The last two years I've been reading short stories between all the books I read, and it really is such a great way to break things up. Ray Bradbury's short fiction is something I want to explore and some point, and thanks for the Book of Swords! I'll definitely have to find that one.
Great list! I actually added a few to my list to purchase (Neil Gaiman's among them!), since I want to start sprinkling them as you said. One recommendation--Ted Chiang's "Story of Your Life and Others". Thanks for sharing Matt, I was actually looking into these anthologies/collections and my googling wasn't productive!
I recently started reading more from the short story collections I've neglected and so far Ted Chiang's Exhalation is excellent. I'll be getting to Hobb and Liu's short fiction once I've finished RotE and Dandelion Dynasty.
With most of it, I can assure you there's no need to wait. A lot of it is separate, and specifically that Homecoming story I mentioned by Hobb is best read just before starting The Liveship Traders, as it gives some interesting background.
I really like the idea of using short story collections to “taste test.” That’s a great way to look at it. I will definitely be checking out Ken Liu’s short stories.
I posted a load of recommendations on the fireplace, but for here, I shall recommend you the two short story collections by Michael Swanwick: The Dog Said Bow-Wow, and Not So Much, Said the Cat.
Short stories are definitely an area I haven't spent much time reading at all. I just got Memory's Legion and am excited to get back into the world of The Expanse.
I can seriously recommend shorts as a buffer between meatier stories, Trevor. And also just as awesome reading materials themselves. They've really changed my reading for the better.
That Beagle edited one has my interest. You may recognize Ursula Vernon under her other pen name, T. kingfisher. John Crowley has written plenty of great short fiction.
Exactly. Just finish Shogun 1200 pages, now I'm read two short stories and 3 novellas and next I'm going to read pillars of the earth by Ken follet, another doorstopper book. Alternating length and subject keep you fresh
The George R.R. Martin in the book of swords is part of Fire & Blood. A large portion of Fire & Blood was doled out in novella sized doses in anthologies like this over the years. The Scott Lynch and Elizabeth Bear stories are two of my favorites in that book. I'm not sure I liked the Hobb, mostly because the moral seemed to be, "good people do bad things for bad reasons," which is kind of bleak, but was definitely memorable. Oh and Dozois is pronounced "Doze-Wah."
To be that guy... Stories with a single author is a collection. Stories with various authors is an anthology. My SFF/Speculative recommendations: Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang Exhalation by Ted Chiang Bloodchild and Other Stories by Octavia E. Butler Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado The Mythic Dream: An Anthology Zombie Sharks with Metal Teeth by Stephen Graham Jones The Paper Menagerie by Ken Liu The Hidden Girl by Ken Liu The Ladies of Grace Adieu by Susanna Clarke Children of the New World by Alexander Weinstein Maria, Maria by Marytza K. Rubio Academic Exercises by K. J. Parker salt slow by Julia Armfield Under My Skin by K. J. Parker Father of Lies by K. J. Parker Universal Love by Alexander Weinstein The Rock Eaters by Brenda Peynado Sacraments for the Unfit by Sarah Tolmie Nineteen Claws and a Black Bird by Agustina Bazterrica Ten Planets by Yuri Herrera Drinking from Graveyard Wells by Lisa Yvette Ndlovu The Frangipani Hotel by Violet Kupersmith How Long 'Til Black Future Month by N. K. Jemisin Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology Dangers of Smoking in Bed by Marina Enriquez Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror Things We Lost in the Fire by Mariana Enriquez Dreadful Young Ladies and Other Stories by Kelly Barnhill
I don’t think I’ve ever finished a complete short story collection! 😬 Peter S. Beagle is the author of The Last Unicorn, which I recently reviewed on my channel. 😊
Thank you for the list of collections, Matt, I'll be sure to take a look at them, as I do like short stories very much, but had never heard of these collections. My curiosity was very piqued by the New Voices book. I like the way you presented these books and spoke a bit about them. It was to the point, which is something I always apprecite.
Ken Liu and Ted Chiang are my all-time favourite short story authors, and I am kinda yearning for a reread of their collections! Consider all the other ones you mentioned added to the TBR! My favourite anthologies are An Alchemy of Sorrow, Skybreaker: Tales of the Wanderer, and The Anatomy of Fear!
I thoroughly enjoyed Exhalation by Ted Chiang which was my first ever anthology pick. The blend of philosophical tones across most of the stories was truly invigorating! Also I delved into the 2nd vol of Jonathan Strahan's Best Sci-fi anthology 2yrs ago, uncovering a couple of particularly engaging stories in it too. My next anthology pick is the one I bought last yr which is the 21st century sci-fi anthology by David G. Hartwell!
I had not heard the term "book hangover" before but have been searching for it all of my life. 😁 I'm excited to read Neal Gaiman's collections! Have you heard of/read Ted Chiang's scifi collection Exhalation? There are a number of very interesting short stories in it.
Yeah Cheryl, Chiang's stories have come up in a few recent conversations, but I wasn't aware of him a month or two ago. Here's to fewer book hangovers! 😜
A few suggestions: Single Author: Last of the Winnebagos - Connie Willis The Past Through Tomorrow, - Robert Heinlein Side Jobs - Jim Butcher (Dresden Files short fiction) Multiple Author Thieves' World - Anthology shared-world series, the first couple of books are the best There Will Be War - Anthology series, military fiction (largely unrelated to each other Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Vol. 1 - Collection of early SF that ranges from excellent to unforgettable.
Thanks Doug. 🙂 I read some Thieves’ World back in high school, and loved it at the time. And it’s almost overwhelming how many great collections & anthologies there are out there! 😬
Some of the best short stories I've ever read were in Reave the Just and Other Tales by Stephen Donaldson. Fragile Things was very cool as well as the stories I've read so far in Swords & Dark Magic. I need to get to Liu. Highly recommend Reave the Just though.
Thank you for collating a few of the Short Stories in a video! I have in my list: Stephen King, Ken Liu and Neil Gaiman. But I'm definitely adding The Illustrated Man (1951) by Ray Bradbury, thanks!
Hi Matt, definitely check out Ted Chiang. He has two short story collections out (Both Sci-Fi), in fact the movie Arrival was based on one of his short stories.
very cool. thank you for putting some of these on my radar. I'm terrible at reading short stories and I should build them into my reading habit. I think the only book I have is Smoke & Mirrors. Might have Fragile Things around here somewhere..
Yeah mate, a handful of short stories between each big book has really given my reading a certain rhythm, and I feel more ready and open for the next chonker. 🙂
Interesting collections of short stories. I have the Paper Menagery and one of the others from Neil Gaiman, but I am really bad with short stories or novellas... I can not do only one and reading a full book of them I lose interest after a while... I am hopefully Ken Liu will be the one for me, I read one short story from him a while ago, about a Laundry shop... and I loved it and I still remember it.
@almaaguado347 Y’see, a shirt story collection is broken up into lots of these… short stories, and after you finish one,’you can just… stop, and pick up another book. 😆
What a fun collection of books. I'd like to add Advent of winter to this bunch. It is a book of which a chapter was released each day from december 1st till Christmas. Each chapter was written by a different indie author (including Tori, Ryan Cahill and Zack Argyle, among others) . Given that my experience with long form authors writing short form contents is quite mixed, I was very impressed with the overal quality. Kudo's to Dom Mcdermott from Dominish_books for doing that project.
Yeah mate, I backed it an have read some of it. 🙂👌🏻 I’m thinking I’ll do “10 More” and “Another 10” videos along the way, and it’ll definitely be in there eventually. ♥️
Here are a few decidedly on the sci-fi side: The Science Fiction Hall of Fame Vol. 1 - a collection of stories up to 1964 that are pretty uniformly great, including all the golden age names you would expect (Asimov, Clarke, Heinlein, Matheson, Sturgeon, etc…) Dangerous Visions, and Again Dangerous Visions edited by Harlan Ellison - fabulous collections from the 70s looking for sf that was pushing the envelope. Welcome to the Monkey House by Vonnegut - from good to tremendous here. Any Harlan Ellison collection of stories, but especially I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream, and Approaching Oblivion Sharp Ends by Abercrombie if you like The First Law Dreams Underfoot by Charles de Lint Three Moments of an Explosion by China Mieville. And Wild Cards edited by George RR Martin (a shared world collection of short stories by some decent writers involving a world where a virus has given some people super powers). This series went on forever with decidedly mixed results, but the first few books are a ton of fun.
First up... The Inheritance... 😁good choice. ❤Robin Hobb's ❤ real name is Margaret Ogden, and she went with Robin as it's gender neutral without being initials! ... I must remember to add that to my spiel to Allen - it's got to be a point in ❤Hobb's ❤favour right?
Do you put much effort into finding short story works by your favourite authors? Now that I’m using digital library web sites I’m starting to see the 0.5, 2.5, 4.5 episodes between the full fat novels, and I kind of want to read them all in the ‘correct’ order (though ‘correct’ is often debatable). That said, I don’t normally lean towards such collections, though I can see the value of frequently dipping in and out.
Nah, I’ve so far just bumped into things coincidentally, or through recommendations. And so far the short stories I’ve read don’t relate in any way to a “right” reading order - if they’re in a world I’ve read before, they’re not so strongly related to the story of the novels that it matters much.
The last two years I've been reading short stories between all the books I read, and it really is such a great way to break things up. Ray Bradbury's short fiction is something I want to explore and some point, and thanks for the Book of Swords! I'll definitely have to find that one.
If you’re ever in need of short stories, come back here. The comments have basically tripled my SSTBR! 😜
Great list! I actually added a few to my list to purchase (Neil Gaiman's among them!), since I want to start sprinkling them as you said. One recommendation--Ted Chiang's "Story of Your Life and Others". Thanks for sharing Matt, I was actually looking into these anthologies/collections and my googling wasn't productive!
Thanks Livia. 🙂 Chiang’s the most recommended author in the comments, so I’ll definitely be checking him out.
I recently started reading more from the short story collections I've neglected and so far Ted Chiang's Exhalation is excellent.
I'll be getting to Hobb and Liu's short fiction once I've finished RotE and Dandelion Dynasty.
With most of it, I can assure you there's no need to wait. A lot of it is separate, and specifically that Homecoming story I mentioned by Hobb is best read just before starting The Liveship Traders, as it gives some interesting background.
I really like the idea of using short story collections to “taste test.” That’s a great way to look at it. I will definitely be checking out Ken Liu’s short stories.
Yeah mate, that's one of the main things I'm reading them for these days. "Is this author maybe for me?" And it's fun to discover a new talent! 😀
Nice to see someone learn the glorious truth of short stories.
I’m clearing a shelf now, just for collections & anthologies. ♥️
I posted a load of recommendations on the fireplace, but for here, I shall recommend you the two short story collections by Michael Swanwick: The Dog Said Bow-Wow, and Not So Much, Said the Cat.
I'm just going to assume you meant The Fireside, and no that you're throwing your books in the fireplace. 😜
@@MattonBooks Fireside, fireplace, what's really the difference when you think about it.
@@jeroenadmiraal8714 The fireside is somewhere I like to be. In the fireplace, not so much.
Short stories are definitely an area I haven't spent much time reading at all. I just got Memory's Legion and am excited to get back into the world of The Expanse.
I can seriously recommend shorts as a buffer between meatier stories, Trevor. And also just as awesome reading materials themselves. They've really changed my reading for the better.
That Beagle edited one has my interest. You may recognize Ursula Vernon under her other pen name, T. kingfisher.
John Crowley has written plenty of great short fiction.
Ah, thanks for the clarification, although I still haven’t heard of them. 😆 Kidding.
Thank you for the tips, Matt! Short stories are hard to pull off well, but I also think they're an underappreciated form of storytelling.
Absolutely, and it’s always a pleasant surprise discovering an author whose novels you love also rocks the short sorry form. 😀
Exactly. Just finish Shogun 1200 pages, now I'm read two short stories and 3 novellas and next I'm going to read pillars of the earth by Ken follet, another doorstopper book. Alternating length and subject keep you fresh
Indeed. I’m almost embarrassed by how long it took me to realise that. 😆
The George R.R. Martin in the book of swords is part of Fire & Blood. A large portion of Fire & Blood was doled out in novella sized doses in anthologies like this over the years. The Scott Lynch and Elizabeth Bear stories are two of my favorites in that book. I'm not sure I liked the Hobb, mostly because the moral seemed to be, "good people do bad things for bad reasons," which is kind of bleak, but was definitely memorable.
Oh and Dozois is pronounced "Doze-Wah."
Ah damn, “proper French” was the other option I discarded. 😜
To be that guy... Stories with a single author is a collection. Stories with various authors is an anthology.
My SFF/Speculative recommendations:
Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang
Exhalation by Ted Chiang
Bloodchild and Other Stories by Octavia E. Butler
Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado
The Mythic Dream: An Anthology
Zombie Sharks with Metal Teeth by Stephen Graham Jones
The Paper Menagerie by Ken Liu
The Hidden Girl by Ken Liu
The Ladies of Grace Adieu by Susanna Clarke
Children of the New World by Alexander Weinstein
Maria, Maria by Marytza K. Rubio
Academic Exercises by K. J. Parker
salt slow by Julia Armfield
Under My Skin by K. J. Parker
Father of Lies by K. J. Parker
Universal Love by Alexander Weinstein
The Rock Eaters by Brenda Peynado
Sacraments for the Unfit by Sarah Tolmie
Nineteen Claws and a Black Bird by Agustina Bazterrica
Ten Planets by Yuri Herrera
Drinking from Graveyard Wells by Lisa Yvette Ndlovu
The Frangipani Hotel by Violet Kupersmith
How Long 'Til Black Future Month by N. K. Jemisin
Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology
Dangers of Smoking in Bed by Marina Enriquez
Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror
Things We Lost in the Fire by Mariana Enriquez
Dreadful Young Ladies and Other Stories by Kelly Barnhill
I love it when you’re that guy Evie. ♥️
And holy sheeeit Evie, that’s quite a list! 😳 I need to get to work! 😲
I don’t think I’ve ever finished a complete short story collection! 😬
Peter S. Beagle is the author of The Last Unicorn, which I recently reviewed on my channel. 😊
Yup, that's why I've heard of him. 😉
Thank you for the list of collections, Matt, I'll be sure to take a look at them, as I do like short stories very much, but had never heard of these collections. My curiosity was very piqued by the New Voices book.
I like the way you presented these books and spoke a bit about them. It was to the point, which is something I always apprecite.
Thanks John. 🙂 Also, make sure to browse the comments - many more good recommendations in there.
Ken Liu and Ted Chiang are my all-time favourite short story authors, and I am kinda yearning for a reread of their collections! Consider all the other ones you mentioned added to the TBR!
My favourite anthologies are An Alchemy of Sorrow, Skybreaker: Tales of the Wanderer, and The Anatomy of Fear!
Added to the list Esmay! Thanks. 😀
@@MattonBooks Nice, we can crash each other's TBRs hahah
I've never been a big fan of short stories, but I found this video enjoyable!
Maybe you just haven’t found the right one yet. 😉
@@MattonBooks that maybe true
I thoroughly enjoyed Exhalation by Ted Chiang which was my first ever anthology pick. The blend of philosophical tones across most of the stories was truly invigorating!
Also I delved into the 2nd vol of Jonathan Strahan's Best Sci-fi anthology 2yrs ago, uncovering a couple of particularly engaging stories in it too.
My next anthology pick is the one I bought last yr which is the 21st century sci-fi anthology by David G. Hartwell!
Excellent, thanks for the recs Mohammed! 🙂
I had not heard the term "book hangover" before but have been searching for it all of my life. 😁 I'm excited to read Neal Gaiman's collections! Have you heard of/read Ted Chiang's scifi collection Exhalation? There are a number of very interesting short stories in it.
Yeah Cheryl, Chiang's stories have come up in a few recent conversations, but I wasn't aware of him a month or two ago. Here's to fewer book hangovers! 😜
A few suggestions:
Single Author:
Last of the Winnebagos - Connie Willis
The Past Through Tomorrow, - Robert Heinlein
Side Jobs - Jim Butcher (Dresden Files short fiction)
Multiple Author
Thieves' World - Anthology shared-world series, the first couple of books are the best
There Will Be War - Anthology series, military fiction (largely unrelated to each other
Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Vol. 1 - Collection of early SF that ranges from excellent to unforgettable.
Thanks Doug. 🙂 I read some Thieves’ World back in high school, and loved it at the time. And it’s almost overwhelming how many great collections & anthologies there are out there! 😬
Some of the best short stories I've ever read were in Reave the Just and Other Tales by Stephen Donaldson. Fragile Things was very cool as well as the stories I've read so far in Swords & Dark Magic. I need to get to Liu. Highly recommend Reave the Just though.
Never heard of it Jarrod, but I’ll check it out. 🙂👌🏻
Great recommendations Matt! Fragile Things is soooo good! I’ve been wanting to read Paper Menagerie.
Definitely get to it, Chas. I wasn’t 100% sure about The Dandelion Dynasty, but after reading The Paper Menagerie, I can’t wait to start DD. 😍
Thank you for collating a few of the Short Stories in a video!
I have in my list: Stephen King, Ken Liu and Neil Gaiman. But I'm definitely adding The Illustrated Man (1951) by Ray Bradbury, thanks!
Yeah, I haven’t gotten to that one yet, but considering the quality of Bradbury’s writing, I can’t wait! 😀 Enjoy!
Hi Matt, definitely check out Ted Chiang. He has two short story collections out (Both Sci-Fi), in fact the movie Arrival was based on one of his short stories.
Thanks mate. He’s the most recommended author in the comments here, so I’ll definitely check him out.
Hi 👋 great short book list 🎉
Thanks Safina! 🙂
very cool. thank you for putting some of these on my radar. I'm terrible at reading short stories and I should build them into my reading habit. I think the only book I have is Smoke & Mirrors. Might have Fragile Things around here somewhere..
Yeah mate, a handful of short stories between each big book has really given my reading a certain rhythm, and I feel more ready and open for the next chonker. 🙂
Interesting collections of short stories. I have the Paper Menagery and one of the others from Neil Gaiman, but I am really bad with short stories or novellas... I can not do only one and reading a full book of them I lose interest after a while... I am hopefully Ken Liu will be the one for me, I read one short story from him a while ago, about a Laundry shop... and I loved it and I still remember it.
Simple solution Alma: learn to read just a couple, and come back to the book later. 😉
Difficult... I dont know how to do that... 😂😂😂
@almaaguado347 Y’see, a shirt story collection is broken up into lots of these… short stories, and after you finish one,’you can just… stop, and pick up another book. 😆
What a fun collection of books. I'd like to add Advent of winter to this bunch. It is a book of which a chapter was released each day from december 1st till Christmas. Each chapter was written by a different indie author (including Tori, Ryan Cahill and Zack Argyle, among others) . Given that my experience with long form authors writing short form contents is quite mixed, I was very impressed with the overal quality. Kudo's to Dom Mcdermott from Dominish_books for doing that project.
Yeah mate, I backed it an have read some of it. 🙂👌🏻 I’m thinking I’ll do “10 More” and “Another 10” videos along the way, and it’ll definitely be in there eventually. ♥️
Here are a few decidedly on the sci-fi side:
The Science Fiction Hall of Fame Vol. 1 - a collection of stories up to 1964 that are pretty uniformly great, including all the golden age names you would expect (Asimov, Clarke, Heinlein, Matheson, Sturgeon, etc…)
Dangerous Visions, and Again Dangerous Visions edited by Harlan Ellison - fabulous collections from the 70s looking for sf that was pushing the envelope.
Welcome to the Monkey House by Vonnegut - from good to tremendous here.
Any Harlan Ellison collection of stories, but especially I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream, and Approaching Oblivion
Sharp Ends by Abercrombie if you like The First Law
Dreams Underfoot by Charles de Lint
Three Moments of an Explosion by China Mieville. And
Wild Cards edited by George RR Martin (a shared world collection of short stories by some decent writers involving a world where a virus has given some people super powers). This series went on forever with decidedly mixed results, but the first few books are a ton of fun.
Thanks Duffy. 🙂 With all the recommendations I’m getting, I think I need to stop reading novels, and dedicate myself to short stories full-time. 😆
First up... The Inheritance... 😁good choice.
❤Robin Hobb's ❤ real name is Margaret Ogden, and she went with Robin as it's gender neutral without being initials! ... I must remember to add that to my spiel to Allen - it's got to be a point in ❤Hobb's ❤favour right?
Of course I should’ve asked you before talking about her many names. 😆 But why Megan then? 🤔
Do you put much effort into finding short story works by your favourite authors? Now that I’m using digital library web sites I’m starting to see the 0.5, 2.5, 4.5 episodes between the full fat novels, and I kind of want to read them all in the ‘correct’ order (though ‘correct’ is often debatable). That said, I don’t normally lean towards such collections, though I can see the value of frequently dipping in and out.
Nah, I’ve so far just bumped into things coincidentally, or through recommendations. And so far the short stories I’ve read don’t relate in any way to a “right” reading order - if they’re in a world I’ve read before, they’re not so strongly related to the story of the novels that it matters much.