilustrado) en un todo más o menos integrado.

Relatos:
1. Dientes de Leche - I. C. Tirapegui
2. Terranova - Alberto Rojas
3. Piel de Uroboros - Sebastián Garrido
4. Martina y el Fénnec - Sergio Alejandro Amira
5. África Arcangélica - Gabriel Mérida
6. Heartquake - Angela González
7. Pájaro - JL Flores
8. Time Wars Lluscuma - Jorge Baradit

Three the Hard Way

2011

by Matthew Iden

Crime, psychological twists, and dark humor await you in this enthralling collection by Matthew Iden.

Three the Hard Way is a short story collection featuring three original tales brimming with dirty motives, relentless ambitions, and a uniquely skewed perspective of the world.

The Wrong Job
Lily and Ted are at the bank to stop the foreclosure on their home. Brothers Jerry and Donny are at the bank to rob it. Someone picked the wrong job today.

Dead Letter
It's mail call at Edinburgh state prison, and Sam Klegg needs to find out if what he put in his last letter home will get him killed. Or worse, kill someone he loves...

Appalachian Love Story
Ayla knew that Buddy has always loved her, but he'd never needed to say it before. Then, one day, in a fit of tears, he proclaims his undying passion for her. Which can only mean one thing: Buddy wants her dead.

If you enjoy gritty, unexpected journeys—sometimes violent, sometimes funny, always entertainingThree the Hard Way is for you.

The Outlaw Album

2011

by Daniel Woodrell

Twelve timeless Ozarkian tales of those on the fringes of society, by a stunningly original American master. Daniel Woodrell is able to lend uncanny logic to harsh, even criminal behavior in this wrenching collection of stories.


Desperation—both material and psychological—motivates his characters. A husband cruelly avenges the killing of his wife's pet; an injured rapist is cared for by a young girl, until she reaches her breaking point; a disturbed veteran of Iraq is murdered for his erratic behavior; an outsider's house is set on fire by an angry neighbor.


There is also the tenderness and loyalty of the vulnerable in these stories—between spouses, parents and children, siblings, and comrades in arms—which brings the troubled, sorely tested cast of characters to vivid, relatable life.

Museum of the Weird

2010

by Amelia Gray

Museum of the Weird is a stunning collection of stories that reveal wondrous play and surreal humor.

A monogrammed cube appears in your town. Your landlord cheats you out of first place in the annual Christmas decorating contest. You need to learn how to love and care for your mate—a paring knife. These situations and more reveal the wondrous play and surreal humor that make up the stories in Amelia Gray’s stunning collection.

Acerbic wit and luminous prose mark these shorts, while sickness and death lurk amidst the humor. Characters find their footing in these bizarre scenarios and manage to fall into redemption and rebirth. Museum of the Weird invites you into its hallways, then beguiles, bewitches, and reveals a writer who has discovered a manner of storytelling all her own.

The Things They Carried

2010

by Tim O'Brien

The Things They Carried presents an arc of fictional episodes, taking place in the childhoods of its characters, in the jungles of Vietnam, and back home in America two decades later. Neither a novel nor a short story collection, it uniquely intertwines elements of both, with a clear artistic vision.

The book depicts the men of Alpha Company—Jimmy Cross, Henry Dobbins, Rat Kiley, Mitchell Sanders, Norman Bowker, Kiowa, and the character Tim O'Brien. As they face the enemy, and sometimes each other, their experiences reveal their isolation, loneliness, rage, fear, and their need for camaraderie. They carry not only physical burdens but also the weight of memory and the longing for a life left behind.

With dramatic force, emotional precision, and intimate detail, The Things They Carried is a testament to the men who risked their lives in America's most controversial war and a narrative that addresses the fragility of humanity.

Historias de cronopios y de famas

2010

by Julio Cortázar

Historias de cronopios y de famas es uno de los libros legendarios de Julio Cortázar. Postulación de una mirada poética capaz de enfrentar las miserias de la rutina y del sentido común, el escritor argentino toma aquí partido por la imaginación creadora y el humor corrosivo de los surrealistas. Esta colección de cuentos y viñetas entrañables es una introducción privilegiada al mundo inagotable de uno de los más grandes escritores de este siglo y un antídoto seguro contra la solemnidad y el aburrimiento.

Sin duda, Cortázar sella un pacto de complicidad definitiva e incondicional con sus lectores.

The Metamorphosis

The Metamorphosis is a novella written by Franz Kafka, which was first published in 1915. It tells the story of salesman Gregor Samsa, who wakes one morning to find himself inexplicably transformed into a huge insect and subsequently struggles to adjust to this new condition.

The novella has been widely discussed among literary critics, with differing interpretations being offered. The text was first published in the October issue of the journal Die weißen Blätter under the editorship of René Schickele. The first edition in book form appeared in December 1915 in the series Der jüngste Tag, edited by Kurt Wolff.

With a length of about 70 printed pages over three chapters, it is the longest of the stories Kafka considered complete and published during his lifetime. In popular culture and adaptations of the novella, the insect is commonly depicted as a cockroach.

Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives

2009

by David Eagleman

Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives is a dazzling exploration of unexpected afterlives—each presented as a vignette that offers a stunning lens through which to see ourselves in the here and now.

In one afterlife, you may find that God is the size of a microbe and unaware of your existence. In another version, you work as a background character in other people’s dreams. Or you may find that God is a married couple, or that the universe is running backward, or that you are forced to live out your afterlife with annoying versions of who you could have been.

With a probing imagination and deep understanding of the human condition, acclaimed neuroscientist David Eagleman offers wonderfully imagined tales that shine a brilliant light on the here and now.

Walk the Blue Fields

2008

by Claire Keegan

Claire Keegan’s brilliant debut collection, Antarctica, was lauded on both sides of the Atlantic. Now, she delivers her much-anticipated book, Walk the Blue Fields, an unforgettable array of quietly wrenching stories about despair and desire in the timeless world of modern-day Ireland.

In the never-before-published story “The Long and Painful Death,” a writer's peace is interrupted by an unwelcome intruder, whose ulterior motives emerge as the night progresses.

In the title story, a priest waits at the altar to perform a marriage and battles his memories of a love affair with the bride, questioning all to which he has dedicated his life. Later that night, he finds an unlikely answer in the magical healing powers of a seer.

A masterful portrait of a country wrestling with its past and of individuals eking out their futures, Walk the Blue Fields is a breathtaking collection from one of Ireland’s greatest talents, and a resounding articulation of all the yearnings of the human heart.

Minority Report

2008

by Philip K. Dick

In the world of The Minority Report, Commissioner John Anderton is credited for the absence of crime. He is the creator of the Precrime System, which employs "precogs"—individuals with the ability to see into the future—to pinpoint criminals before they can act. Tragically for Anderton, he is identified by the precogs as the next perpetrator. Despite knowing he has never considered such an act, this premonition suggests the precogs can err. Caught in a dire situation, Anderton's fate seems sealed unless he can uncover the precogs's "minority report"—the singular dissenting opinion that might allow him to unearth the truth and save himself from the very system he designed.

A motion picture adaptation of The Minority Report, directed by Steven Spielberg and featuring Tom Cruise, has been released, signifying the lasting influence of Philip K. Dick's imaginative literature.

Unaccustomed Earth

2008

by Jhumpa Lahiri

Unaccustomed Earth delves into the intricacies of family life, love, and identity against a backdrop of immigration. Lahiri masterfully navigates the emotional landscapes of her characters, from Cambridge and Seattle to India and Thailand, through eight stories that are both longer and more emotionally complex than any she has previously penned.

In the title story, Ruma, a young mother in a new city, is visited by her father who carefully tends to her garden. Here, a special bond forms between him and his grandson, yet a secret love affair he keeps to himself adds layers of depth to their relationship. Another tale, "A Choice of Accommodations," reveals a husband's dark, revealing turn during a romantic getaway gone awry. Meanwhile, "Only Goodness" focuses on a sister's struggle with guilt and anguish as her brother's alcoholism threatens to unravel her family.

Spanning various settings and exploring the bonds that tie us together, Lahiri's Unaccustomed Earth is a testament to her exquisite prose, emotional wisdom, and the subtle intricacies of the heart and mind. It stands as a masterful and dazzling collection from a writer at the peak of her powers.

The Last Wish

Geralt the Witcher -- revered and hated -- holds the line against the monsters plaguing humanity in this collection of adventures in the NYT bestselling series that inspired the blockbuster video games. Geralt is a Witcher, a man whose magic powers, enhanced by long training and a mysterious elixir, have made him a brilliant fighter and a merciless assassin. Yet he is no ordinary murderer: his targets are the multifarious monsters and vile fiends that ravage the land and attack the innocent. But not everything monstrous-looking is evil and not everything fair is good...and in every fairy tale there is a grain of truth. Andrzej Sapkowski, winner of the World Fantasy Lifetime Achievement award, started an international phenomenon with his Witcher series. The Last Wish short story collection is the perfect introduction to this one of a kind fantasy world. Witcher collectionsThe Last WishSword of Destiny Witcher novelsBlood of Elves The Time of Contempt Baptism of Fire The Tower of SwallowsLady of the LakeSeason of Storms The Malady and Other Stories: An Andrzej Sapkowski Sampler (e-only) Translated from original Polish by Danusia Stok

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