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

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February 2022 favorites

February 2022

The February stories ordered solely on my personal tastes.

  1. ‘Are You All Right?’ by Wendell Berry
  2. ‘Three-Ten To Yuma’ by Elmore Leonard
  3. ‘Talkin Bout Sonny’ by Toni Cade Bambara
  4. ‘Detroit Skyline 1949’ by Bobbie Ann Mason
  5. ‘Dalyrimple Goes Wrong’ by F. Scott Fitzgerald
  6. ‘The Terrapin’ by Patricia Highsmith
  7. ‘Something Nice’ by Mary Gaitskill
  8. ‘A Visit’ by Steven Millhauser
  9. ‘Sun City’ by Caitlin Horrocks
  10. ‘The Tin Butterfly’ by Mary McCarthy
  11. ‘Do With Me What You Will’ by Joyce Carol Oates
  12. ‘A Figure Of Speech’ by Tess Gallagher
  13. ‘Death Of A Favorite’ by J.F. Powers
  14. ‘Haircut’ by Ring Lardner
  15. ‘Ghost Patrol’ by Sinclair Lewis
  16. ‘I Walk Between The Raindrops’ by T. Coraghessan Boyle

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December 2020 favorites

December 2020

The December stories ordered solely on my personal tastes.

  1. ‘Mirrorball’ by Mary Gaitskill
  2. ‘Accident Brief’ by Karen Russell
  3. ‘The Unknown Masterpiece’ by Honoré de Balzac
  4. ‘Drinking Coffee Elsewhere’ by ZZ Packer
  5. ‘The Half-Husky’ by Margaret Laurence
  6. ‘Home For Christmas’ by Carson McCullers
  7. ‘Seven’ by Edwidge Danticat
  8. ‘A Room Forever’ by Breece D’J Pancake
  9. ‘The Weirdos’ by Ottessa Moshfegh
  10. ‘Irina’ by Mavis Gallant
  11. ‘The Lily-White Boys’ by William Maxwell
  12. ‘The Pocketbook Game’ by Alice Childress
  13. ‘The Dancer’ by Patricia Highsmith
  14. ‘The Yo-Yo’ by P.D. James
  15. ‘Temptation’ by Clarice Lispector
  16. ‘Ordinary Nudes’ by Stuart Dybek
  17. ‘Neighbors’ by Anthony Tognazzini
  18. ‘The Canebrake’ by Mohammed Mrabet
  19. ‘Odd Behavior’ by Lydia Davis
  20. ‘The Warmth Of Things’ by Nélida Piñón
  21. ‘Times’ by Ann Beattie

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September 2020 favorites

September 2020

The September stories ordered solely on my personal tastes.

  1. ‘Heaven’ by Mary Gaitskill
  2. ‘The First Seven Years’ by Bernard Malamud
  3. ‘Notes From A Lady At A Dinner Party’ by Bernard Malamud
  4. ‘The Profile’ by Willa Cather
  5. ‘Simmering’ by Margaret Atwood
  6. ‘The Mourners’ by Bernard Malamud
  7. ‘On The Divide’ by Willa Cather
  8. ‘The Garden Lodge’ by Willa Cather
  9. ‘My Son The Murderer’ by Bernard Malamud
  10. ‘Angel Levine’ by Bernard Malamud
  11. ‘Dirty Deceivers’ by Chester Himes
  12. ‘The Under Graham Railroad Box Car Set’ by James McBride
  13. ‘My Flamboyant Grandson’ by George Saunders
  14. ‘Cooking Lesson’ by Rosario Castellanos
  15. ‘Dragged Fighting From His Tomb’ by Barry Hannah
  16. ‘The Egg Race’ by John Updike
  17. ‘The Namesake’ by Willa Cather
  18. ‘Cortés And Montezuma’ by Donald Barthelme
  19. ‘The Children’ by Andrea Lee
  20. ‘Cranberry Relish’ by Katherine Heiny
  21. ‘The Richer, The Poorer’ by Dorothy West
  22. ‘The Doctor And The Rabbi’ by Aimee Bender

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

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