Horror Aficionados discussion

This is a topic for tracking the short fiction you read in magazines and Web pages that are not listed as 'books' on GR. It's also handy for recording that sole story or novella that you read in an anthology when you never get around to reading the rest of the book! Feel free to book your spot in the topic for recording your short story reads!

My spot! :P

April
1. 'A witness to all that was' by Scott William Carter (in Analog Science Fiction and Fact, 2011 July/August) (3 stars)

October
2. The Bipolar Bowler by D. X. Stone (3 stars)
3. A Demon In The Desert, Ch 1 by Ashe Armstrong (3 stars)

December
4. Redemption by Mark Coulter (2 stars)

I also read a number of short stories in Conan but I've already listed the book among my book reads.

Grabbing my spot. Maybe I will remember to track everything this year.
1. Life With Father Bentley Little ***
2. Rubber Room Robert Bloch ****
3. Nightmare At 20,000 feet Richard Matheson *****
4. Rendezvous Nelson DeMille *****

My spot.

I'm going to once again set as my goal 365 stories. (I actually managed to do a bit better than that in 2013.) I'm going to list my entries a little differently this year and incorporate any science fiction stories I happen to read. Last year I read precious few SF stories (perhaps as many as 15 or 20), which is a bit sad since SF was one of my early loves; I’m going to try and rectify that to a tiny extent in 2014.

January

1. "The Mysterious Card", Cleveland Moffett (1896). ✭✭✭½
2. "The Mysterious Card Unveiled", Cleveland Moffett (1896). ✭½
3. "The Undying Thing", Barry Pain (1901). ✭✭✭
4. "The Valley of Spiders", H. G. Wells (1903). ✭✭✭½
5. "The Kennel", Maurice Level (1920). ✭✭✭
6. "Two Black Bottles", H. P. Lovecraft & Wilfred Blanch Talman (as by Wilfred B. Talman) (1927). ✭✭½
7. "The Hands of Mr. Ottermole", Thomas Burke (1929). ✭✭✭½
8. "The Black Stone", Robert E. Howard (1931). ✭✭✭½
9. "The Return of the Sorcerer", Clark Ashton Smith (1931). ✭✭✭✭
10. "Cassius", Henry S. Whitehead (1931). ✭✭✭
11. "Johnson Looked Back", Thomas Burke (1935). ✭✭½
12. "Midnight Express", Alfred Noyes (1935). ✭✭✭✭✭
13. "A Fishing Story", H. R. Wakefield (1935). ✭✭✭
14. "Thus I Refute Beelzy", John Collier (1940). ✭✭✭✭✭
15. "Happy Ending", H. R. Wakefield (1940). ✭✭½
16. "Time Wants a Skeleton", Ross Rocklynne (1941). ✭
17. "The Weapon Shop", A. E. van Vogt (1942). ✭✭
18. "Killdozer!", Theodore Sturgeon (1944). ✭✭✭½
19. "Herodus Redivivus", A. N. L. Munby (1949). ✭✭✭✭
20. "The Inscription", A. N. L. Munby (1949). ✭✭✭½
21. "The Topley Place Sale", A. N. L. Munby (1949). ✭✭✭
22. "From the Vasty Deep", H. R. Wakefield (1949). ✭✭✭½
23. "Out of the Wrack I Rise", H. R. Wakefield (1949). ✭✭✭½
24. "A Black Solitude", H. R. Wakefield (1951). ✭✭✭✭
25. "Turn the Page", Zenna Henderson (1957). ✭✭✭✭
26. "Lunch-Hour Magic", Jack Finney (1962). ✭½
27. "Goodbye, Robinson Crusoe", John Varley (1977). ✭✭✭
28. "The Pit of Wings", Ramsey Campbell (1978). ✭½
29. "The Way of Cross and Dragon", George R. R. Martin (1979). ✭✭✭✭½
30. "By the River, Fontainebleau", Stephen Gallagher (1986). ✭✭✭½
31. "Buffalo Gals, Won't You Come Out Tonight", Ursula K. Le Guin (1987). ✭✭✭✭✭
32. "Halley's Passing", Michael McDowell (1987). ✭✭✭✭
33. "The Last Day of Miss Dorinda Molyneaux", Robert Westall (1989). ✭✭✭
34. "One Size Eats All", T. E. D. Klein (1993). ✭✭✭½
35. "The Big Fish", Kim Newman (1993). ✭✭✭✭½
36. "Deadman's Road", Joe R. Lansdale (2007). ✭✭✭
37. "Holmes Sherlock: A Hwarhath Mystery", Eleanor Aranson (2012). ✭✭✭✭
38. "The Woman Who Fooled Death Five Times", Eleanor Aranson (2012). ✭✭✭
39. "The Girl-Thing Who Went Out for Sushi", Pat Cadigan (2012). ✭✭✭
40. "Weep for Day", Indrapramit Das (2012). ✭✭✭✭½
41. "The Black Feminist's Guide to Science Fiction Film Editing", Sandra McDonald (2012). ✭✭
42. "Success", Michael Blumlein (2013). ✭½
43. "In Search of the Hidden City", Thomas Strømsholt (2013). ✭✭✭✭
44. "Whaliens", Lavie Tidhar (2014). ✭½

This is a great idea. I need to do this!

Canavan wrote: "Last year I read precious few SF stories (perhaps as many as 15 or 20), which is a bit sad since SF was one of my early loves; I’m going to try and rectify that to a tiny extent in 2014."

I need to catch up with some science fiction as well. I once read a lot more of that than horror.

I managed to reach the message character limit on my posting for January's stories (see Message #4), so I'll pick up February here...

February

45. "The Rats in the Walls", H. P. Lovecraft (1924). ✭✭✭✭✭
46. "The King of Sarahb", Edward Plunkett (as by Lord Dunsany) (1926). ✭✭✭½
47. "The Tale of the Abu Laheeb", Edward Plunkett (as by Lord Dunsany) (1926). ✭✭✭
48. "How Jembu Played for Cambridge", Edward Plunkett (as by Lord Dunsany) (1928). ✭✭½
49. "Our Distant Cousins", Edward Plunkett (as by Lord Dunsany) (1929). ✭✭½
50. "The Electric King", Edward Plunkett (as by Lord Dunsany) (1930). ✭✭✭✭
51. "Mrs. Jorkens", Edward Plunkett (as by Lord Dunsany) (1930). ✭✭✭½
52. "A Queer Island", Edward Plunkett (as by Lord Dunsany) (1930). ✭✭✭✭
53. "The Showman", Edward Plunkett (as by Lord Dunsany) (1930). ✭✭✭½
54. "The Charm Against Thirst", Edward Plunkett (as by Lord Dunsany) (1931). ✭✭✭
55. "A Daughter of Rameses", Edward Plunkett (as by Lord Dunsany) (1931). ✭✭✭½
56. "A Drink at a Running Stream", Edward Plunkett (as by Lord Dunsany) (1931). ✭✭½
57. "A Large Diamond", Edward Plunkett (as by Lord Dunsany) (1931). ✭✭✭
58. "The Witch of the Willows", Edward Plunkett (as by Lord Dunsany) (1931). ✭✭✭½
59. "The Horror in the Burying-Ground", H. P. Lovecraft & Hazel Heald (as by Hazel Heald) (1933). ✭½
60. "The Cane", Carl Jacobi (1934). ✭✭½
61. "Death of a Poacher", H. R. Wakefield (1935). ✭✭✭½
62. "The Hand of the O'Mecca", Howard Wandrei (1935). ✭✭
63. "The Mannikin", Robert Bloch (1937). ✭✭✭
64. "The First Sheaf", H. R. Wakefield (1940). ✭✭✭½
65. "Masrur", H. R. Wakefield (1940). ✭½
66. "Red Feathers", H. R. Wakefield (1940). ✭
67. "A Stitch in Time", H. R. Wakefield (1940). ✭✭½
68. "The Demon Lover", Elizabeth Bowen (1941). ✭✭✭✭✭
69. "The Street That Wasn't There", Clifford D. Simak & Carl Jacobi (1941). ✭✭✭✭
70. "Bridle and Saddle" (variant title: "The Mayors"), Isaac Asimov (1942). ✭✭✭✭
71. "Foundation" (variant title: "The Encyclopedists"), Isaac Asimov (1942). ✭✭✭✭
72. "Nerves", Lester del Rey (1942). ✭½
73. "The Big and Little" (variant title: "The Merchant Princes"), Isaac Asimov (1944). ✭✭✭½
74. "The Wedge" (variant title: "The Traders"), Isaac Asimov (1944). ✭✭✭
75. "The Gentleman from Prague", August Derleth (as by Stephen Grendon) (1944). ✭✭✭½
76. "The Alabaster Hand", A. N. L. Munby (1949). ✭✭✭
77. "A Christmas Game", A. N. L. Munby (1949). ✭✭✭½
78. "The Tudor Chimney", A. N. L. Munby (1949). ✭✭✭½
79. "Mr. Taylor", Augusto Monterroso (1952). ✭✭✭
80. "Axolotl", Julio Cortázar (1956). ✭✭✭½
81. "Undertow", Karl Edward Wagner (1977). ✭✭✭✭✭
82. "What You Don't Know Can a Hurt You", John Lutz (1982). ✭✭½
83. "Risk", Charles Dickinson (1983). ✭✭✭½
84. "His Mouth Will Taste of Wormwood", Poppy Z. Brite (1990). ✭✭✭½
85. "The Fenstanton Witch", M. R. James (1990). ✭✭½
86. "The Temptation of Dr. Stein", Paul J. McAuley (1994). ✭✭✭✭½
87. "The True History of Dr. Pretorius", Paul J. McAuley (1995). ✭✭✭✭
88. "Marcilly-le-Hayer" [Story Fragment], M. R. James (1996). ✭✭½
89. "The Stick Woman", Edward Lee (1996). ½
90. "Walled", Lucy Taylor (1996). ✭✭✭✭½
91. "Brokeback Mountain", Annie Proulx (1997). ✭✭✭✭½
92. "Comp.Basilisk FAQ", David Langford (1999). ✭✭✭
93. "Cognitive Ability and the Light Bulb", Brian W. Aldiss (2000). ✭½
94. "The Girl with the Flaxen Hair", Alexander Kinghorn (2004). ✭✭✭
95. "Hand's Tale", Alexander Kinghorn (2004). ✭✭✭½
96."The Spirit of the Loch", Alexander Kinghorn (2004). ✭✭✭½
97. "Winslett's Last Waltz", Alexander Kinghorn (2004). ✭✭✭½
98. "Heartwired", Joe Haldeman (2005). ✭✭✭
99. "MAXO Signals", Charles Stross (2005). ✭✭
100. "Loup-Garou", R. B. Russell (2008). ✭✭✭½
101. "The Belated Burial", Caitlín R. Kiernan (2009). ✭✭½
102. "The Sailor in the Picture", Eileen Dreyer (2012). ✭✭✭✭½
103. "Train", Alice Munro (2012). ✭✭✭½
104. "Charm", Reggie Oliver (2012). ✭✭✭✭
105. "Didman's Corner", Reggie Oliver (2012). ✭✭✭½
106. "The Posthumous Messiah", Reggie Oliver (2012). ✭✭✭
107. "The Spooks of Shellborough", Reggie Oliver (2012). ✭✭✭✭
108. "Come into My Parlour", Reggie Oliver (2013). ✭✭✭✭½
109. "Lightning", Reggie Oliver (2013). ✭✭✭
110. "Süssmayr's Requiem", Reggie Oliver (2013). ✭✭½
111. "Waving to the Boats", Reggie Oliver (2013). ✭✭✭✭

My spot! I adore short stories, but have never tried tracking how many I read a year. I'm keeping a spreadsheet, but not sure how things cut & paste here. I'll give it a try when I've got all the info filled in.

Messages 4 and 7 summarize the stories I was able to read in January and February, respectively. Here's the crop for March.

March

112. "The Room", Helen M. Leys (as by Eleanor Scott) (1923). ✭✭½
113. "At Simmel Acres Farm", Helen M. Leys (as by Eleanor Scott) (1929). ✭½
114. "Celui-là", Helen M. Leys (as by Eleanor Scott) (1929). ✭✭✭✭½
115. "The Cure", Helen M. Leys (as by Eleanor Scott) (1929). ✭✭✭
116. "The Old Lady", Helen M. Leys (as by Eleanor Scott) (1929). ✭✭½
117. "Randalls Round", Helen M. Leys (as by Eleanor Scott) (1929). ✭✭✭½
118. "The Tree", Helen M. Leys (as by Eleanor Scott) (1929). ✭✭½
119. "The Twelve Apostles", Helen M. Leys (as by Eleanor Scott) (1929). ✭✭✭
120. " 'Will Ye No' Come Back Again?' ", Helen M. Leys (as by Eleanor Scott) (1929). ✭✭✭½
121. "The Roads Must Roll", Robert A. Heinlein (1940). ✭½
122. "The Chalk Pit", Christopher Woodforde (1952). ✭✭✭
123. "Colin, Peter, and Philip", Christopher Woodforde (1952). ✭✭✭½
124. "Cushi", Christopher Woodforde (1952). ✭✭✭½
125. "The 'Doom' Window at Breckham", Christopher Woodforde (1952). ✭✭
126. "Ex Libris", Christopher Woodforde (1952). ✭✭✭
127. "Expert Devilry", Christopher Woodforde (1952). ✭✭½
128. "Goutté-de-Sang", Christopher Woodforde (1952). ✭✭
129. "Hugh", Christopher Woodforde (1952). ✭
130. "Jeremy", Christopher Woodforde (1952). ✭✭✭
131. "Lost and Found", Christopher Woodforde (1952). ✭✭✭
132. "Malcolm", Christopher Woodforde (1952). ✭✭✭
133. "Michael", Christopher Woodforde (1952). ✭✭
134. "The Mirror of Man's Damnation", Christopher Woodforde (1952). ✭✭½
135. "The Old Tithe Barn", Christopher Woodforde (1952). ✭✭✭
136. "A Pad in the Straw", Christopher Woodforde (1952). ✭✭½
137. "Richard", Christopher Woodforde (1952). ✭✭✭½
138. "Robert and Andrew", Christopher Woodforde (1952). ✭✭½
139. "Roderick", Christopher Woodforde (1952). ✭✭½
140. "Sacrilege at St. George's", Christopher Woodforde (1952). ✭✭
141. "Tony, Ian, & Co.", Christopher Woodforde (1952). ✭✭½
142. "Death Ship", Richard Matheson (1953). ✭✭✭
143. "The Last Day of Summer", E. C. Tubb (1955). ✭½
144. "Doorstep", Keith Laumer (1961). ✭✭
145. "For a Breath I Tarry", Roger Zelazny (1966). ✭✭✭✭✭
146. "The Eve of RUMOKO", Roger Zelazny (1969). ✭✭✭✭½
147. " 'Kjwalll'kje'k'koothaïlll'kje'k", Roger Zelazny (1973). ✭✭✭
148. "Home Is the Hangman", Roger Zelazny (1975). ✭✭✭✭✭
149. "The Last Defender of Camelot", Roger Zelazny (1979). ✭✭✭✭
150. "Fish Night", Joe R. Lansdale (1982). ✭✭✭✭
151. "Waiting for a Bus", John Whitbourn (1987). ✭✭✭½
152. "Ripples in the Dirac Sea", Geoffrey A. Landis (1988). ✭✭✭✭
153. "John Humphreys" [Story Fragment], M. R. James (1993). ✭✭✭
154. "Speaker Lenthall's Tomb", M. R. James (1999/2005). ✭✭½
155. "The Brotherhood of Mutilation", Brian Evenson (2003). ✭✭✭✭
156. "Twice a Fortnight", David G. Rowlands (2003). ✭½
157. "RAM Shift Phase 2", Greg Bear (2005). ✭✭✭
158. "What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank", Nathan Englander (2011). ✭✭✭½
159. "Little Better Than a Beast", Tim Pratt (as by T. A. Pratt) (2011). ✭✭½

Messages 4, 7, and 9 summarize the stories that I was able to read through the first three months of the year. I was fairly strong out the gate this year, but have slowed down considerably in April. Too many other things on my plate.

April

160. "The Amber Bead", Francis C. Prevot (date of publication not specified, but no later than 1923). ✭✭✭
161. "The Cup of Sacrifice", Francis C. Prevot (date of publication not specified, but no later than 1923). ✭✭
162. "The Devil's Door", Francis C. Prevot (date of publication not specified, but no later than 1923). ✭½
163. "The Devil Worshipper", Francis C. Prevot (date of publication not specified, but no later than 1923). ✭½
164. "The Empty Box", Francis C. Prevot (date of publication not specified, but no later than 1923). ✭✭✭
165. "The Empty House", Francis C. Prevot (date of publication not specified, but no later than 1923). ✭
166. "The Galloper", Francis C. Prevot (date of publication not specified, but no later than 1923). ✭½
167. "The Mirror", Francis C. Prevot (date of publication not specified, but no later than 1923). ✭✭½
168. " 'Nemesis' ", Francis C. Prevot (date of publication not specified, but no later than 1923). ✭✭½
169. "Out of the Depths", Francis C. Prevot (date of publication not specified, but no later than 1923). ✭✭½
170. "The Ring", Francis C. Prevot (date of publication not specified, but no later than 1923). ✭
171. "The Silence", Francis C. Prevot (date of publication not specified, but no later than 1923). ✭½
172. "The Shadow", Francis C. Prevot (date of publication not specified, but no later than 1923). ✭
173. "The Skull", Francis C. Prevot (date of publication not specified, but no later than 1923). ✭✭½
174. "The Tempter", Francis C. Prevot (date of publication not specified, but no later than 1923). ✭ [f]
175. "The Three Officers", Francis C. Prevot (date of publication not specified, but no later than 1923). ✭✭½
176. "The Understudy", Francis C. Prevot (date of publication not specified, but no later than 1923). ✭✭½
177. "The Visitor", Francis C. Prevot (date of publication not specified, but no later than 1923). ✭✭½
178. "The Wardrobe", Francis C. Prevot (date of publication not specified, but no later than 1923). ✭✭½
179. "The Watercolour Drawing", Francis C. Prevot (date of publication not specified, but no later than 1923). ✭✭
180. "Where the Dead Man Sleeps", Francis C. Prevot (date of publication not specified, but no later than 1923). ✭✭✭
181. "Here He Lies Where He Longed to Be", Winifred Galbraith (1930). ✭✭
182. "An Encounter in the Mist", A. N. L. Munby (1949). ✭✭✭
183. "The Four-Poster", A. N. L. Munby (1949). ✭✭✭
184. "Number Seventy-Nine", A. N. L. Munby (1949). ✭✭✭½
185. "The White Sack", A. N. L. Munby (1949). ✭✭✭
186. "The Orchard of Hanging Trees", Nicole Cushing (2014). ✭✭½
187. "Ghost Stories of Innerpeffray", Helen Grant (2014). ✭✭✭

May

Messages 4, 7, 9, and 10 summarize the stories I was able to read through April. May was another slow month for reading.

188. "The Story of the Bagman's Uncle" [from The Pickwick Papers], Charles Dickens (1836-1837/1837). ✭✭½
189. "The Devil's Autograph", A. N. L. Munby (1949). ✭✭✭
190. "The Lectern", A. N. L. Munby (1949). ✭✭½
191. "The Negro's Head", A. N. L. Munby (1949). ✭✭
192. "The Tregannet Book of Hours", A. N. L. Munby (1949). ✭✭✭½
193. "Listen, Children, Listen!", Wallace West (1953). ✭✭✭✭½
194. "That Hell-Bound Train", Robert Bloch (1958). ✭✭✭✭½
195. "In Our Block", R. A. Lafferty (1965). ✭✭✭½
196. "Behold the Man", Michael Moorcock (1966). ✭✭✭✭
197. "Needle in a Timestack", Robert Silverberg (1983). ✭✭✭✭
198. "Stillwater, 1896", Michael Cassutt (1984). ✭✭✭✭
199. "Ghosts of Wind and Shadow", Charles de Lint (1990). ✭✭✭½
200. "The Spinney", C. E. Ward (1993). ✭✭✭✭✭
201. "The Ocean and All Its Devices", William Browning Spencer (1994). ✭✭✭✭
202. "Gunpowder Plot", C. E. Ward (1994). ✭✭✭½
203. "The Snow Pavilion", Angela Carter (1995). ✭✭✭
204. "Branks's Folly", C. E. Ward (1995). ✭✭✭✭
205. "Caveat Emptor", C. E. Ward (as by Clive Ward) (1995). ✭✭✭
206. "Old Martin", C. E. Ward (1996). ✭✭✭½
207. "The Lake", C. E. Ward (1997). ✭✭✭✭
208. "Doctor's Orders", C. E. Ward (1998). ✭✭✭
209. "How Do I Get to Last Summer From Here?", M. Bennardo (2014). ✭✭✭
210. "Mirror Image", C. E. Ward (1998). ✭✭✭✭½
211. "Presidential Cryptotrivia", Oliver Buckram (2014). ✭✭✭
212. "Friends, Reunited", Sam Dawson (2014). ✭✭½
213. "The Names", Jeremy Schliewe (2014). ✭✭✭
214. "Things That Make the Papers", Jeremy Schliewe (2014). ✭✭✭½
215. "Faces of the Missing", David Surface (2014), 5/12/2014. ✭✭✭
216. "Cold Plate", Charles Wilkinson (2014). ✭✭

June

Messages 4, 7, and 9-11 summarize the stories I was able to read through May.

217. "The Signal-Man", Charles Dickens (1866). ✭✭✭✭
218. "The White People", Arthur Machen (1904/1906). ✭✭✭✭½
219. "The Bridal Pond", Zona Gale (1930). ✭✭
220. "The Dark Boy", August Derleth (1957). ✭½
221. "Death's Door", Robert McNear (1969). ✭✭✭✭½
222. "The Propert Bequest", Basil A. Smith (1980). ✭✭✭
223. "The Boggart of Ruach", Alexander Kinghorn (2004). ✭✭✭
224. "The Egg of the Gonzu", Alexander Kinghorn (2004). ✭✭
225. "Marietta", Alexander Kinghorn (2004). ✭✭✭½
226. "A Railway Child", Alexander Kinghorn (2004). ✭✭✭✭
227. "A Window Cleaner's Ghost Story", Alexander Kinghorn (2004). ✭✭✭½
228. "The Only Ending We Have", Kim Newman (2013). ✭✭
229. "The House on Cobb Street", Lynda E. Rucker (2013). ✭✭✭✭
230. "D'Arca", Ron Weighell (2014). ✭✭✭½

July

See Messages 4, 7, and 9-12 for a summary of stories I was able to complete through June of this year.

231. "The Wind in the Rose-Bush", Mary E. Wilkins Freeman (1902). ✭✭✭✭½
232. "A Woman Alone with Her Soul", Thomas Bailey Aldrich (1912). ✭✭✭½
233. "Caterpillars", E. F. Benson (1912). ✭✭½
234. "A Rose for Emily", William Faulkner (1930). ✭✭✭✭✭
235. "School for the Unspeakable", Manly Wade Wellman (1937). ✭✭✭½
236. "The Mine", L. T. C. Rolt (1942). ✭✭✭✭
237. "A Perfect Day for Bananafish", J. D. Salinger (1948). ✭✭✭✭½
238. "Legal Rites", Isaac Asimov & Frederik Pohl (1950). ✭✭✭
239. "The Cactus", Mildred Johnson (1950). ✭✭½
240. " 'Minuke' ", Nigel Kneale (1950). ✭✭✭✭
241. "Call First", Ramsey Campbell (1975). ✭✭✭✭½
242. "Two Suns Setting", Karl Edward Wagner (1976). ✭✭✭✭
243. "Raven's Eyrie", Karl Edward Wagner (1977). ✭✭✭✭½
244. "Sing a Last Song of Valdese", Karl Edward Wagner (1977). ✭✭✭✭½
245. "Brotherly Love", Alexander Kinghorn (2004). ✭½
246. "The Crocodile-Monster", Alexander Kinghorn (2004). ✭½
247. "Elfride Awaits", Alexander Kinghorn (2004). ✭✭✭
248. "Three Weddings and Three Funerals", Alexander Kinghorn (2004). ✭✭✭½
249. "The Doorway of St. Stephens", C. E. Ward (1999). ✭✭✭✭
250. "Not Found Among You", C. E. Ward (2000). ✭✭✭½
251. "The Counsels of Night", Ron Weighell (2000). ✭✭✭✭✭
252. "The Particular", C. E. Ward (2001). ✭✭✭✭
253. "The Guardian", C. E. Ward (2006). ✭✭✭½
254. "The Shortcut", C. E. Ward (2008). ✭✭✭✭
255. "The Game of Bear", M. R. James & C. E. Ward (2009). ✭✭✭✭½
256. "The World Entire", Ron Weighell (2009). ✭✭✭
257. "Behind the Curtain", C. E. Ward (2010). ✭✭✭✭✭
251. "Mariner's Rest", C. E. Ward (2010). ✭✭✭½
258. "Pack Rules", Jameson Kowalczyk (2013). ✭½
259. "The Gruesome Affair of the Electric Blue Lightning", Joe R. Lansdale (2013). ✭✭✭
260. "Transitional Forms", Paul J. McAuley (2013). ✭✭✭
261. "The Atlas of Hell", Nathan Ballingrud (2014). ✭✭✭✭½
262. "Will the Real Psycho in This Story Please Stand Up?", Pat Cadigan (2014). ✭✭✭
263. "The Window", Brian Evenson (2014). ✭✭✭½
264. "A Wish from a Bone", Gemma Files (2014). ✭½
265. "The Spindly Man", Stephen Graham Jones (2014). ✭✭✭½
266. "The Witch Moth", Bruce McAllister (2014). ✭✭✭
267. "Kaiju", Gary McMahon (2014). ✭✭✭½
268. "Passchendaele", Danny Rhodes (2014). ✭✭✭

August

See Messages 4, 7, and 9-13 for a summary of stories I was able to complete through July of this year.

269. "Dagon", H. P. Lovecraft (1919). ✭✭
270. "Cwm Garon", L. T. C. Rolt (1948). ✭✭✭½
271. "The Garside Fell Disaster", L. T. C. Rolt (1948). ✭✭✭✭
272. "A Visitor at Ashcombe", L. T. C. Rolt (1948). ✭✭✭½
273. "World's End", L. T. C. Rolt (1948). ✭✭✭
274. "The School Friend", Robert Aickman (1964). ✭✭✭½
275. "The Calling", David B. Silva (1990). ✭✭✭✭
276. "Ladder", T. E. D. Klein (1990). ✭✭✭½
277. "You Go Where It Takes You", Nathan Ballingrud (2004). ✭✭✭
278. "Wild Acre", Nathan Ballingrud (2012). ✭✭✭✭
279. "Murder on the Aldrin Express", Martin L. Shoemaker (2013). ✭✭

Wow, Canavan! You're getting through a lot of short fiction!

Greg wrote:

Wow, Canavan! You're getting through a lot of short fiction!

Yeah, I’ve been fairly disciplined this year, although my pace has fallen off a bit in recent months and I’ve not done too well with my pledge to read more science fiction. On the other hand, I still feel like a bit of a piker after reading the the foreword to the recently-released Year's Best Weird Fiction: 1 , wherein Michael Kelly stated that he read around 3,000 stories in preparation for that anthology!

Canavan wrote: "Greg wrote:


Wow, Canavan! You're getting through a lot of short fiction!


Yeah, I’ve been fairly disciplined this year, although my pace has fallen off a bit in recent months and I’ve not done..."

3K stories in one year? Yikes! That's a lot! As Laird Barron is the editor of Year's Best Weird Fiction, Volume One though, what was the anthology that Kelly read for? I notice that the author page for Kelly is in serious need of disambiguation!

Greg wrote (in part):

As Laird Barron is the editor of Year's Best Weird Fiction, Volume One though, what was the anthology that Kelly read for? I notice that the author page for Kelly is in serious need of disambiguation!

Michael Kelly was, in fact, reading for Year's Best Weird Fiction: 1 , although it wasn’t made clear exactly how Kelly (the publisher and series editor) and Laird Barron (the co-editor) were dividing reading duties. If I were hazard a wild guess, it would be that Kelly was doing the initial work and then passing on the more likely candidates to Barron. Also per Kelly in the foreword to the collection, he envisions a “guest” editor for each successive volume in the series. Barron agreed to perform that role for the inaugural volume.

And I see what you mean about the author page for Michael Kelly.

Great list Canavan. Thanks for doing this.

Canavan wrote: "Greg wrote (in part):


As Laird Barron is the editor of Year's Best Weird Fiction, Volume One though, what was the anthology that Kelly read for? I notice that the author page for Kelly is in se..."

OK. I understand now. Perhaps Kelly could let his guest editors do some of that reading, but I guess he enjoys doing it as well as the selection.

Should poetry count as 'short fiction'? If so, I'm adding an online poem to my (thus far) non-existent list!

Greg wondered:

Should poetry count as 'short fiction'? If so, I'm adding an online poem to my (thus far) non-existent list!

In my opinion, yes!

By the way, Greg. Re our earlier conversation about Michael Kelly's new annual series, I got an e-mail from him a week or two ago stating that Kathe Koja is co-editing the second volume.

Paul said:

Great list Canavan. Thanks for doing this.

Ack! Very sorry I missed your message, Paul. Thanks for the compliment. I really post these here primarily for my own amusement. I started the list about 3 or 4 years ago as a kind of defense mechanism; all too often -- more so as I've gotten older -- I've found myself reading some story only to realize after I'm half way in that I'd already read it.

Canavan wrote: "Greg wondered:


Should poetry count as 'short fiction'? If so, I'm adding an online poem to my (thus far) non-existent list!


In my opinion, yes!"

Glad you agree, Canavan! :)

Canavan wrote: "By the way, Greg. Re our earlier conversation about Michael Kelly's new annual series, I got an e-mail from him a week or two ago stating that Kathe Koja is co-editi..."

I have to admit that I haven't read any long fiction by Koja yet, but based on other people's reviews/recommendations as well as an interview with her on GR/YT, I'd like to read some of her books. And I think an anthology co-edited by her would be interesting to read too.

September

See Messages 4, 7, and 9-14 for a summary of stories I was able to complete through August of this year.

280. "The Bulb", Clive Pemberton (1906). ✭✭½
281. "The Compact", Clive Pemberton (1906). ✭✭½
282. "A Dead Man's Bargain", Clive Pemberton (1906). ✭½
283. "A Hundred Years Dead", Clive Pemberton (1906). ✭✭
284. "The Mark of the Beast", Clive Pemberton (1906). ✭½
285. "The Pool", Clive Pemberton (1906). ✭✭
286. " 'Purple Eyes' ", Clive Pemberton (1906). ✭✭
287. "The Soul of Nina Ventrix", Clive Pemberton (1906). ✭✭
288. "The Spider", Clive Pemberton (1906). ✭✭
289. "The Wedding Guest", Clive Pemberton (1906). ✭✭
290. "The Will of Luke Carlowe", Clive Pemberton (1906). ✭½
290. "Daymare", Fredric Brown (1943). ✭✭
291. "Agony of Flame", L. T. C. Rolt (1948). ✭✭✭½
292. "Hawley Bank Foundry", L. T. C. Rolt (1948). ✭✭✭✭
293. "Hear Not My Steps", L. T. C. Rolt (1948). ✭✭✭
294. "Music Hath Charms", L. T. C. Rolt (1948). ✭✭✭½
295. "The View", Robert Aickman (1951). ✭✭✭✭
296. "Ringing the Changes", Robert Aickman (1955). ✭✭✭½
297. "The Waiting Room", Robert Aickman (1956). ✭✭✭
298. "Choice of Weapons", Robert Aickman (1964). ✭✭½
299. "The Shouting", L. T. C. Rolt (1975). ✭✭✭
300. "The House of Vengeance", L. T. C. Rolt (1976). ✭✭✭
301. "The Sands o' Dee", Peter Bell (2014). ✭✭✭½

October

See Messages 4, 7, 9-14, and 26 for a summary of stories I was able to complete through September of this year.

302. "No Woman Born", C. L. Moore (1944). ✭✭✭✭
303. "The Ninetheenth Step", Simon Strantzas (2013). ✭✭✭✭½
304. "11334", C. E. Ward (2014). ✭✭✭½
305. "Absolom", Reggie Oliver (2014). ✭✭✭½
306. "The Desecrator", Derek John (2014). ✭✭✭½
307. "Dolls for Another Day", Rick Kennett (2014). ✭✭✭
308. "Lineage", David Langhorn (2014). ✭✭
309. "Slapstick", Christopher Harmon (2014). ✭✭✭½
310. "A Tale of Kildonan", Elsa Wallace (2014). ✭✭½
311. "Touched", John Howard (2014). ✭✭✭½

November

See Messages 4, 7, 9-14, and 26-27 for a summary of stories I was able to complete through October of this year.

312. "The Yellow Sign", Robert W. Chambers (1895). ✭✭✭✭½
313. "Vaila", M. P. Shiel (1896). ✭✭✭
314. "The House of Sounds", M. P. Shiel (1911). ✭✭✭
315. "The Call of Cthulhu", H. P. Lovecraft (1928). ✭✭✭✭✭
316. "The Black Druid", Frank Belknap Long (1930). ✭✭✭½
317. "The Lonesome Place", August Derleth (1948). ✭✭✭✭½
318. "The Fog Horn", Ray Bradbury (1951). ✭✭✭✭½
319. "Passage to Dilfar", Roger Zelazny (1965). ✭½
320. "Thelinde's Song", Roger Zelazny (1965). ✭½
321. "The Bells of Shoredan Song", Roger Zelazny (1966). ✭✭½
322. "A Knight for Merytha", Roger Zelazny (1967). ✭✭½
323. "A Beast for Norn", George R. R. Martin (1976/1986 rev.). ✭✭✭½
324. "Call Him Moses", George R. R. Martin (1978). ✭✭✭
325. "Garden of Blood", Roger Zelazny (1979). ✭✭✭
326. "The White Beast", Roger Zelazny (1979). ✭✭✭½
327. "The Places of Aache", Roger Zelazny (1980). ✭✭✭✭
328. "Guardians", George R. R. Martin (1981). ✭✭✭
329. "The Tower of Ice", Roger Zelazny (1981). ✭✭✭✭½
330. "Dilvish, the Damned", Roger Zelazny (1982). ✭✭✭½
331. "Devil and the Dancer", Roger Zelazny (1982). ✭✭✭✭✭
332. "A City Divided", Roger Zelazny (1982). ✭✭✭
333. "Loaves and Fishes", George R. R. Martin (1985). ✭✭✭½
334. "Manna from Heaven", George R. R. Martin (1985). ✭✭✭
335. "The Plague Star", George R. R. Martin (1985). ✭✭✭✭½
336. "Second Helpings", George R. R. Martin (1985). ✭✭½
337. "Fragments of Papyrus from the Temple of the Older Gods", William Kotzwinkle (1988). ✭✭✭✭½
338. "Tortured Souls: The Legend of Primordium", Clive Barker (2001/2014). ✭✭✭
339. "The Hanged Man of Oz", Steve Nagy (2003). ✭✭✭✭
340. "Illimitable Dominion", Kim Newman (2009). ✭✭
341. "Who Dares Wins: Anno Dracula 1980", Kim Newman (2013). ✭✭½
342. "The Third Time", Helen Grant (2014). ✭✭½
343. "Character", Mark Valentine (2014). ✭✭½
344. "The Partygoers", John Ward (2014). ✭✭✭½

Wow! Canavan, I'm impressed! You've read 144 books and 344 short stories this year so far! Where do you find the time?

Greg commented:

Wow! Canavan, I'm impressed! You've read 144 books and 344 short stories this year so far! Where do you find the time?

Well, the book list is padded with a fair number of really quick reads, so it’s not as impressive at it might seem at first blush. As for the time issue, the only thing I can offer is that I really don’t watch a lot television. I know quite a few people who “say” that they don’t watch much television, but when you actually quiz them on specifics, it turns out that most watch quite a bit. I’d guess that I watch around 5-10 hours a week, most of that on the weekends.

I don't watch much television either but some of my reading time is taken up reading academic and newspaper articles - stuff you can't list as 'books' on GR or as short fiction in a thread like this. Still, your level of reading is still impressive, even taking into account the short reads you mention.

Wow! Canavan, I'm impressed with such detailed and elaborate lists! Kudos to you!

Kathy said:

Wow! Canavan, I'm impressed with such detailed and elaborate lists! Kudos to you!

Thanks, Kathy.

December

What follows are stories that I read for the last month of this year. (See Messages 4, 7, 9-14, and 26-28 for a summary of stories I was able to complete through November.) I'm posting at the midway point of this month as I foresee a particularly hectic second half — even by holiday standards. So this is in all likelihood going to be it for my personal short story reading this year. Summing up, I managed to meet my goal of 365 stories, but not by all that much; I'll confess that secretly I had hoped to do far better. I started out at a fairly quick pace, but slowed down considerably as the year progressed. And one of my secondary goals was to read more science fiction; I frankly didn't do very well on that front. Ah well, there's always 2015.

345. "The Tell-Tale Heart" Edgar Allan Poe (1843). ✭✭✭✭✭
346. "The End of the Flight", W. Somerset Maugham (1926). ✭✭✭½
347. "The Colour out of Space", H. P. Lovecraft (1927). ✭✭✭
348. "Three Marked Pennies", Mary Elizabeth Counselman (1934). ✭✭✭✭½
349. "The Eerie Mr. Murphy", Howard Wandrei (1937). ✭✭✭½
350. "Anthem", Ayn Rand (1938/1946 rev.). ✭½
351. "Sammy Calls a Noobus", Henry A. Norton (1943). ✭½
352. "Enoch", Robert Bloch (1946). ✭✭✭½
353. "The Extra Passenger", August Derleth (as by Stephen Grendon) (1947). ✭✭✭✭
354. "Dhoh", Manly Wade Wellman (1948). ✭✭✭½
355. "The Man Who Collected Poe", Robert Bloch (1951). ✭✭✭½
356. "The Vanishing American", Charles Beaumont (1955). ✭✭✭✭
357. "Of Missing Persons", Jack Finney (1957). ✭✭✭½
358. "The Keeper of the Dust", Joseph Payne Brennan (1962). ✭✭✭½
359. "Where the Cluetts Are", Jack Finney (1962). ✭✭✭½
360. "Cain Rose Up", Stephen King (1968). ✭✭
361. "City of the Seven Winds", Joseph Payne Brennan (1969). ✭✭✭½
362. "The Wedding Gig", Stephen King (1980). ✭✭✭
363. "Favourite No. 7 Omnibus", Brian J. Showers (2008). ✭✭✭✭½
364. "Quis Separabit", Brian J. Showers (2008). ✭✭✭✭✭
365. "Mr. And Mrs. Havisham", Gillian Bennett (2014). ✭✭✭
366. "Bright Hair about the Bone", Jacob Felsen (2014). ✭½
367. "The Bury Line", Stephen Hargadon (2014). ✭✭✭
368. "Doorways", William H. Wandless (2014). ✭✭½

Of Missing Persons by Jack Finney is one of my all-time favourite short stories alongside his Contents From the Dead Man's Pockets.

John wrote:

Of Missing Persons by Jack Finney is one of my all-time favourite short stories alongside his Contents From the Dead Man's Pockets.

Let me start off by saying that I like Finney quite a bit. I’ve been very slowly re-reading some of his stuff. My faves would probably include “The Third Level” and “I Love Galesburg in the Springtime”. On the negative side of the ledger, there is a “sameness” to many of his stories — if ever there was a writer who viewed the past through rose-colored glasses, that writer was Finney. Taken in large doses I occasionally find this aspect of his work a bit cloying. And for those who care deeply about such things, his views on gender were “of their time”; I can for the most part disregard such problems, but I was a bit alarmed — not necessarily with the author but with myself — for failing to realize just how creepy were the actions of the narrator in “Lunch-Hour Magic” when I first read the story 30-some years ago.

I do agree, they are of a certain taste. And are certainly of their time. The Third Level is the better of the two collections, I think. I first read The Body Snatchers in an Alfred Hitchcock anthology (Stories Not For The Nervous if I recall correctly). I loved it's somewhat 'snug' quality and it's quiet build up. Finney's style has an honest plainness which I found pleasing at the time (around forty years ago), but which is dated now. I still read him with great pleasure though (but not all the time; as you say, he can get somewhat cloying). I thought Time and Again was marvellous. Not so much the sequel.

John said (in part):

I thought Time and Again was marvellous. Not so much the sequel.

I re-read Finney’s classic Time and Again just last year and thought that it held up remarkably well. I think the scientific underpinning of time travel is pretty weak, but that’s a quibble — “hard” science fiction was never the author’s forte. And I agree that the sequel, From Time to Time , is far less impressive.

The Time Machine is still my favourite time-travel story. I still enjoy Wells. How about you?

John asked:

The Time Machine is still my favourite time-travel story. I still enjoy Wells. How about you?

Wells is an author I desperately need to re-visit. I read a number of his novels way back when I was 11 or 12 — no doubt too young to fully appreciate the prose or grapple with the ideas. I best remember The War of the Worlds . I know that I read The Time Machine , but remember only the very broad outline of the plot.

My first was The Island of Doctor Moreau, which I read when I was about twelve. My father gave it to me. He was always giving me stuff, bless him, and I still have the small hardback with its quite startling cover. Anyway, the book scared the daylights out of me. Next came the complete stories with The Time Machine included. Wow! I've still got that fat hardback as well. Have read everything I could get my hands on over the years by Wells and still enjoy dipping into the short stories. Conan Doyle has done some pretty terrifying short stories outside his Sherlock Holmes stuff. What about him?

John asks (in part):

Conan Doyle has done some pretty terrifying short stories outside his Sherlock Holmes stuff. What about him?

The collected Holmes stories were among the first works of “adult” fiction that I read. Sadly, other than Holmes, I’m a bit spotty on my Doyle. I’ve read quite a few of his short stories — favorites would (predictably enough) include “The Horror of the Heights” and “Lot No. 249”. As for his novels, I’m ashamed to say I’ve only read a couple of the Challenger ones. (I’ve give serious thought recently to re-reading The Lost World .) I read somewhere that Doyle thought (erroneously as it turned out) that if he were to achieve any lasting literary fame it would be as a consequence of his historical novels. I’ve not read a one of them, although I’ve been told that The White Company is a good one to start with.

Canavan, it's wonderful to talk to someone with a similar literary bent. You're quite right. Doyle was more proud of his historical stuff than anything else. I've read The White Company and its sequel (or is it prequel?). Also the Challenger novels. I still rummage through the short stories occasionally (I re-read The Horror of the Heights only the other night by candlelight - which my father used to do way back when). If you've got a Kindle, download the Delphi Classics of his works. It's got everything in it.

I've had a secondhand copy of The Lost World for years but haven't read it yet. Maybe in 2015? (I just added the edition and cover concerned.)

I read a few of the Sherlock Holmes stories - and possibly The hound of the Baskervilles - in The Penguin Complete Sherlock Holmes during the late '80s. I might read a few more now that I'm reminded of this book!

Greg wrote (in part):

I read a few of the Sherlock Holmes stories - and possibly The hound of the Baskervilles - in The Penguin Complete Sherlock Holmes during the late '80s. I might read a few more now that I'm reminded of this book!

I’ve had a copy of Klinger’s The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes sitting by my bed for at least 5 years in the hope that their easy access would spur me to re-read some of these stories, but so far no such luck.

Canavan wrote: "I’ve had a copy of Klinger’s The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes sitting by my bed for at least 5 years in the hope that their easy access would spur me to re-read some of these stories, but so far no such luck. "

LOL Maybe it's time to move it to another, more visible/less easily ignored, place!

I recently finished Prayers to Broken Stones by Dan Simmons. It's a pretty good collection of Fantasy/Horror stories, one of which, Metastasis, is damned near perfect. Currently dipping into some of Fritz Leiber's short horror fiction. Now this guy is the modern master of the form. Erudite and totally in control. If M.R. James had a modern equal, it's this guy. Smoke Ghost, The Button Molder, The Glove... There are so many. If you haven't read this guy, I urge you to do so. And of course, there are his novels, Conjure Wife and Our Lady of Darkness. Marvellous stuff!

John wrote (in part):

I recently finished Prayers to Broken Stones by Dan Simmons. It's a pretty good collection of Fantasy/Horror stories, one of which, Metastasis, is damned near perfect.

Drat. I know that I once read “Metastasis” in Night Visions 5 , but am drawing a complete blank on the contents.

Also from John (in part):

Currently dipping into some of Fritz Leiber's short horror fiction. Now this guy is the modern master of the form. Erudite and totally in control. If M.R. James had a modern equal, it's this guy.

I run hot and cold on Leiber. I’d certainly agree that “Smoke Ghost” is an influential and prescient work of fiction. I also think he’s an author more deserving than many of a retrospective look; his best work holds up better than a lot stuff from that era. I’m not sure that I’d whole-heartedly endorse the James comparison. When I think of modern acolytes of James, I’m more apt to focus on British writers like Reggie Oliver, Joel Lane, Sheila Hodgson, Gary McMahon, C. E. Ward, and Brian Showers. Just an off-the-cuff observation, but Leiber always struck me as a more quintessentially American writer — somewhat similar to other mid-twentieth century American writers such as Matheson and Bloch.

Leiber's subtlety is above and beyond Matheson and Bloch (as much as I love those pair). By comparing him to MRJ I refer to the frisson of anxiety I feel when totally immersed in one of his tales. There are parts of Our Lady of Darkness which could have been penned by James himself (if he was writing today, certainly. Yes, there's no escaping the contrast of Leiber's American urban horror as opposed to the English countryside spooks of James, but I think they are both disquieting in a similar way.

On a slightly different note. Leiber's Fafhrd and Gray Mouser stories are the best sword and sorcery your are going to get. From Robert E. Howard to the writers of today, he is in a league of his own. I don't think anybody can touch him.