2025 4th Quarter favorites

4th Quarter 2025

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

  1. ‘The Best Of Everything’ by Richard Yates
  2. ‘A Manual For Cleaning Women’ by Lucia Berlin
  3. ‘The Canal’ by Richard Yates
  4. ‘A Wrestler Of Sharks’ by Richard Yates
  5. ‘The Deposition’ by Tobias Wolff
  6. ‘A Really Good Jazz Piano’ by Richard Yates
  7. ‘Intruders Of Sleepless Nights’ by Pamela Painter
  8. ‘The Little Statue’ by Maeve Murphy
  9. ‘Minotaur’ by Jim Shepard
  10. ‘A Glutton For Punishment’ by Richard Yates
  11. ‘Liquid Papers’ by Nicolette Polek
  12. ‘American Beauty’ by Ethan Canin
  13. ‘The B.A.R. Man’ by Richard Yates
  14. ‘Xmas, Jamaica Plain’ by Melanie Rae Thon
  15. ‘The Romance Of Certain Old Clothes’ by Henry James
  16. ‘Delivery’ by Bruce Barrow
  17. ‘Dirt’ by Maud Casey
  18. ‘The Rider Was Lost’ by Nancy Hale
  19. ‘The Fir Tree’ by Hans Christian Andersen
  20. ‘Live Wires’ by Thomas Beller
  21. ‘Let’s Play Dead’ by Senaa Ahmad
  22. ‘Doggerland’ by Kaliane Bradley
  23. ‘Crouch End’ by Stephen King
  24. ‘Happy’ by Richard Ford
  25. ‘Dagon’ by H.P. Lovecraft

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

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3rd Quarter 2025 favorites

3rd Quarter 2025

The 3rd Quarter (Jul-Sep) stories ordered solely by my personal tastes.

  1. ‘Peking Duck’ by Ling Ma
  2. ‘Conversion Of The Jews’ by Philip Roth
  3. ‘Happiest Moment’ by Lydia Davis
  4. ‘Scales’ by Louise Erdrich
  5. ‘Best Western’ by Louise Erdrich
  6. ‘The Red Convertible’ by Louise Erdrich
  7. ‘Great Experiment’ by Jeffrey Eugenides
  8. ‘Every Night For A Thousand Years’ by Chris Adrian
  9. ‘Lies’ by Ethan Canin
  10. ‘The Hollow Children’ by Louise Erdrich
  11. ‘Nothing To Declare’ by Richard Ford
  12. ‘Fires’ by Rick Bass
  13. ‘The Hand’ by Colette
  14. ‘Snares’ by Louise Erdrich
  15. ‘The Prom Terrorists’ by Rabih Alameddine
  16. ‘A Woman Driving Alone’ by Marie-Helene Bertino
  17. ‘Still-Life’ by John Updike
  18. ‘The Ghost Birds’ by Karen Russell
  19. ‘Psychology’ by Katherine Mansfield
  20. ‘How To Make The Wrong Impression’ by Katherine Heiny

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

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1st Quarter 2025 favorites

1st Quarter 2025

The 1st Quarter (Jan-Mar) stories ordered solely by my personal tastes.

  1. ‘Emperor Of The Air’ by Ethan Canin
  2. ‘The Year Of Getting To Know Us’ by Ethan Canin
  3. ‘Goodbye Marcus, Goodbye Rose’ by Jean Rhys
  4. ‘Sweethearts’ by Richard Ford
  5. ‘Crown-Fire’ by Erskine Caldwell
  6. ‘For A Long Time, This Was Griselda’s Story’ by Anthony Doerr
  7. ‘We Are Nighttime Travelers’ by Ethan Canin
  8. ‘The Man In The Moon’ by William Maxwell
  9. ‘Star Food’ by Ethan Canin
  10. ‘The Smile On Happy Chang’s Face’ by Tom Perrotta
  11. ‘Biology’ by Kevin Wilson
  12. ‘The Nice Restaurant’ by Mary Gaitskill
  13. ‘A Tiny Feast’ by Chris Adrian
  14. ‘The Lucid Eye In Silver Town’ by John Updike
  15. ‘Boy And Girl Games Like Coupling’ by Jamie Paige
  16. ‘The Pearl Of Love‘ by H.G. Wells
  17. ‘There He Go’ by Ladee Hubbard
  18. ‘Where We Are Now’ by Ethan Canin
  19. ‘Things My Mother Said’ by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
  20. ‘Goodbye To The Road Not Taken’ by A.M. Homes
  21. ‘Smote, Or When I Find I Cannot Kiss You In Front Of A Print By Bridget Riley’ by Eley Williams
  22. ‘Song Of Roland’ by Jamaica Kincaid
  23. ‘The Last Question’ by Isaac Asimov
  24. ‘Los Angeles’ by Ling Ma
  25. ‘Good Legs’ by Joshua Ferris
  26. ‘The Space’ by Christopher Boucher

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

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