2nd Quarter 2025 favorites

2nd Quarter 2025

The 2nd Quarter (Apr-Jun) stories ordered solely by my personal tastes.

  1. ‘Office Hours’ by Ling Ma
  2. ‘The Country Husband’ by John Cheever
  3. ‘Marito In Citta’ by John Cheever
  4. ‘Korea’ by John McGahern
  5. ‘They’re Not Your Husband’ by Raymond Carver
  6. ‘A Clearing’ by Wendell Berry
  7. ‘Snowfall’ by Deesha Philyaw
  8. ‘La Vita Nuova’ by Allegra Goodman
  9. ‘The Toast’ by Rebecca Curtis
  10. ‘Helen On Eighty-Sixth Street’ by Wendi Kaufman
  11. ‘Blackbird Pie’ by Raymond Carver
  12. ‘The Hunter’s Wife’ by Anthony Doerr
  13. ‘When Eddie Levert Comes’ by Deesha Philyaw
  14. ‘Do Not Disturb’ by A.M. Homes
  15. ‘The Shell Collector’ by Anthony Doerr
  16. ‘Lessons With Father’ by Jai Chakrabarti
  17. ‘Across The Bridge’ Graham Greene
  18. ‘What’s Wrong With You? What’s Wrong With Me?’ by J.M. Holmes
  19. ‘They Told Us Not To Say This’ by Jenn Alandy Trahan
  20. ‘The Last Grownup’ by Allegra Goodman
  21. ‘A Sudden Story’ by Robert Coover
  22. ‘Fathers’ by Robley Wilson Jr.

As always, join the conversation in the comments section below, on SSMT Facebook or on Twitter @ShortStoryMT.

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4th Quarter 2024 favorites

4th Quarter 2024

The 4th Quarter (Oct-Dec) stories ordered solely by my personal tastes.

  1. ‘Peach Cobbler’ by Deesha Philyaw
  2. ‘The Pleasures Of Television’ by Rebecca Bernard
  3. ‘Pitch Memory’ by Ethan Canin
  4. ‘Hollywood Lanes’ by Megan Abbott
  5. ‘Former Marine’ by Russell Banks
  6. ‘Sarah Cole: A Type Of Love Story’ by Russell Banks
  7. ‘Eula’ by Deesha Philyaw
  8. ‘Rough Deeds’ by Annie Proulx
  9. ‘The Haunted And The Haunters’ by Edward Bulwer-Lytton
  10. ‘Christmas At The Cross’ by Maeve Murphy
  11. ‘The Finkelstein 5’ by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
  12. ‘A Country Christmas’ by Louisa May Alcott
  13. ‘The Ascent’ by Ron Rash
  14. ‘The Dune’ by Stephen King
  15. ‘First Dark’ by Elizabeth Spencer
  16. ‘The Music School’ by John Updike
  17. ‘It’s Like A Whisper’ by Megan Abbott
  18. ‘The Adventure Of The Musgrave Ritual’ by Arthur Conan Doyle
  19. ‘Oxford Girl’ by Megan Abbott
  20. ‘The Wind In The Rose-Bush’ by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman
  21. ‘Footfalls’ by Wilbur Daniel Steele
  22. ‘Monster’ by Michael Czyzniejewski
  23. ‘Our Eyes Couldn’t Stop Opening’ by Megan Abbott
  24. ‘The Wrong Man’ by Nella Larsen
  25. ‘We’ by Mary Grimm
  26. ‘Freedom’ by Nella Larsen
  27. ‘The Fog Horn’ by Ray Bradbury
  28. ‘The Wrong Shape’ by G.K. Chesterton
  29. ‘Today We Hit’ by Megan Abbott

As always, join the conversation in the comments section below, on SSMT Facebook or on Twitter @ShortStoryMT.

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