Welcome back! Today’s focus is short stories. I love short stories and I always wish I read more of them. There’s something so satisfying about sitting down and reading an entire story in one gulp. For this category, I’m looking at what was the most satisfying over all collection of short stories. In 2024, I read 7 collections of short stories, each from a single author, but there were 3 stand-outs.
What You Are Looking for is in the Library by Michiko Aoyoma
This almost feels like cheating because although I do think it qualifies as a short story collection, the stories fit into an overarching format and are tied together. The effect is very satisfying and the stories as a whole are charming. A definite palette cleanser of a book
The End of the World is a Cul-de-Sac by Louise Kennedy
When I think of these stories, the word “lush” comes to mind. While some of the details have faded in my memory since I read this book in March, I remember the settings and the ways that Kennedy evoked the places she set her characters in. I appreciated the sense of danger that lurked at the corners of many of the stories, while never leaking into the disconcerting in the same way that some of Claire Keegan’s stories did. (A collection I reviewed at the same time.)
And the winner is…
Land of Big Numbers by Te-Ping Chen
With a great short story collection, I find myself both wanting to pause and ponder after I finish one story and also rush on to the next story because I want more of the author’s writing. This collection definitely had me doing both. Chen’s writing brought to life a wide variety of characters, many of them living in China. Chen’s writing was subtle and thoughtful and a remarkable collection from a debut author.
Karissa Reads Books 
I am very prone to buying collections of short stories and then not reading them – you have inspired me to get the latest collection off the shelf and actually get started with it!
You should! Sometimes I’ve had a short story collection that I just read one story from every now and then and that’s very satisfying too.
I never gravitate towards short story collections, but I usually enjoy them once I’m immersed in them. I’m just reviewing Caroline Adderson’s latest collection, and she’s such a wonderful writer that I always wish I had more time to read – the perpetual lament of every bookworm haha
Ooh, I’ve heard some good things about her new one but I don’t think I’ve ever read her work at all.
I saw Michiko Aoyoma on a curated library list of Japanese and Korean fiction. They all sounded cute, and most had cats, it seems.
That describes this quite well! I don’t remember if there was a cat in the book but it has cat vibes, if that makes sense!