Want a reading list that's easy to fit into your hectic commute schedule? I know of 15 short-story collections you should binge read this weekend, and they're all waiting for you below.
If you majored in literature, you've read enough short stories to know big-league names, such as O. Henry, Anton Chekov, and Jorge Luis Borges. You've probably read the short stories of famous novelists, including "One of These Days" by Gabriel García Márquez and "The Open Boat" by Stephen Crane. Although story collections don't get the attention they deserve, many of the modern-day greats have published short stories in addition to their novels. That's all to say that, if you came here expecting to see collections from Flannery O'Connor, Eudora Welty, and Rad Bradbury, I hope you'll be pleasantly surprised to find them unlisted.
Although every attempt has been made to keep this list contemporary and diverse, please understand that it is in no way exhaustive. Yes, I know I left Junot Díaz's Drown off the list. I'm sorry. I could go on forever with these lists, but my editor really appreciates it if I don't.
Check out the 15 short-story collections that made my cut, and share your own reading recommendations with me on Twitter!
1
'Difficult Women' by Roxane Gay
Bad Feminist author Roxane Gay's 2017 collection wraps up love, pain, and everything in between in its gynocentric blend of tales.
2
'The Accusation' by Bandi
Containing a handful of critical stories smuggled out of North Korea, Bandi's The Accusation is a debut fiction collection you don't want to miss.
3
'What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours' by Helen Oyeyemi
Helen Oyeyemi's What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours contains nine stories from the Mr. Fox author, including "A Brief History of the Homely Wench Society," in which feminist college students sneak into the library of an all-male university and swap books.
4
'In the Country' by Mia Alvar
Mia Alvar's 2015 PEN Award-winning short-story collection meanders through the lives of Filipinx people around the world and at home in the Philippines.
5
'Falling in Love with Hominids' by Nalo Hopkinson
The author of a number of sci-fi/fantasy novels, including Brown Girl in the Ring, Sister Mine, and Midnight Robber, Nalo Hopkinson published her uncollected fiction in 2015's Falling in Love with Hominids.
6
'Homesick for Another World' by Ottessa Moshfegh
Ottessa Moshfegh followed up her Man Booker-nominated debut novel, Eileen, with Homesick for Another World, her highly anticipated short-story collection, in 2017.
7
'Things We Lost in the Fire' by Mariana Enriquez
This collection in translation hails from Argentinian writer Mariana Enriquez, and is translated by Megan McDowell, who also worked on Samanta Schweblin's Fever Dream.
8
'The Man Who Shot Out My Eye Is Dead' by Chanelle Benz
Perhaps the most compelling title on this list, Chanelle Benz's The Man Who Shot Out My Eye Is Dead contains 10 stories, including the O. Henry Prize-nominated "West of the Known."
9
'The Refugees' by Viet Thanh Nguyen
The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Sympathizer and Nothing Ever Dies returned to fiction in 2017 with The Refugees: a collection of stories centered around the Vietnamese diaspora.
10
'Swimmer Among the Stars' by Kanishk Tharoor
First published in India in 2016, Kanishk Tharoor's Swimmer Among the Stars is full of charming, conceptual stories.
11
'The Paper Menagerie' by Ken Liu
The Grace of Kings author Ken Liu published this collection in 2016. The Paper Menagerie collects Liu's award-winning fiction into a single volume, complete with an all-new story.
12
'A Manual for Cleaning Women' by Lucia Berlin
An acclaimed, posthumous collection from one of the 20th century's most overlooked writers, A Manual for Cleaning Women contains 41 of Lucia Berlin's short stories.
13
'Revenge' by Yoko Ogawa
The "11 Dark Tales" in Revenge start out innocently enough, but quickly veer off course in unexpected and gruesome ways.
14
'Blasphemy' by Sherman Alexie
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian isn't the only thing Sherman Alexie is known for. The Spokane-Coeur d'Alene author published his fifth short-story collection, Blasphemy, in 2012.
15
'Whatever Happened to Interracial Love?' by Kathleen Collins
Published posthumously by the author's daughter, Kathleen Collins' Whatever Happened to Interracial Love? explores the intersections of race, sex, gender, and class, offering up stories that will linger in your mind.
