Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Novellas and Short Stories

I read today's topic for Top Ten Tuesday, and actually groaned out loud. "Top Ten Favorite Novellas and Short Stories"? Have I even read ten?

As a rule, I never typically involved myself with short stories, mainly choosing to ignore it as a format until I started writing it on my own. Novellas always struck me as a bit of a strange form of measurement and questionable personal preference: why not just add in another b-plot, and stretch it out until it's a longer novel?

Still, the more I thought about it, yes, I have read some really good short form fiction writing within the past couple of years. Maybe this means I'm growing as a reader! Or maybe it's that when it comes to a great plot, engaging characters, and solid writing, I've figured out that it truly doesn't matter.

short stories

1. One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories, B J Novak
These hilarious short stories from the Office alum writer never fail to crack me up, as there are a few I have dog-eared in my personal copy that I return to time and again when I need a good laugh.

2. . Skeleton Crew, Stephen King
After a long battle deciding between Nightmares and Dreamscapes, Everything is Eventual, and this collection, I finally caved, and went with the first one I ever read. (You know, the one that has "The Mist.")

3. Slasher Girls and Monster Boys, edited by April Tucholke
What continues to be not only one of my favorite books of horror shorts, but one of my favorite horror books of all time! This collection of scary YA shorts inspired by various other books, movies, music, and more are some of the coolest I've read, and I'm planning for a reread in the Fall.

4. Edith Hamilton's Mythology... and D'Aulaires Book of Greek Myths 
I don't care if they fit, I'm counting them! I've been a fan of Greek mythology since I was a kid, and the stories within these two editions are told the best.


5. Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales 

Ditto as to the above! When it comes to picking and choosing your favorite fairy tale tellers, no one was more innovative or interesting than Andersen. Which I say, because he actually wrote his own material... something we can't say for other fairy tale authors. *casts a hard and venomous side-eye at the Brothers Grimm*

6. Beyond: the Queer Sci-Fi and Fantasy Comic Anthology, Sfe R. Monster
Once again, unsure if this truly fits the category, but because of how much I truly enjoyed the book, I'm sliding this one in! This compendium of short form comics, starring LGBT+ heroes and heroines at the helm in various science fiction and fantasy backgrounds, was a happy surprise that I wasn't expecting the first time I read it.

7. The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Because sometimes, you just want to rip through a handful of really great mysteries in a row. To be honest, this is here kind of as a placeholder for all of the really great mystery short stories I've read over my many years with the genre... and shoutout to Encyclopedia Brown for laying the groundwork for that particular hobby!

novellas 

8. Every Heart a Doorway, Seanan McGuire
The series with the most gorgeous covers, also has some of the shortest material. Which is absolutely regrettable, because the quicker I finish these brilliant and unique fantasy stories, the less I get to proudly display them on my coffee table.

9. The Assasin's Blade novellas, S. J. Maas
While saying that I am woefully behind in the Throne of Glass series would be an absolute understatement - I haven't read them since Book 2! - I do remember really enjoying the novellas that kicked off the series, reading all four within the space of one week on my Kindle, during Sorority Recruitment 2013.

10. Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Richard Bach 
Interesting fact about me: I won a memorial scholarship during my senior year of high school, made in the honor of someone whose favorite book was Jonathan Livingston Seagull. I finally got around to reading it once I had graduated college... and despite the fact that it's not a sad book, cried a lot over it.

What's in YOUR Top Ten? Let me know, in the comments below!