I'm an avid reader (and writer) of short fiction. Here are a few of my favorites:
Many of the short stories I've re-read the most are from Lovecraft's Necronomicon. I remember reading them for the first time back in college and just sitting there in awe at the end.
Richard Matheson (King's favorite author, I think) also has some lovely short stories. I have a copy of I Am Legend which includes a few of them at the end.
Short stories by Kafka and Beckett really opened my eyes to the creative possibilities of literature beyond simply telling a story.
Dostoevsky's short stories (even though they are outside of the SFF genre) are amazing and I would recommend them to anyone who's considering getting into his longer works. His power to flesh out a character in such few words is unparalleled, in my opinion.
This summer I will go through collections by Steinbeck (Long Valley), Hesse (Fairy Tales) and Borges (Ficciones). So I might update you all in autumn if any of them make it into my list of favorites.? Then I will have to check out all the great recommendations above!
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