Most employees have an hour or so during the day to take off and get something to eat. For book lovers, there is nothing better than grabbing a salad or sandwich and relaxing on a park bench with their favorite lunchtime short stories. Everyone has their favorite tales that can be read and enjoyed in one sitting. Some classic examples follow in no particular order of fame, subject matter, or significance.
Margaret Atwood is best known for her novels, but she wrote a great quick read called "Stone Mattress". The protagonist is Verna, a serial husband killer, who recognizes an old boyfriend at a pre-cruise function. It turns out he is the same boy who got her pregnant and then humiliated her. Verna decides to eliminate him once and for all using a billion year old fossil as the murder weapon.
Love him or hate him, Ernest Hemingway was a brilliant prose writer. "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" is a good short story whether you like the author or not. In it Harry, a jaded writer, along with his wife, Helen, have fled Paris for Africa. Dying from gangrene, Harry reminisces about his loves lost and opportunities squandered.
"Three Questions" is a parable Leo Tolstoy wrote between all those lengthy novels he is so well known for. This story is about a king who sets out to find the answer to the three most important questions in life. He is seeking a wise hermit and ends up tending a seriously wounded man. In the end the king finds out he already has the answers to his questions.
Mark Twain is one of America's most beloved storytellers. "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" is the work that brought him to the public's attention. His story of a big talking gambler is a cautionary tale. Jim Smiley will bet on anything including the height his frog can jump. He makes his claims to the wrong stranger, who tricks him and takes off with the ante. Ironically the story resulted from a bet Twain made himself.
The Jazz Age was the background for much of F. Scott Fitzgerald's work. Tragic stories of easy money and tortured souls made him famous. "The Diamond As Big As the Ritz" is in this vein. John Unger meets Percy on a prep school campus and is quickly made to understand that Percy's family is the wealthiest on the planet. It seems they are sitting on a diamond as big as the Ritz Carlton.
James Joyce was a prolific short story writer. One of many examples is "Eveline". It's the tale of a young woman who has to choose between her brutal family life and picking up and taking off with her lover. She has to decide between what she knows and the unknown possibilities she is being offered.
People who love to read easily get lost in good stories. They don't have to be long and complicated to engross a book lover. Well written stories come in all shapes and sizes.
Margaret Atwood is best known for her novels, but she wrote a great quick read called "Stone Mattress". The protagonist is Verna, a serial husband killer, who recognizes an old boyfriend at a pre-cruise function. It turns out he is the same boy who got her pregnant and then humiliated her. Verna decides to eliminate him once and for all using a billion year old fossil as the murder weapon.
Love him or hate him, Ernest Hemingway was a brilliant prose writer. "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" is a good short story whether you like the author or not. In it Harry, a jaded writer, along with his wife, Helen, have fled Paris for Africa. Dying from gangrene, Harry reminisces about his loves lost and opportunities squandered.
"Three Questions" is a parable Leo Tolstoy wrote between all those lengthy novels he is so well known for. This story is about a king who sets out to find the answer to the three most important questions in life. He is seeking a wise hermit and ends up tending a seriously wounded man. In the end the king finds out he already has the answers to his questions.
Mark Twain is one of America's most beloved storytellers. "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" is the work that brought him to the public's attention. His story of a big talking gambler is a cautionary tale. Jim Smiley will bet on anything including the height his frog can jump. He makes his claims to the wrong stranger, who tricks him and takes off with the ante. Ironically the story resulted from a bet Twain made himself.
The Jazz Age was the background for much of F. Scott Fitzgerald's work. Tragic stories of easy money and tortured souls made him famous. "The Diamond As Big As the Ritz" is in this vein. John Unger meets Percy on a prep school campus and is quickly made to understand that Percy's family is the wealthiest on the planet. It seems they are sitting on a diamond as big as the Ritz Carlton.
James Joyce was a prolific short story writer. One of many examples is "Eveline". It's the tale of a young woman who has to choose between her brutal family life and picking up and taking off with her lover. She has to decide between what she knows and the unknown possibilities she is being offered.
People who love to read easily get lost in good stories. They don't have to be long and complicated to engross a book lover. Well written stories come in all shapes and sizes.
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