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.

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March 2023 favorites

March 2023

The March stories ordered solely on my personal tastes.

  1. ‘The Past Perfect, The Past Continuous, The Simple Past’ by Claire Vaye Watkins
  2. ‘When Mr. Pirzada Came To Dine’ by Jhumpa Lahiri
  3. ‘Sliding’ by Leslie Norris
  4. ‘Different People’ by Clare Sestanovich
  5. ‘A Choice Of Butchers’ by William Trevor
  6. ‘Rondine Al Nido’ by Claire Vaye Watkins
  7. ‘The Stain’ by Tessa Hadley
  8. ‘Sarah’ by Mary Lavin
  9. ‘Matrilineal’ by Tessa Hadley
  10. ‘Bad Boy’ by Kristen Roupenian
  11. ‘The Widow’s Son’ by Mary Lavin
  12. ‘The Piano Teacher’s Pupil’ by William Trevor
  13. ‘Wife Wooing’ by John Updike
  14. ‘In The Middle Of The Fields’ by Mary Lavin
  15. ‘The Adulterous Woman’ by Albert Camus
  16. ‘Coda’ by Tessa Hadley
  17. ‘Encounters With Unexpected Animals’ by Bret Anthony Johnston
  18. ‘Brother Boniface’ by Mary Lavin
  19. ‘The Bunty Club’ by Tessa Hadley
  20. ‘Happiness’ by Mary Lavin
  21. ‘The Ormulu Clock’ by Muriel Spark
  22. ‘An Upheaval’ by Anton Chekhov
  23. ‘The Itch’ by Don DeLillo
  24. ‘Ceil’ by Harold Brodkey
  25. ‘Look At Your Game, Girl’ by Kristen Roupenian
  26. ‘One Sun Only’ by Camille Bordas
  27. ‘After The Funeral’ by Tessa Hadley
  28. ‘The Ugliest Babies In The World’ by Vanessa Chan
  29. ‘The Night We All Had Grippe’ by Shirley Jackson
  30. ‘The Father’ by Raymond Carver
  31. ‘Head Over Knees’ by Eric Schlich

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April 2019 favorites

April 2019

The April stories ordered solely on my personal tastes.

  1. ‘The Springs Of Affection’ by Maeve Brennan
  2. ‘In The Cemetery Where Al Jolson Is Buried’ by Amy Hempel
  3. ‘When It’s Human Instead Of When It’s Dog’ by Amy Hempel
  4. ‘My Man Bovanne’ by Toni Cade Bambara
  5. ‘The Carpet With The Big Pink Roses On It’ by Maeve Brennan
  6. ‘Stories Of Africa’ by Maeve Brennan
  7. ‘The Lesson’ by Toni Cade Bambara
  8. ‘The Sofa’ by Maeve Brennan
  9. ‘Blues Ain’t No Mockin Bird’ by Toni Cade Bambara
  10. ‘Happy Birthday’ by Toni Cade Bambara
  11. ‘Sweet Town’ by Toni Cade Bambara
  12. ‘The Eldest Child’ by Maeve Brennan
  13. ‘The Children’s Party’ by Amy Hempel
  14. ‘The Twelfth Wedding Anniversary’ by Maeve Brennan
  15. ‘A Matter Of Time’ by Frank London Brown
  16. ‘The Shadow Of Kindness’ by Maeve Brennan
  17. ‘Love, Death, And The Ladies’ Drill Team’ by Jessamyn West
  18. ‘Tonight Is A Favor To Holly’ by Amy Hempel
  19. ‘The Worm In The Apple’ by John Cheever
  20. ‘The Mysteries Of Life In An Orderly Manner’ by Jessamyn West
  21. ‘Weekend’ by Amy Hempel
  22. ‘Popular Mechanics’ by Raymond Carver

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February 2019 favorites

February 2019

The February stories ordered solely on my personal tastes.

  1. ‘Ultima Thule’ by Vladimir Nabokov
  2. ‘On Seeing The 100% Perfect Girl One Beautiful April Morning’ by Haruki Murakami
  3. ‘Silences’ by Helen Elaine Lee
  4. ‘A Losing Game’ by J.F. Powers
  5. ‘Someone Has Been Disarranging These Roses’ by Gabriel García Márquez
  6. ‘City Lovers’ by Nadine Gordimer
  7. ‘Violets’ by Edna O’Brien
  8. ‘The Anatomy Of Desire’ by John L’Heureux
  9. ‘The Actual Thing’ by William Maxwell
  10. ‘Tennessee’s Partner’ by Bret Harte
  11. ‘One Friday Morning’ by Langston Hughes
  12. ‘After Twenty Years’ by O. Henry
  13. ‘In A House Of Wooden Monkeys’ by Shay Youngblood
  14. ‘Jerry And Molly And Sam’ by Raymond Carver
  15. ‘The MYMan Solution’ by Helen Phillips

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

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