Some of my most memorable and treasured reads were short stories. A short story has a full plot in a just few pages, so it can be read in one sitting—a one shot, if you will. Every now and then, I like to pick up a short story compilation and read a new story with each sitting (e.g. train ride). It’s great because I never feel like I’m left hanging after finishing a story (whereas, for novels, I have to keep reading chapter after chapter to find out what happens next, and this could keep me up all night).

As it turns out, some short stories are available online (classic ones are widely available with only one Google search away and newer ones are available in e-books that you can borrow from your friendly neighborhood public library). I also happen to have a fair number of short story compilations on my bookshelf (since, as we all know, I have the habit of buying books despite my ever growing to-be-read pile).

I’ve decided that I’m going to start featuring short stories individually (as opposed to talking about the compilation as a whole like I did for Refugees), as each story can stand on its own. I’m pretty excited about reading and discovering new short stories and sharing them with everyone else. Reading a short story is like getting a dose of prose, according to my friend, so it’s great for people who simply don’t have enough time to read.

Want to join in? Let me leave you with a list of my favorite short stories:

• A Clean, Well-Lighted Place by Ernest Hemingway
• The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe
• The Twenty-Seventh Man by Nathan Englander