33 Highly Recommended Short Stories from my 2015 Reading

Top Short Stories Read in 2015: A Celebration

I read 122 short stories in 2015. I’ve decided to put up my top 33 reads for the year (only a handful though are from 2015 publications). I suppose these yearly lists are a confusing fusion of styles and content. But as varied as all the stories listed are there is something I love about each and every story. Some of these stories resonated strongly with me; others simply entertained.  Within the brackets I've indicated the anthology I read the story in (in a few cases I've attached prior foundational homes). I'm happy to discuss and provide further comments for any of the mentioned works. 

 ‘Jon’ George Saunders  (My Mistress Sparrow is Dead Ed. Jeffrey Eugenides from In Persuasion Nation: Stories)  

                                                  

‘Johnny Bear’ John Steinbeck (Points of View Ed. James Moffett & Kenneth R . McEleheny from The Long Valley)                                                                                    

‘Fireworks’ Richard Ford (My Mistress Sparrow is Dead ed. Jeffrey Eugenides from Rock Springs)

‘Patricia, Edith, and Arnold’ Dylan Thomas (Points of View Ed. James Moffett & Kenneth R . McEleheny from Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog)                        

‘The Hitchhiking Game’ Milan Kundera  (My Mistress Sparrow is Dead Ed. Jeffrey Eugenides from Laughable Loves Milan Kundera)             

‘Too Early Spring’  Stephen Vincent Benet(Points of View Ed. James Moffett & Kenneth R . McEleheny from The Selected Works of Stephen Vincent Benet 1933)

                                                                                                                                                   

‘First Confession’ Frank O’Connor (Points of View Ed. James Moffett & Kenneth R . McEleheny from The Stories of Frank O’Connor 1951)                                                 

‘Bad Characters’ Jean Stafford (Points of View Ed. James Moffett & Kenneth R . McEleheny)

                                       

‘The Moon in it’s Flight’ Gilbert Sorrentino (My Mistress Sparrow is Dead Ed. Jeffrey Eugenides from The Moon in it’s Flight by Gilbert Sorrentino)                  

‘The Five-Forty-Eight’ John Cheever (Points of View Ed. James Moffett & Kenneth R . McEleheny)

                                                                                                                            

‘Unighted Lamps’ Sherwood Anderson (Points of View Ed. James Moffett & Kenneth R . McEleheny) 

                                                                                                        

‘Fever Flower’ Shirley Ann Grau  (Points of View Ed. James Moffett & Kenneth R . McEleheny)                                                                                                                                

“The Inn of the Seven Blessings” by Matthew Hughes (Rogues Ed. George R.R Martin & Gardner R. Dozois)

‘Unnamed Children’ Joanne Anderton (Bloodlines Ed. Amanda Pillar)                      

                                                                                                                       

‘Heavy Metal’ Cherie Priest (Rogues Ed. George R.R Martin & Gardner R. Dozois)

                                                                                                                         

‘The Meaning of Love’ Daniel Abraham (Rogues Ed. George R.R Martin & Gardner R. Dozois)                                                                                                               

“Bazaar of the Bizarre’ by Fritz Leiber (Selected Stories by Fritz Leiber)             

‘Maria Concepcion’ Katherine Anne Porter  (Points of View Ed. James Moffett & Kenneth R . McEleheny)                                                                                                         

‘Red Rose, White Rose’ Eileen Chang (My Mistress Sparrow is Dead Ed. Jeffrey Eugenides from Love in a Fallen City)  

“Born and Bread” Kaaron Waaren (The Year’s Best Australian Fantasy & Horror 2013 Ed. Liz Grzyb & Talie Helene)  

                                                                                       

‘By Bone-Light’ Juliet Marillier (The Year’s Best Australian Fantasy & Horror 2013 Ed. Liz Grzyb & Talie Helene)

“Tough Times All Over” by Joe Abercrombie (Rogues Ed. George R.R Martin & Gardner R. Dozois)

‘In the Blood’ Dirk Flinthart  (Bloodlines Ed. Amanda Pillar)

‘The Stone and the Sheath’ Kelly Houlihan (Bloodlines Ed. Amanda Pillar)        

‘The Tangled Streets’ Kathleen Jennings (Bloodlines Ed. Amanda Pillar)                                       

‘A Better Way to Die’ Paul Cornell (Rogues Ed. George R.R Martin & Gardner R. Dozois)                                                                                                                             

‘Azimuth’ Pete Kempshall (Bloodlines Ed. Amanda Pillar)                                     

‘A and P’ John Updike (Points of View Ed. James Moffett & Kenneth R . McEleheny from The New Yorker) 

                                                                                                           

‘The Suicides of Private Greaves’ James Moffett (Points of View Ed.  James Moffett & Kenneth R . McEleheny)

                                                                                                              ‘The Signal-Man’ Charles Dickens (That Glimpse of Truth: 100 of the Finest Stories)     

“What Do You Do?” Gillian Flynn (Rogues Ed. George R.R Martin & Gardner R. Dozois)

                                                                                                                                      

“The Flowers that Bloom Where Blood Touches Earth’ Stephanie Gunn (Bloodlines Ed. Amanda Pillar)

                                                                                                                                               

‘Almost Beautiful’ Angela Rega (The Year’s Best Australian Fantasy & Horror 2013 Ed. Liz Grzyb & Talie Helene)