Maybe you already love reading essays or short stories. Perfect: this Summer Book Bingo square is a freebie. But let’s assume this square gives you some pause. Maybe the term “essay” reminds you of those horrible things you were supposed to write in school, or “short stories” calls to mind unappetizing literary dissections in Language Arts class. No worries; we’ve got you covered!
The good news is, no matter what sort of reader you are or what you’re in the mood to read, there are essays and short stories that should work for you. And so, without further ado, here are some good jumping off places for you.
I could use a good laugh.
- American Housewife: Stories, by Helen Ellis.
- One More Thing: Stories, and Other Stories, by B.J. Novak.
- Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self, by Danielle Ellis.
- Escape Velocity: A Charles Portis Miscellany.
- I Was Told There’d Be Cake: Essays, by Sloane Crosley.
- Fifty Funniest American Writers.
Enough navel-gazing: tell me a story!
- The Best Adventure and Exploration Stories Ever Told, Stephen Brennan, ed.
- Lying in Wait, and Other True Cases, by Ann Rule.
- Amazing Stories of the Space Age, Rod Pyle, ed.
- No Middle Name: The Complete Collected Jack Reacher Stories, by Lee Child.
- Best American Mystery Stories (various).
- Nightmare at 20,000 Feet, by Richard Matheson.
The weirder, the better.
- The Adding Machine: Selected Essays, by William S. Burroughs.
- The Book of Disquiet, by Fernando Pessoa.
- Limber, by Angela Pelster.
- Best Bizarro Fiction of the Decade.
- Best Worst American, by Juan Martinez.
- A Natural History of Hell, by Jeffrey Ford.
Locally Sourced.
- Loitering: New and Collected Essays, by Charles D’Ambrosio.
- Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman, by Lindy West.
- Having Everything Right: Essays on Place, by Kim Stafford.
- American Romances, by Rebecca Brown.
- Blasphemy, by Sherman Alexie.
- Welcome Thieves, by Sean Beaudoin.
I’m going for a full Book Bingo Blackout this year,
and I’m running out of time!
- 100 Essays I don’t Have Time To Write, by Sarah Ruhl.
- Novels in Three Lines, by Félix Fénéon.
- Tales, by Amiri Baraka.
- The Best Small Fictions, Robert Olen Butler, ed.
- Life is Short – Art is Shorter, David Shields, ed.
- Ninety-Nine Stories of God, by Joy Williams.
…and there’s so much more. Check out our list of other very short stories and prose, as well as this list of fifty interesting essay collections, and this list of fifty interesting books of short stories.
Join The Seattle Public Library and Seattle Arts & Lectures for our 3rd annual Summer Book Bingo for adults! Follow us throughout the summer for reading suggestions based on each category.
– Posted by David W
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