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

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March 2018 favorites

March 2018

The March stories ordered solely on my personal tastes.

  1. ‘The Short Happy Life Of Francis Macomber’ by Ernest Hemingway
  2. ‘The Wide Net’ by Eudora Welty
  3. ‘Attracta’ by William Trevor
  4. ‘Folie À Deux’ by William Trevor
  5. ‘The Woman Of The House’ by William Trevor
  6. ‘After The Denim’ by Raymond Carver
  7. ‘The Midnight Zone’ by Lauren Groff
  8. ‘Of The Cloth’ by William Trevor
  9. ‘Probably Shakespeare’ by Jessamyn West
  10. ‘A Meeting In Middle Age’ by William Trevor
  11. ‘About Jessie Mae’ by James Purdy
  12. ‘Filial Sentiments Of A Parricide’ by Marcel Proust
  13. ‘My Mother’ by Andre Gide
  14. ‘Fable’ by Charles Yu
  15. ‘Three Short Moments In A Long Life’ by John L’Heureux

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July 2017 favorites

July 2017

The July stories ordered solely on my personal tastes.

  1. ‘Death And The Compass’ by Jorge Luis Borges
  2. ‘Why I Live At The P.O.’ by Eudora Welty
  3. ‘Cathedral’ by Raymond Carver
  4. ‘The Whole Town’s Sleeping’ by Ray Bradbury
  5. ‘Water Liars’ by Barry Hannah
  6. ‘A Case Of Identity’ by Arthur Conan Doyle
  7. ‘The Mystery Of The Spanish Chest’ by Agatha Christie
  8. ‘Coming Close To Donna’ by Barry Hannah
  9. ‘The Blind Man’ by D.H. Lawrence
  10. ‘Midnight And I’m Not Famous Yet’ by Barry Hannah
  11. ‘The Oracle Of The Dog’ by G.K. Chesterton
  12. ‘Even Greenland’ by Barry Hannah
  13. ‘Republica Y Grau’ by Daniel Alarcón
  14. ‘Good Boys Deserve Favors’ by Neil Gaiman
  15. ‘North Coast’ by Thomas McGuane
  16. ‘Trek’ by Barry Hannah
  17. ‘Cowardice’ by Abdeslam Boulaich

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

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