The Power of Adding Short Stories To My Reading Plate

A palate cleanser.

Something that starts...ends... and has a sense of completion to it.

Short stories are bite-sized literary works that can be sandwiched between your longer more intense reads.

I find that I DNF with reckless abandon. Yes. I'm one of THOSE people.

I don't always put the book away forever, but I don't ever push or force myself through any work. Ever. It's a part of why I almost never do buddy reads. But, I digress.

Short stories make DNFing feel quite easy.

For example, if I'm reading a collection by Maupassant, and one of the stories just isn't connecting with me, I can quit it- go on to the next story (with little to no effort)- NOT feel that I'm abandoning the entire work, and either return to it later or just enjoy the other short stories that the collection has to offer.

It's like going to a museum. You may not enjoy every exhibit, and you certainly wouldn't remain in a wing of the museum with the exhibition that isn't speaking to your soul. You'd move along and spend extra time in the wing that has pieces in the collection or exhibits that offer you that sublime feeling.

That's at least how I approach my books. 

It's hard to remember what I've talked about on this new blog vs ALL the gorgeous content from my other blog, but I spoke before about how much I demand from my literature.

I know that at each phase of life we change and grow and therefore the way the literature lands on us is different, but I DEMAND to be transformed by what I read.

I demand that my soul be stirred in some way.

Source: Stock Photos

Now, in our days of doom scrolling and NY best seller's lists... I get people's desires to grab that latest published work that will entertain into the night. I however, stray far away from that- at least 95% of the time. 

There is NOTHING wrong with it, but for me I am only here for the fiction that transforms me. The deep soul shaking, borderline existential, character driven novels that offer me something deep and delicious. I won't be shamed for it either. (Okay calm down here. No one even shamed me and look at how defensive I became! :)

Some of my favorite short story writers:

1. Anton Chekov
2. Clarice Lispector 
3. The Victorians
4. Fyodor Dostoyevsky
5. Elena Savage
6. Guy de Maupassant
7. Claire Keegan
8. Audre Lorde
9. Jorge Borges

The point I'm making here is that if you want to read just a bit more without adding heavy weight to your plate, always have a few collections on the go.

I do sincerely loathe the concept of "reading more for some number collection's sake", but I'd be willing to argue that most lovers of literature desire to have MORE great literature in their hearts and minds.

THIS is a sure way of doing so with low stakes on your time.

You can devour the clever and emotional writings of Clarice Lispector in manageable bite-sized doses if you aren't in the space or have the time to dedicate to her intense novels. 

I hope I've convinced you (if you don't already) to pick up a few short story collections and enjoy one over your next cup of coffee. Bask in that feeling of completion at being either utterly entertained by the short work, or moved by it.

Happy reading my slow living friends.