My dad is dying and I had to put my cat down a couple weeks ago. I need an escape.
Can anyone suggest a collection of short stories that immediately pulls you in? I don’t like sci-fi or romance. I’m just hoping for something super compelling.
Scattered Showers by Rainbow Rowell. It’s romance but not “romance.” It’s a collection of short stories with a bunch of meet-cutes, and the most wonderful part of romantic comedies where the friends reveal they have feelings for each other and share their first kiss. It’s full of warm fuzzies and left me feeling happy. I’m not sure if that’s what you mean by romance but I loved this book and thought I’d suggest it anyway.
trayseaw on
I’m currently escaping into Game of Thrones.
danellender on
Ernest Hemingway wrote many short stories. His tight prose might be something you’d enjoy.
saturday_sun4 on
Realm of the Elderlings
human-panic-button on
A Man Called Ove
Master of the Game
The other side of Midnight
pascalsgirlfriend on
Stephen King Different Seasons. 3 of the 4 novellas were made into movies including Shawshank Redemption, Apt Pupil and Stand by Me.
carrotwhirl on
I’m sorry for your loss. Hang in there.
248_RPA on
If you’re looking for diverting short stories try “The Best Short Stories of O. Henry” by O. Henry, Bennett Cerf (Editor), Van H. Cartmell (Editor)
One of the best writers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, O. Henry was the master of the short story.
Coderules on
My suggestion is “The Year of Magical Thinking” by Joan Didion. They are not short stories, but the chapters are short.
This book is about loss and dealing with her daughter and her husband passing the same year. I might seem odd to suggest this, but I read it after my own father’s passing a few years ago, and it helped me handle my grief.
CommissarCiaphisCain on
John Scalzi’s *Redshirts*. Silly, creative, fun, and a total hoot that I loved from the first page to the last. Total escapist enjoyment.
bourbonwhiskygirl on
Little Fuzzy by H Beam Piper is my ultimate feel good book if you like older sci fi. First contact with the cutest aliens ever who are looking for a new home. Will leave you feeling warm and fuzzy inside (pun intended) and wishing you had a fuzzy of your own. I hope this helps 🙏 ❤️
catsbutalsobees on
OP, I am so sorry for what you’re going through now.
I would recommend short stories by Alice Munro. She’s a Canadian author who won a nobel prize in literature for her short stories. “Selected Stories” is a good place to start.
fellowprimates on
I’m sorry you’re struggling right now. The Singing Hills Cycle by Nghi Vo is like a magical warm hug from someone you love. It’s three novellas that follow one character (a collector of stories) through their travels. Titles of all three below:
1. *The Empress of Salt and Fortune*
2. *When the Tiger Came Down The Mountain*
3. *Into the Riverlands*
Enfpization on
Hang in there buddy
My own personal recommendation…
Quran translation by Mustafa Khattab
Mypasswordisonfleek on
Don’t read Mishima right now
AmbivalentSamaritan on
Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi is sci-fi. But it’s very light and fun. He wrote it during covid when he had just had enough of everything . It would be what I would like to read in your situation
MWolman1981 on
First, terribly sorry for what you’re going through. Can’t be easy. I find good memoirs to be nice escapes for me, so below are some of the easier, short story focused, escapist types that I’ve enjoyed.
**A Walk in the Woods** – Bryson’s Appalachian trail memoir is funny and easy to pick up/put down. The chapters switch off between his journey and history of the places he’s been along the trail.
**Steaming to Bamboola** – Chris Buckley’s 1st book about hopping on an ocean going cargo ship. It re-focuses each chapter on individuals on the boat, places they’ve been, and other related stories of shipping adventures which are all short stories.
**My First Seven Years** – Dario Fo’s early life in the mountains of northern Italy.
**Dave Grohl’s Storyteller** – He really did well almost linearly telling interesting stories of growing up and making his way through his early musical career, all the way to superstardom. Each chapter hops to a different part in his life, all leading to present day. If you decide to skip around in the book it still works well.
**Hell’s Angels** – Probably Hunter Thompson’s most complete work about the rise of the Hell’s Angels (or at least their rise in popular knowledge). I enjoy some of his other works but they are more short, unrelated stories he wrote for Rolling Stone magazine. Things like candid interviews with Muhammed Ali, the Kentucky Derby and harassing the Oakland Raiders.
17 Comments
Scattered Showers by Rainbow Rowell. It’s romance but not “romance.” It’s a collection of short stories with a bunch of meet-cutes, and the most wonderful part of romantic comedies where the friends reveal they have feelings for each other and share their first kiss. It’s full of warm fuzzies and left me feeling happy. I’m not sure if that’s what you mean by romance but I loved this book and thought I’d suggest it anyway.
I’m currently escaping into Game of Thrones.
Ernest Hemingway wrote many short stories. His tight prose might be something you’d enjoy.
Realm of the Elderlings
A Man Called Ove
Master of the Game
The other side of Midnight
Stephen King Different Seasons. 3 of the 4 novellas were made into movies including Shawshank Redemption, Apt Pupil and Stand by Me.
I’m sorry for your loss. Hang in there.
If you’re looking for diverting short stories try “The Best Short Stories of O. Henry” by O. Henry, Bennett Cerf (Editor), Van H. Cartmell (Editor)
One of the best writers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, O. Henry was the master of the short story.
My suggestion is “The Year of Magical Thinking” by Joan Didion. They are not short stories, but the chapters are short.
This book is about loss and dealing with her daughter and her husband passing the same year. I might seem odd to suggest this, but I read it after my own father’s passing a few years ago, and it helped me handle my grief.
John Scalzi’s *Redshirts*. Silly, creative, fun, and a total hoot that I loved from the first page to the last. Total escapist enjoyment.
Little Fuzzy by H Beam Piper is my ultimate feel good book if you like older sci fi. First contact with the cutest aliens ever who are looking for a new home. Will leave you feeling warm and fuzzy inside (pun intended) and wishing you had a fuzzy of your own. I hope this helps 🙏 ❤️
OP, I am so sorry for what you’re going through now.
I would recommend short stories by Alice Munro. She’s a Canadian author who won a nobel prize in literature for her short stories. “Selected Stories” is a good place to start.
I’m sorry you’re struggling right now. The Singing Hills Cycle by Nghi Vo is like a magical warm hug from someone you love. It’s three novellas that follow one character (a collector of stories) through their travels. Titles of all three below:
1. *The Empress of Salt and Fortune*
2. *When the Tiger Came Down The Mountain*
3. *Into the Riverlands*
Hang in there buddy
My own personal recommendation…
Quran translation by Mustafa Khattab
Don’t read Mishima right now
Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi is sci-fi. But it’s very light and fun. He wrote it during covid when he had just had enough of everything . It would be what I would like to read in your situation
First, terribly sorry for what you’re going through. Can’t be easy. I find good memoirs to be nice escapes for me, so below are some of the easier, short story focused, escapist types that I’ve enjoyed.
**A Walk in the Woods** – Bryson’s Appalachian trail memoir is funny and easy to pick up/put down. The chapters switch off between his journey and history of the places he’s been along the trail.
**Steaming to Bamboola** – Chris Buckley’s 1st book about hopping on an ocean going cargo ship. It re-focuses each chapter on individuals on the boat, places they’ve been, and other related stories of shipping adventures which are all short stories.
**My First Seven Years** – Dario Fo’s early life in the mountains of northern Italy.
**Dave Grohl’s Storyteller** – He really did well almost linearly telling interesting stories of growing up and making his way through his early musical career, all the way to superstardom. Each chapter hops to a different part in his life, all leading to present day. If you decide to skip around in the book it still works well.
**Hell’s Angels** – Probably Hunter Thompson’s most complete work about the rise of the Hell’s Angels (or at least their rise in popular knowledge). I enjoy some of his other works but they are more short, unrelated stories he wrote for Rolling Stone magazine. Things like candid interviews with Muhammed Ali, the Kentucky Derby and harassing the Oakland Raiders.