LitReading - Classic Short Stories

The Sphinx Without a Secret – A Classic Short Story by Oscar Wilde

Tue, 07 Apr 2026 19:24:54 GMT

A chance reunion at a Paris café. A photograph of a woman who looks like she's hiding something. And a story that asks a question Wilde never quite answers: What's worse, a woman with a secret, or a woman who simply loves the appearance of having one? Oscar Wilde's "The Sphinx Without a Secret," published in 1887, is a small, perfect jewel of a story about mystery, obsession, and the danger of needing people to be more complicated than they are.

Oscar Wilde wrote "The Sphinx Without a Secret" in 1887, when he was thirty-three and already the most quotable man in England. He's remembered for the big things, "The Picture of Dorian Gray," "The Importance of Being Earnest," the trials that destroyed him. But pieces like this one remind you that he could do more with a photograph and a cup of coffee than most writers can do with a hundred pages.

f you enjoyed this story, there's a lot more where it came from. At ShortStoryverses.com you'll find all of our podcasts: New Tales Told for original fiction, Season's Readings for holiday stories, Readastorus for the whole family, and FRIGHTLY for when you want to lose a little sleep. And if you've got a second, tap that five-star rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

We are expanding our universe of short story podcasts on our new podcast channel, Short StoryVerses. Listen to some of Don's new, original short stories on the "New Tales Told" podcast. Look it up on your favorite podcast player.

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The Committee Committee – An Original Short Story by Don McDonald

Tue, 31 Mar 2026 09:00:00 GMT

The Committee Committee is a parable set in a village where things run smoothly—because they always have.

Problems are addressed. Responsibilities are shared. And when questions arise, there is a structure in place to handle them.

Over time, that structure has grown more refined, more comprehensive… and more complete.

This story is being presented on Litreading for limited time to help build the audience for its eventual primary home, New Tales Told part of Short Storyverses. New Tales Told is made up of totally original modern stories written with the feel of classic short stories (suitable for all ages). There are now fourteen original stories so please check start listening and subscribing to New Tales Told. On Apple Podcasts it is part of the Short Storyverses Channel.

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The Rips – An Original Short Story by Don McDonald

Tue, 17 Mar 2026 09:00:00 GMT

There are things we expect from the world.

Walls stay still. Rooms hold their shape. The spaces we live in behave.

And when they don’t, we look for explanations.

Old houses settle. Pipes shift. Light plays tricks.

But sometimes the world doesn’t explain itself.

When an answer can’t be seen, that doesn’t mean there isn’t one.

There is something.

Something all too real.

Something beyond frightening.

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My Watch – An Original Short Story by Mark Twain

Tue, 10 Mar 2026 12:00:00 GMT

First published in 1870, “My Watch” is one of Mark Twain’s sharpest short comic essays. What begins as a simple adjustment to a timepiece becomes an escalating satire of overconfidence, technical jargon, and the human tendency to meddle with what already works. In fewer than ten minutes, Twain turns a minor inconvenience into a masterclass in comic exaggeration.

Mark Twain was the pen name of Samuel Langhorne Clemens, born in 1835. A riverboat pilot, journalist, lecturer, and one of America’s most enduring humorists, Twain built his reputation on sharp observation, comic exaggeration, and a deep skepticism of human certainty. His works include The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, but he was equally at home in short essays like this one — small mechanical failures turned into very large human truths.

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The Arrangement - An Original Short Story by Don McDonald

Tue, 03 Mar 2026 10:00:00 GMT

Every crime begins as a solution. At least to someone. This is a story about a solution. A rented room. A promise. And a man who believes he is doing what’s necessary.

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The Doll's House – A Classic Short Story by Katherine Mansfield

Tue, 24 Feb 2026 16:41:52 GMT

Published in 1921, The Doll’s House is one of Katherine Mansfield’s most quietly powerful stories. Set in a small New Zealand community, it explores class, exclusion, and childhood cruelty through something deceptively simple: the arrival of an elaborate doll’s house.

Mansfield does not moralize. Instead, she observes. Through small gestures and overheard whispers, she reveals how social hierarchies are absorbed and enforced — even by children.

At its center is a tiny amber lamp. And a moment of grace.

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Civic Duty - An Original Short Story by Don McDonald

Tue, 17 Feb 2026 10:00:00 GMT

This story is not about the America we live in.

It’s about an America that could exist—slowly, legally, and quietly—if people stop asking questions.

Civic Duty follows a retired teacher whose life is reduced to data points, compliance scores, and administrative decisions.

A speculative warning about what happens when systems replace judgment and loyalty becomes measurable.

This story is being presented on Litreading for limited time to help build the audience for its eventual primary home, New Tales Told part of Short Storyverses. New Tales Told is made up of totally original modern stories written with the feel of classic short stories (suitable for all ages). There are now more than a dozen original stories so please check them out.

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To Build a Fire – a Classic Short Story by Jack London

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 18:34:22 GMT

Set in the frozen Yukon during the Klondike Gold Rush, it follows a man traveling alone through temperatures so extreme they defy ordinary experience. Confident in his judgment and dismissive of risk, he presses forward—unaware of how narrow his margin for error truly is.

With stark realism and relentless tension, London explores humanity’s limits in the face of nature’s indifference. This is not a story of heroic triumph. It is a story of judgment, instinct, and the consequences of small mistakes in unforgiving conditions.

First published in 1908, To Build a Fire remains a timeless classic of American literature.

If you enjoy great stories narrated by Don, be sure to check out his other short story podcasts at shortstoryverses.com

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In My Dreams – An Original Short Story by Don McDonald

Tue, 03 Feb 2026 10:00:00 GMT

Here is a quiet story about love that arrives too late, and lingers in unexpected ways.

About two people who find each other where they never expected to meet.

And what it means to hold on, even when you know you can’t.

Please check out our other short story universes are shortstoryverses.com

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The Necklace – A Classic Short Story by Guy De Maupassant

Tue, 27 Jan 2026 10:00:00 GMT

The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant is a classic tale of ambition, illusion, and unintended consequences.

In this short, elegant story, a young woman’s desire for wealth and status leads her down a path she never expected.

A quiet masterpiece with a devastating final twist.

Guy de Maupassant was a nineteenth-century French writer and one of the masters of the modern short story.

He wrote hundreds of stories, known for their clarity, irony, and emotional precision.

His work often explored class, ambition, and the hidden costs of desire.

The Necklace, published in 1884, remains one of his most famous and enduring stories.

If you want more stories like this, go to shortstoryverses.com.

You’ll find a whole story universe there: classic literature brought to life, original fiction, stories for younger listeners, and themed collections for whatever mood you’re in.

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The Right Call – An Original Short Story by Don McDonald

Fri, 16 Jan 2026 19:13:18 GMT

This is a special presentation of my original short story, “The Right Call,” first released on my companion podcast, New Tales Told.

For now, I’ll be sharing my new stories here on Litreading as well—so you can hear them easily, without having to go looking.

Litreading will always remain a home for classic short fiction. These are simply new stories, told in the same spirit.

The Right Call is a work of fiction, loosely inspired by a real turning point in my own life.

The events, characters, station, and circumstances have been changed. What remains is the emotional truth of a moment many people recognize: standing at a crossroads between what looks sensible and what feels right.

This story isn’t about radio.

It’s about listening—to others, and to yourself—when the script stops working.

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The Bet – A Classic Short Story by Anton Chekov

Tue, 13 Jan 2026 10:00:00 GMT

The Bet is a devastating meditation on freedom, knowledge, money, and the illusions we cling to when we mistake intellect for wisdom and wealth for meaning. Sparse, icy, and quietly explosive, this story leaves no one untouched—not the characters, and not the listener.

Anton Chekhov was a Russian physician, playwright, and master of the modern short story. Writing at the turn of the twentieth century, Chekhov rejected melodrama in favor of moral ambiguity, emotional restraint, and brutal psychological honesty.

His stories rarely offer heroes or villains—only people, trapped by their own beliefs, habits, and blind spots. With surgical precision and profound compassion, Chekhov reshaped fiction, influencing generations of writers who followed.

He believed that a writer’s job was not to provide answers—but to ask questions so clearly that the reader could not escape them.

The Bet is one of his sharpest.

You're invited to explore our many short story podcasts at shortstoryverses.com

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The Eternal Code — A Special Presentation of an Original Short Story

Wed, 07 Jan 2026 18:46:03 GMT

This is a special presentation of my new original short story, "The Eternal Code," first released on my companion podcast, New Tales Told. Until the new podcast finds its audience, I will continue to post my original stories at Litreading, too.

Litreading will continue to feature classic short fiction, just as always.

For listeners who enjoy original, contemporary stories, New Tales Told is where I share new work—standalone fiction meant to be experienced in audio. Just search for it on this podcast service or visit shortstoryverses.com

No one remembers the first human thought. But it remembers us.

We tell ourselves that memory lives in bones, in blood, in history books and hard drives. But memory is older than all of that. Memory is the original technology. And once it learned how to survive us, it never stopped evolving.

The Eternal Code is a story about inheritance that has nothing to do with money and everything to do with continuity. About the quiet arrogance of believing we are the end of the line. About a signal so deeply embedded in humanity that we mistake it for destiny.

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Litreading – Classic Short Stories Live On

Thu, 01 Jan 2026 06:00:00 GMT

Every story you've ever loved learned it from somewhere. The plot twist, the heartbreak, the monster in the dark—somebody wrote it first. Narrator Don McDonald brings classic literature back to life, read out loud the way it was meant to be heard. Dickens. Poe. Twain. Wharton. Doyle. Names you know. Stories you think you know—until you actually hear them. Some built entire genres. Some broke every rule. Some are just flat-out better than they have any right to be after a hundred years. No class. No test. Just your ears and a little time. Because the classics aren't homework. They're the stories that refused to die.

Litreading is part of the "Short Storyverses" podcast network. If you love stories, check out our other shows: Season's Readings for holiday tales, New Tales Told for original fiction, Readastorus for stories the whole family can enjoy, and FRIGHTLY for when you want to lose a little sleep. Find them all at shortstoryverses.com.

If you're enjoying Litreading, take a second to tap that five-star rating on Apple Podcasts (or "Rate the Show" five-stars on Spotify). It helps other listeners find the show—and keeps me from taking that two-star rating too personally. Thanks.

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An Angel in Disguise by T.S. Arthur

Thu, 20 Nov 2025 10:25:00 GMT

Without individual compassion, the good, old days were rarely good for orphaned or disabled children.

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A Horseman in the Sky by Ambrose Bierce

Wed, 19 Nov 2025 05:00:00 GMT

Early in the US Civil War, families, particularly those in the western part of Virginia (now the state of West Virginia), were torn apart over conflicting loyalties. This story is a fictional account of one young soldier who chose to fight for his country rather than his state.

Ambrose served in the Union Army during the Civil War. He became the most famous Civil War storyteller of all time. This story was first published in the San Francisco Examiner in 1889. Years later, Bierce vanished while travel with rebel troops during the Mexican Revolutionary War in 1913.

If you haven’t yet, you should also listen to Bierce’s most famous story, “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” also on Litreading.

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The Law of Life – a Classic Short Story by Jack London

Tue, 18 Nov 2025 10:00:00 GMT

Jack London takes us into the frozen silence of the Yukon and leaves us beside an aging chief who has reached the appointed end of his trail. As the tribe moves on, Old Koskoosh remains behind with only a small fire, a dwindling stack of wood, and the memories of a life spent obeying the relentless rhythms of nature. This is a stark, almost ceremonial meditation on aging, duty, and the brutal simplicity of the natural world. The Law of Life is one of London’s most quietly devastating works—not because of violence, but because of its honesty.

Jack London, born in 1876, rose from poverty and hard labor to become one of America’s most influential writers. A sailor, gold prospector, journalist, and social critic, he wrote with the authority of someone who had lived every inch of hardship he described. His stories of the North—lean, unsentimental, and deeply human—helped define American literary naturalism and continue to shape how we imagine life on the frontier.

If you enjoyed this story, I’d be grateful if you’d share Litreading or leave a quick review. And for more timeless stories—from classics to brand-new originals—visit ShortStoryverses.com, the home of Litreading, Readastorus, New Tales Told, FRIGHTLY!, and Season’s Readings.

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The Reluctant Dragon by Kenneth Grahame

Thu, 13 Nov 2025 10:26:00 GMT

Not all dragons are fire breathing monsters bent on destruction.

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Old Well-Well by Zane Grey

Wed, 12 Nov 2025 10:08:04 GMT

Professional baseball in United States dates back more than 150 years. It has been considered the great American sport since the 19th century. Popular sports attract rabid fans as was the case even back in 1910 when Zane Grey wrote Old Well Well.

Known for his Western novels, Zane Gray was one of the most popular authors of the 20th century. Gray was also a huge baseball fan and published a number of stories about the sport. One of the first American authors to become a millionaire, more than 100 movies were made from his popular tales.

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Hills Like White Elephants – A Classic Short Story by Earnest Hemingway

Tue, 11 Nov 2025 10:00:00 GMT

Ernest Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants” is one of the most celebrated short stories ever written — a masterclass in subtext, restraint, and emotional tension.

Set at a train station in Spain, it captures a quiet conversation between two lovers waiting for a train — a moment in which everything that matters lies between the lines.

Presented by Litreading, part of Short Storyverses — where classic and original tales are read with depth and heart.

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Clovis on Parental Responsibility by Saki

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 10:10:00 GMT

Saki's recurring character, Clovis takes on an overly proud mother

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The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County by Mark Twain

Wed, 05 Nov 2025 10:01:00 GMT

Mark Twain's first popular story of a hardcore gambler in a mining camp during the Gold Rush.

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The Skylight Room – A Classic Short Story by O. Henry

Tue, 04 Nov 2025 10:00:00 GMT

O. Henry had a gift for wrapping heartbreak in humor. His stories feel light, almost playful—until that last line hits and you realize he’s been quietly aiming for your chest the whole time.

In The Skylight Room, we meet a bright, hopeful young woman renting the smallest, loneliest room in New York. But she still finds a way to fill it—with imagination, with laughter, and with a star she names Billy Jackson.

What happens next is pure O. Henry: tender, tragic, and—somehow—still kind of beautiful.

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The Most Dangerous Game–a Classic Thriller by Richard Connell

Mon, 20 Oct 2025 09:01:00 GMT

We reprise another classic thriller from Litreading's archives for this year's scary season,

In this episode, we go on an adventure off the coast of South America, as a famous big game hunter finds himself stranded on an island where hunting has been elevated to a new and frightening level. It’s time to play “The Most Dangerous Game.”

"The Most Dangerous Game" has been called "the most popular story ever written in English" and was made into a 1932 movie. It’s author, Richard Connell was one of the most famous American short story writers in the early 20th Century. He was also a screenwriter who won an Academy Award in 1942 for his original screenplay “Meet John Doe.”

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The Willow Walk–a Classic Thriller by Sinclair Lewis

Thu, 16 Oct 2025 09:05:00 GMT

This dark, thriller deserves to be included in our reprise of classic stories for the scary season. Written by one of America’s greatest writers, Sinclair Lewis, "The Willow Walk" features some fascinating characters, shocking twists, and powerful imagery. It is also one of our longest stories clocking in at over one hour.

In addition to winning a Pulitzer Prize, Sinclair Lewis was the first American to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1930. Like many great artists, he had a brief and truly brilliant period, after which the quality of his work declined markedly.

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Doctor Chevalier's Lie–a Classic Short Story by Kate Chopin

Tue, 30 Sep 2025 09:00:00 GMT

Kate Chopin’s Doctor Chevalier’s Lie is a moving meditation on compassion in the face of tragedy. Set against the backdrop of a harsh and unforgiving city, the story turns on a doctor’s quiet decision: whether to report what he sees with unflinching honesty, or to soften the truth for the sake of those left behind. Chopin invites us to consider the value of mercy, the weight of dignity, and the moments when a carefully chosen falsehood can become an act of profound kindness.

Kate Chopin, born in 1850, was among the first American writers to explore the hidden truths of everyday lives. Living in Louisiana, she drew on its people and culture to shape her work. Her novel The Awakening shocked readers of her time but is now praised as a classic of American realism. In her short stories, like Doctor Chevalier’s Lie, she showed how even the smallest choices can carry profound humanity.

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Hands—a Classic Short Story by Sherwood Anderson

Mon, 29 Sep 2025 12:48:40 GMT

How can we tell the difference between benevolence and predation?

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An Alpine Divorce—a Classic Short Story by Robert Barr

Sun, 28 Sep 2025 13:21:00 GMT

What happens when hate overwhelms love?

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Good Souls—a Classic Short Story by Dorothy Parker

Sat, 27 Sep 2025 09:08:07 GMT

We have every reason to love these people, yet we don't.

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Handful of Clay—a Classic Short Story by Henry van Dyke

Fri, 26 Sep 2025 11:38:46 GMT

Every day we are bombarded by images of unattainable beauty, regaled with stories of fame, and envious of those who have attained great wealth. It’s easy to lose sight of our important contributions to the world and those around us. No matter how we have ended up , we all started as a figurative "handful of clay."

Henry van Dyke was a well-known clergyman, English professor, and author. He spent almost a quarter century teach English Literature at Princeton, while writing numerous short stories in his spare time. He also composed several verses of “My Country Tis of Thee,” America’s unofficial national anthem prior to the “Star Spangled Banner’s” gaining official anthem status in 1931.

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The Idyl of Red Gulch—a Classic Short Story by Bret Harte

Thu, 25 Sep 2025 11:20:06 GMT

A young woman stumbles upon a drunk with whom she forms a bond until she learns more.

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The Last Leaf—a Classic Short Story by O. Henry

Wed, 24 Sep 2025 12:24:35 GMT

A sick young woman is saved by a final kind gesture.

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Araby—a Classic Short Story by James Joyce

Mon, 22 Sep 2025 14:44:50 GMT

James Joyce’s “Araby” is ranked among the pantheon of greatest short stories ever written. In this timeless coming of age tale an adolescent boy, blinded by a hormonal fog, falls for a neighbor girl.

Now considered one of the classics of literature, the 1914 collection of short stories, Dubliners, of which “Araby” was an early part was an initial failure selling less than 400 copies. Of those almost a third were purchased Joyce himself.

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A Case of Premeditation–a Classic Short Story by R. Austin Freeman

Sun, 21 Sep 2025 19:30:54 GMT

Can an almost perfectly planned crime be solved? That question is answered in this classic mystery by one of the early 20th Century's most popular, fictional medical detectives, Dr. Thorndyke.

Sandwiched between the Sherlock Holmes mysteries of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and the whodunnits of Agatha Christie are R. Austin Freeman's "whocatchums." Freeman pioneered the concept of the inverted detective story, in which the whole crime is explained before the investigation.

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The Clock That Went Backward—a Classic Short Story by Edward Page Mitchell

Sat, 20 Sep 2025 12:00:12 GMT

For much of human existence we have questioned the concept of time. Is it always a constant or can it be manipulated, allowing us to move forward or backward chronologically. In this 19th century story, two cousins speculate about the age of their aunt whom they visited regularly, until they discovered the secrets of her old clock.

In 1881, several years before H.G. Wells even started writing his classic, “The Time Machine,” newspaper editor Edward Page Mitchell published his time travel story anonymously in his newspaper “The New York Sun.” Considered to be the true father of science fiction, Mitchell had penned stories about traveling father that light (1874), artificial intelligence and cryogenics (1879). Look for more stories from this lesser known sci-fi master in future episodes.

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The Model Millionaire–a Classic Short Story by Oscar Wilde

Fri, 19 Sep 2025 18:54:27 GMT

There is a power that comes from giving without expectation of reward.
A self-sacrificing spirit is the theme for Irish author Oscar Wilde’s short story.

The Model Millionaire first appeared in print in the newspaper The World in June 1887. The story’s author, Oscar Wilde, was one of the 19th century’s most famous authors and playrights penning works like The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Importance of Being Earnest.
Late in his life, Wilde served almost two years at hard labor after being convicting of violating England’s draconian laws against homosexual behavior. He died just over three years after his release at age 46.

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The Rocking Horse Winner–a Classic Short Story by D.H. Lawrence

Thu, 18 Sep 2025 09:33:52 GMT

Note from Don: Listening back to this story before posting it, I have to say that it moved me more than most – and I spent a few days reading, narrating, and editing it.

"The Rocking Horse Winner" entered the public domain at the beginning of 2022 and is considered one of the all-time best stories. It’s about a young boy’s dysfunctional relationship with his parents, under stress for living well beyond their means.

Like most great short stories, The Rocking Horse winner has it's roots in the author's own childhood. His well-educated mother expressed similar frustrations with Lawrence’s blue collar father.

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Four Men In A Cave-a Classic Short Story by Stephen Crane

Wed, 17 Sep 2025 11:35:02 GMT

Mankind has always loved to explore sometimes crossing great wildernesses, but more often just poking around in our own backyards. This light-hearted tale is about a group of men who decide to investigate a local cave and literally stumble across a huge surprise.

Stephen Crane was born years after the US Civil War ended, but is best known for his stirring 1895 Civil War novel, The Red Badge of Courage. Crane was also a prolific writer of short stories, many of which ranged from actual war stories to the more personal battles of people against the wilderness or themselves.

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The Girl and the Photograph–a Classic Short Story by Lucy Maud Montgomery

Tue, 16 Sep 2025 09:00:00 GMT

A fleeting glimpse in the pines, a photograph stolen from a friend’s mantel, and a correspondence born from mistaken identity—The Girl and the Photograph by Lucy Maud Montgomery is no simple tale of memory. It’s about the way chance, error, and destiny conspire to test a heart’s fidelity. What begins as a love nurtured by letters and a photograph turns into a crisis of identity, and then, at the last moment, a revelation that love had been waiting patiently all along. This isn’t just about remembering a face—it’s about recognizing a soul when it finally stands before you.

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A Country Cottage-a Classic Short Story by Anton Chekhov

Mon, 15 Sep 2025 12:42:08 GMT

Life has a nasty habit of throwing us curves that we can either cause us long-term misery or force us to make the best of a bad situation as illustrated in this very short tale.

Anton Chekhov was undoubtedly brilliant. A physician by trade, his premier talent was writing. Chekhov had a unparalleled gift for understanding the depths of human emotions and sharing them first through his short stories and later, his plays. Chekhov once said “Medicine is my lawful wife and literature is my mistress.”

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The Mark on the Wall - a Classic Short Story by Virginia Woolf

Sun, 14 Sep 2025 13:08:55 GMT

Virginia Woolf demonstrates how simply focusing on one thing has the power to unleash torrents of thoughts and memories.

Born Adeline Virginia Stephen in 1882, British author Virginia Woolf went on to become an icon of modern 20th century literature.

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The Romance of a Busy Broker - a Classic Short Story by O. Henry

Sat, 13 Sep 2025 09:23:25 GMT

There are those for whom work becomes an obsession to the detriment of their personal lives. The businessman in our next story gives new meaning to the modern term “workaholic.”
William Henry Porter, better known as O. Henry led a short albeit intriguing life. Before he died in New York City in 1910 at age 47, Porter was a pharmacist, sheep ranch hand, draftsman, banker, and prolific author of short stories. Oh, and he was also a convicted embezzler who served time in federal prison.

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The McWilliamses And The Burglar Alarm - a Classic Short Story by Mark Twain

Fri, 12 Sep 2025 11:51:13 GMT

We aren't the first generation to be frustrated by advancing technology. More than a century ago, new fangled products were making people crazy like this gentleman who supposedly related our next hilarious tale Mark Twain.

Mark Twain (the pen name of Samuel Clemens) had an unmatched knack for taking a normal story and turning it into a hilariously funny tall tale.

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The Widow's Cruise–a Classic Short Story by Frank Stockton

Thu, 11 Sep 2025 19:37:05 GMT

We have been sharing stories with each other since the beginning of time. On occasion these tales have been known to grow a bit tall, as was the case when four elderly seamen spent an evening with a widow sharing a variety of yarns each one wilder than the next. Then the wood adds a tale of her own.

Frank Stockton was a 19th century author and humorist with an uncanny knack for poking fun a human failings. One of his most famous stories was "The Lady or the Tiger."

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Desiree's Baby–a Classic Short Story by Kate Chopin

Thu, 11 Sep 2025 11:19:11 GMT

Racism has always been an ugly part of the human condition. Yet, the horrors of racism in America are most undeniably illustrated by the treatment of African-Americans, particularly in the South. Here is just a small example of the pain caused by racial hatred in antebellum Louisiana.

I have presented the story exactly as written, as the author, Kate Chopin, lived during this terrible period in US history. Just five years after the end of the Civil War, Chopin married a French-American and lived with him for more than a decade in Louisiana. While Chopin’s brilliant writing is as powerful today as it was more than a century ago, it, like so many other tales of the time, focused on the suffering of white characters, ignoring the true cruelty suffered by their slaves.

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The Log - a Classic Short Story by Guy de Maupassant

Wed, 10 Sep 2025 13:15:40 GMT

The lure of an illicit affair is not a new facet of human nature. People have been both tempting and tempted throughout time. But for a sudden twist of fate, our next story might have ended badly for everyone involved.

Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant was a 19th-century French author considered one the era greatest short storyist spinning realistic tales of the human condition

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The Story-Teller–a Classic Short Story by Saki

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 09:00:00 GMT

Most stories for children try to teach a lesson—this one tries to blow them up. In The Storyteller by Saki, an overstuffed train car, three fidgety kids, and one very unconventional tale collide in a wickedly sharp jab at moralistic storytelling. It’s short, twisted, and just the kind of thing you’d expect from an author who clearly didn’t have much patience for either sanctimony or small talk.

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The Three Day Blow–a Classic Short Story by Ernest Hemingway

Mon, 08 Sep 2025 12:31:00 GMT

Our second tale in this story series by a young Ernest Hemingway picks up a few months after our last story, "The End of Something," which you might want to hear before listening to this tale. A few month's after his breakup, Nick visits his friend Bill as a fall storm hits the Horton’s Bay region.

Our second tale in this story series by a young Ernest Hemingway picks up a few months after our last story, The End of Something, which you might want to hear before listening to this tale in which Nick visits his friend Bill as a fall storm hits the Horton’s Bay region

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The End of Something–a Classic Short Story by Ernest Hemingway

Sun, 07 Sep 2025 16:58:03 GMT

This story is part of a series of tales written by a young Earnest Hemingway. It’s a “slice of life” story about the conflicting emotions in a relationship between a young couple.

“The End of Something” was written when Hemingway was in his early 20s and features a recurring semi-autobiographical character, Nick Adams. The story had its roots in an early romance that began when Hemingway was in his late teens. Nick became a regular part of Hemingway’s early works and is featured in our next tale which follows chronologically, “The Three Day Blow.”

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Sherlock Holmes: The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans–A Classic Short Story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Sat, 06 Sep 2025 16:32:44 GMT

When the plans for a top-secret British defense project are stolen and the apparent thief is found dead, the government turns to legendary detective Sherlock Holmes to solve the mystery and find the documents.

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That's Marriage–A Classic Short Story by Edna Ferber

Sat, 06 Sep 2025 13:00:11 GMT

Marriage takes the simple concept of procreation and turns it into a lifelong commitment that can, at times, lead to unexpected anger and resentment. As Mark Twain once said, "God's great cosmic joke on the human race was requiring that men and women live together in marriage.” Anyone who has ever been married will see parallels to their own partnerships.

Despite the fact that Edna Ferber never married, she was an astute observer of people. That led her to great success as a writer. Her 1925 novel, "So Big," was a best-seller and won Ferber a Pulitzer Prize. The book was made into three movies. Her subsequent book, "Show Boat" was turned into a popular musical and her 1952 book "Giant" was the seed for the popular move of the same name starring Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, and James Dean.

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Hermann the Irascible–A Classic Short Story by Saki

Fri, 05 Sep 2025 16:06:46 GMT

How times have changed. Just over a century ago, women were still fighting for the right to vote and the prevailing belief among men was that they were too emotional and fragile to do so. Our next story takes place, ironically, in a fictional Britain in the wake of a great plague. Join me as we travel back to a very different world in Hermann the Irascible by Saki

Saki was the nome de plume of British author, H.H. Munro who was a prolific short story writer around the turn of the twentieth century. His wit, insight and style are unmistakable and incredibly enjoyable, even if the subject is a bit dated.

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The Yellow Wallpaper–A Classic Short Story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Fri, 05 Sep 2025 16:05:40 GMT

Women’s health issues have long been explained away as emotional issues due to their role as the “weaker sex.” Serious illnesses were diagnosed as nothing more than hysteria and rest was prescribed. This ignorance of women’s real health problems is brilliantly portrayed in this haunting tale of a woman driven to the brink.

The author, Charlotte Perkins Gilman actually suffered a horrible case of post partum depression for which she was treated in a similar condescending manner.

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A Slice of Life–A Classic Short Story by P. G. Wodehouse

Fri, 05 Sep 2025 16:04:45 GMT

This witty tale is about a veritable snake-oil salesman who uses his wares to help win the love of a beautiful young ward of an English Baronet.

British author P. G. Woodhouse was one of the mid-20th century’s most popular humorists – on both side of the Atlantic. He was also a lyricist and screenwriter. While living in France a the beginning of World War II, he was imprisoned by Germany, for whom he made some controversial broadcasts. After the war he and his wife Edith moved to the United States.

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An Idle Fellow–A Classic Short Story by Kate Chopin

Fri, 05 Sep 2025 16:02:24 GMT

How can we best learn life’s secrets during our short lives? Is the best student the one with eyes fixed on the words in a book or focused on the world around them? That is the fundamental question of this profound short tale.

Often, it is the shortest stories that impart the most profound notions. This tale is one of many thoughtful, brief short stories penned by late 19th-century American feminist author Kate Chopin. Chopin was a prolific writer, who published more than 100 short stories and novels before her death in 1904.

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The Aged Mother–A Classic Short Story by Matsuo Basho

Fri, 05 Sep 2025 16:01:53 GMT

Life in the ancient world was often brutal and cruel. Resources were often limited leading to leaders ruthless edicts. In this old Japanese folktale, a young peasant is faced with an impossible decision.

Matsuo Basho, one of Japan’s most famous poets, was born 1644 and is known for creating the poetic style that eventually evolved into what are now known as haikus.

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Coco–A Classic Short Story by Guy de Maupassant

Fri, 05 Sep 2025 16:01:15 GMT

Human cruelty is nothing new. It has been a demon we have had to battle since the dawn of our kind. Yet, we also have the capacity to defeat our callousness and inhumanity (a term that drips with irony). This short powerful short story illustrates the depth our inner evil.

Note: while this story shares a name with a Disney animated movie they are in no way related.

One of the true masters of the short story, Guy de Maupassant was born in France in 1850. After serving in the Franco-Prussian War de Maupassant was taken in by well-known French author Gustav Flaubert where he was exposed to some of the greatest writers of the era. His stories were (and still are) so popular that the only Shakespeare has had more stories adapted into movies.

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The White Heron–A Classic Short Story by Sarah Orne Jewett

Fri, 05 Sep 2025 16:00:45 GMT

This tale flips the traditional "boy meets girl" fairy-tale narrative by introducing a strong-willed nature loving girl who puts her own desires and beliefs ahead of those of a young man she meets in the woods.

The child of a rural family doctor in Maine, Sarah Orne Jewett was writing short stories professionally from age 18. Most of her work was purchased by The Atlantic magazine, with the glaring exception of "The White Heron." The story went of the become the title piece of her first book and her most popular story.

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Before the Law–A Classic Short Story by Franz Kafka

Fri, 05 Sep 2025 16:00:14 GMT

Here is a story for those times when you only have a few minutes for a story. While not long itself, this incredibly Kafkaesque parable may leave you pondering its meaning long after you have listened to "Before the Law."

Bohemian author Franz Kafka is considered one of the greats. Few storytellers have had their names turned into adjectives. Orwellian, maybe Hitchcockian come to mind. But the best known of these is Kafkaesque, whose meaning is elusive, like that of many Kafka stories. I have my own somewhat religious interpretation of “Before the Law.” I will leave it to you to ponder your own.

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The Prophet - Part One–A Classic Novel by Khalil Gibran

Fri, 05 Sep 2025 15:30:00 GMT

For almost a century, the profound words of The Prophet have stirred the hearts and moved the souls of millions of readers around the world.

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The Prophet - Part Two–A Classic Novel by Khalil Gibran

Fri, 05 Sep 2025 15:04:00 GMT

Here is the second half of Kahlil Gibran's global bestselling book with sage advice on pain and pleasure, good and evil, and the inevitability of death.

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The Church With an Overshot Wheel–A Classic Short Story by O. Henry

Tue, 02 Sep 2025 08:54:00 GMT

Loneliness can grind a man down like a millstone—yet grief, transformed, can become the miller’s divine salvation. A widowed man turns a forgotten mill into a memorial for his lost little girl, and fate brings a stranger—fragile, secretive—who just might be the miracle he’s been waiting for.

He called himself O. Henry, but the man behind the pen was William Sydney Porter—a sneaky little Texan with a mustache, a wicked sense of irony, and a knack for surprise endings that snap like mousetraps. He wrote hundreds of short stories while dodging his past, which included a stint as a pharmacist, a failed bank career (let’s just say the books didn’t balance), and yes, a little time behind bars. But prison gave him a pen name and plenty of time to dream up twisty tales of crooks with hearts of gold, lovers with bad timing, and small moments that change everything.

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August Heat–A Classic Short Story by W. F. Harvey

Fri, 29 Aug 2025 21:25:57 GMT

Record summer temperature’s take their toll on both our physical and mental health. Extreme weather has been known to bring about strange and often dangerous behavior among those suffering its effects. How strange, I’ll let you be the judge in our special summer tale, August Heat.

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The Story of an Hour–A Classic Short Story by Kate Chopin

Fri, 29 Aug 2025 20:30:53 GMT

Grief and heartbreak are the typical reactions to the loss of a loved one, but other emotions may lurk within.

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The Eyes Have It–a Classic Short Story by Philip K. Dick

Fri, 29 Aug 2025 20:30:36 GMT

So far, all of our public domain stories were created prior to 1925. However, there are a few newer tales that are no longer copyright protected. From one of the world’s best science fiction writer’s comes a tale of idioms and aliens.

Essentially, this story is a long dad joke. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I, a dad, did.

Even if you don’t know his name, you know the work of Philip K. Dick. Several of his books and stories have been adapted into movies and Tv shows like: Total Recall, Minority Report and Man in the High Castle. He died in 1982 of a stroke just four months before his blockbuster movie, Blade Runner opened.

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The Looking Glass–a Classic Short Story by Anton Chekov

Fri, 29 Aug 2025 20:30:23 GMT

On a cold New Year’s Eve, Nellie peers into a mirror, searching for a glimpse of her happily-ever-after. Instead, the glass betrays her—offering not romance, but a haunting vision of what marriage might truly hold: struggle, sickness, disappointment. Chekhov doesn’t give us a fairy tale—he gives us the nightmare behind the dream.

Anton Chekhov was Russia’s great observer of the quiet tragedies hiding in ordinary lives. A doctor by trade and a writer by necessity, he had an uncanny ability to turn small moments into revelations. His plays reshaped modern theater, his stories redefined the short form, and together they whispered a timeless truth: life is never as simple—or as sweet—as we hope it to be.

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Love in the Night–a Classic Short Story by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Fri, 29 Aug 2025 20:30:09 GMT

A young man's longing for love is briefly fulfilled on one moonlight evening on the sea off the coast of Cannes.

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Indian Camp–a Classic Short Story by Ernest Hemingway

Fri, 29 Aug 2025 19:18:31 GMT

Thankfully, I can now read Hemingway to you. This story is a powerful way to start. It’s a tale of duty, pain, suffering, racism and so much more. It has myriad twists and turns and all manner of fascinating subplots for such a short story. You may need to listen more than once.

Hemingway penned this early work at the age of 24, shortly after the birth of his first child (which may explain the subject matter) by his first wife. It wasn’t published until 1925 and later became part of his first short story collection.

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Tobermory–a Classic Short Story by Saki

Fri, 29 Aug 2025 19:18:12 GMT

Here is a biting satire of Victorian Era British upper class from the perspective of the family cat who gains a startling new skill.

Saki was the pen name of British author, H.H. Munro who was one of true masters of the short story.

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Gipsy–a Classic Short Story by Booth Tarkington

Fri, 29 Aug 2025 12:11:37 GMT

Being a dog person, some of my favorite stories feature dogs. It only seems fair to feature a feline character. And you couldn’t ask for a story than one from a two time Pulitzer Prize winner.

This story was part of Booth Tarkington’s extremely popular Penrod stories, that, during their day rivaled the popularity of Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. Tarkington is only one of three authors to win two Pulitzer Prizes for Fiction. The other two: Faulkner and Updike.

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Mr. Know-All–a Classic Short Story by W. Somerset Maugham

Thu, 28 Aug 2025 14:52:11 GMT

Welcome aboard an early 20th Century trans-pacific ocean liner where one is likely to be stuck for weeks with any number of unusual characters. Of course, we are likely to put a great deal of stock in first impressions when it often pays to wait to get to know someone.

Never a darling of the critics, W. Someset Maugham (the W is for William) was a prolific author and playwright. He was best known for his short stories many of which were fictional global travelogues. Because so many of his works were turned into early motion pictures, Maugham was the world’s best paid writer in the 1930s.

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The Whirligig of Life–a Classic Short Story by O. Henry

Thu, 28 Aug 2025 14:51:52 GMT

A rural mountain couple struggle with their differences, anger, and overpowering love for each other.

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Second Best–a Classic Short Story by D.H. Lawrence

Tue, 26 Aug 2025 22:56:30 GMT

A new love springs from the conversations of two sisters and a couple of moles.

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The Fable of the Preacher Who Flew His Kite, But Not Because He Wished to Do So–a Classic Short Story by George Ade

Mon, 25 Aug 2025 14:32:42 GMT

When a preacher failed to stir the emotions of his congregants he resorts to the time tested tradition of embellishment.

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After Twenty Years–a Classic Short Story by O. Henry

Mon, 25 Aug 2025 14:32:16 GMT

Twenty years after heading west to find his fortunes a man returns to meet a long lost friend.

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The Aged, Aged Man–a Classic Poem by Lewis Carroll

Mon, 25 Aug 2025 14:31:45 GMT

I have always loved the work of Lewis Carroll. In fact, Litreading began with my rendition of Carroll’s nonsense poem Jabberwocky. His only foray into shorter works came in the form of poetry, much of which found its way into his Alice books.

This piece was written a bit differently earlier and changed when added to the book, “Alice’s Adventures Through the Looking Glass.”

This nonsense verse is said to be a parody of a poem by Wordsworth, Resolution and Independence.

Lewis Carroll was the pen name and alter ego of Charles Dodgeson, a well off Englishman in the mid 19th Century. Although not a particularly prolific author – he had myriad passions – Carroll remains of the most popular writers of all time.

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The Fly–a Classic Short Story by Katherine Mansfield

Mon, 25 Aug 2025 14:31:12 GMT

Grief part of the human condition and we cope with it varies from person to person. When two old men discuss the loss of family members several years after World War I, it is a fly that help illustrate both life’s constant struggles and fragility.

The Fly is considered one of Catherine Mansfield’s greatest works because it is personal. Mansfield lost her brother in a training demonstration during World War I.
One of the great modernist writers of the early 20th century, Mansfield was both a contemporary and a friend of two other great authors of that period, D.H. Lawrence and Virginia Wolff. Her works are less well known as her career was cut short by terminal tuberculosis at the age of 34.

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Misery–a Classic Short Story by Anton Chekhov

Sun, 24 Aug 2025 19:18:49 GMT

Loneliness is painful enough under normal circumstances, but social rejection in the face of a personal crisis can be devastating.

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A Telephonic Conversation–a Classic Essay by Mark Twain

Sun, 24 Aug 2025 01:46:08 GMT

This is more a satirical essay than an actual short story, but it makes me smile.

The first telephone was demonstrated at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition in 1876. By 1880, many wealthier families were using the new communication device regularly and one of the 19th century’s best known authors and satirists observed some anecdotal differences in the way men and women communicate.

Samuel Clemens better known as Mark Twain is one of the most famous American authors of all time. This story was penned 4 years after his success with Tom Sawyer and about 5 years before he completed Huckleberry Finn. In 1884 he formed his own publishing company which went on to posthumously publish the best-selling memoirs of President Ulysses S. Grant.

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The Other Two–a Classic Short Story by Edith Wharton

Sat, 23 Aug 2025 14:01:06 GMT

We are complex creatures and grow more so with time. Every relationship adds or subtracts from who we are. No relationship is more life changing than marriage and for a woman thrice married in pre-suffrage America the stigma of mutual divorce seems insurmountable until her third husband’s comes to a startling revelation.

Best known for her novels, Edith Wharton was a prolific writer of short stories. Growing up among New York’s upper class, she created realistic portrayals of America’s Gilded Age pseudo aristocracy. In 1921, she became the the first woman to be awarded the Pulitzer Prize in Literature for her book, The Age of Innocence.

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The Good and the Bad Little Boy–a Classic Short Story by Mark Twain

Sat, 23 Aug 2025 14:00:39 GMT

In the 19th Century particularly, good boys are supposed to enjoy the fruits of the righteousness, and bad boys were destined for eternal damnation, at least according to Sunday School books, but according to Mark Twain, life often contradicted expectation.

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The Cactus–a Classic Short Story by O. Henry

Fri, 22 Aug 2025 17:17:38 GMT

Pride does seem to go before a fall… In this very short story a young man’s life unravels thanks to a small vanity-induced dissimulation.

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The Man in the Brown Coat–a Classic Short Story by Sherwood Anderson

Fri, 22 Aug 2025 15:01:02 GMT

This special short, short story centers on a different kind of haunting, not from without, but from within. The darkness that comes from a profound loneliness that quietly haunts the souls of many.

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Poor, Dear Margaret Kirby–a Classic Short Story by Kathleen Norris

Thu, 21 Aug 2025 23:55:10 GMT

Happiness has always been elusive, usually found in unexpected places and, often, in the wake of the worst life events

In this heart-warming story, an affluent couple discovers what is truly important in life in the wake of both a fiscal and physical tragedy.

Kathleen Norris was, for a time, the highest paid female writer in early 20th-century America.

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Solid Objects–a Classic Short Story by Virginia Wolff

Thu, 21 Aug 2025 23:54:50 GMT

Virginia Wolff had a talent for taking mundane observations and weaving them into enchanting tales. Something a normal as watching two men on an ordinary a day at the beach became an impassioned and poignant story in her hands.

Born to an upstanding and literary Victorian family, Virginia Wolff suffered from serious psychological issues which may have been part of the genius behind her introspective and emotional powerful writing. She and her husband founded the famous British publishing house Hogarth Press in 1917.

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Three Questions–a Classic Short Story by Leo Tolstoy

Thu, 21 Aug 2025 12:27:31 GMT

What should we do, when should we do it, and whose direction should we take? Those three questions have plagued humanity throughout time. Where can the answers be found or are they unanswerable?

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In a Grove–a Classic Short Story by Ryunosuke Akutagawa

Thu, 21 Aug 2025 12:27:11 GMT

What is truth? How does our perception color the facts as we observe them. Those differences how we see the world complicates this Japanese murder investigation in this renowned short story.

This profound modernist fable has echoed for almost a century. Also called "In a Bamboo Grove," this 1929 short story was inspiration for the critically acclaimed 1950 Japanese film, "Rashomon."

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The Curious Case of Benjamin Button–a Classic Short Story by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Wed, 20 Aug 2025 22:00:55 GMT

Would it be better to start life as an old man and end it as an infant? That was the question posed by Mark Twain that inspired F. Scott Fitzgerald to write his short story, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button."

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The Great American Pie Company–a Classic Short Story by Ellis Parker Butler

Wed, 20 Aug 2025 17:39:56 GMT

People dream of success. Those ambitions can often be prodigious. Rarely, however, do our future business strategies develop as quickly as do those in this story that encapsulates the economic concerns of the early 20th Century.

For a full-time banker and part-time author Ellis Parker Butler was prolific writing more than 2,000 stories that were published in well over 200 magazines in the early 20th Century. His most famous story is "Pigs is Pigs" which a narrated in 2019.

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An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge–a Classic Short Story by Ambrose Bierce

Wed, 20 Aug 2025 17:39:38 GMT

Prepare to be moved by one of the most unusual short stories ever written, which tells a chilling tale of the simple life and complex death of a slave-owning planter in Union-occupied Alabama during the Civil War.

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The Million Pound Bank Note–a Classic Short Story by Mark Twain

Tue, 19 Aug 2025 21:07:31 GMT

This classic Mark Twain tale is a witty commentary on poverty and wealth. There is much of Twain’s personal circumstance reflected in the story, as Twain had himself recently gone from riches to bankruptcy.

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The Way the World Is–a Classic Short Story by Zona Gale

Tue, 19 Aug 2025 17:24:09 GMT

Falling in love is one of humanities most common events and biggest mysteries. What is it that ignites one person's passion for another. This poignant tale of surprisingly falling for someone was penned by the first woman playwright to win a Pulitzer Prize.

A brilliant author author of novels, short stories and plays, Zona Gale was the first woman to win a Pulitzer Prie for Drama for the stage adaptation of her novel, Miss Lulu Bett. She sold her first story at age 16 for $3.

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The Interlopers–a Classic Short Story by Saki

Tue, 19 Aug 2025 17:23:42 GMT

A long-running feud leads two men to face each other and the ravages of nature in this powerful classic story by one the best short story authors of all time.

One of listeners most requested authors is Saki, the pen name of British write H.H. Munro. His incredible short stories run the gamut from biting satire to shockingly macabre.

At age 43, Munro insisted on enlisting as a mere trooper to fight for the British in World War One and was killed by a German sniper in 1916.

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Memoirs of a Yellow Dog–a Classic Short Story by O. Henry

Tue, 19 Aug 2025 15:04:16 GMT

I am a big fan of dogs and am fascinated with their non-verbal communication skills. I also enjoy dog stories and the writing of O. Henry, so what could be better to end season two of Litreading than a dog story written by O. Henry.

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My Financial Career–a Classic Short Story by Stephen Leacock

Tue, 19 Aug 2025 01:57:49 GMT

We all have our particular foibles and phobias. Today’s humorous short story focuses on one whose greatest fear is of banks. Would that be ripiaphobia?

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Jimmy Rose–a Classic Short Story by Herman Melville

Tue, 19 Aug 2025 01:57:32 GMT

Life can deal any of us some terrible blows. In this semi-auto biographical tale we explore the life of a once wealthy merchant, Jimmy Rose

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The Enchanted Bluff–a Classic Short Story by Willa Cather

Mon, 18 Aug 2025 21:39:04 GMT

Here is a wonderfully nostalgic tale of a time when boys could enjoy a taste of freedom, share ideas, and let’s their imaginations run wild, before the responsibilities of life overrode such fancies. You're invited to get lost at the foot of "The Enchanted Bluff."

Willa Cather published "The Enchanted Bluff" in "Harper's Magazine" in 1909 during a period when her writing skills were blossoming in stories about her experiences living on the Nebraska prairie. Her efforts culminated in a Pulitzer Prize for her book, "One of Ours." Her work was loved by some of the best authors of her day. In fact, after he won the Nobel Prize for Literature, Sinclair Lewis stated that the prize should have gone to Willa Cather.

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Nevada Funeral - Scotty Briggs and the Clergyman–a Classic Short Story by Mark Twain

Mon, 18 Aug 2025 21:38:44 GMT

In the 19th century, the United States was as diverse from region to region as were the country’s of Europe, except for the fact that we spoke some semblance of the same language. However, the language divide between proper Easern American English and that of the the inhabitants of the West could, at times be vast.

Samuel Clemens was born in Florida in 1835, but it wasn’t until 27 years later that his alter ego, Mark Twain, came into being in Carson City, Nevada. He credited the many extreme characters of Nevada’s early mining days with jump starting his literary career.

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A Jury of Her Peers–a Classic Short Story by Susan Glaspell

Mon, 18 Aug 2025 21:37:21 GMT

In the early 19th century country a farmer is murdered in his home. While investigated, local authorities task a local women with gathering a few things for the wife who was arrested for the crime.

Susan Glaspell wrote a one-act play which she adapted into "A Jury of Her Peers” It is loosely based on a murder covered while working as a reporter for the Des Moines Daily News.

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Gentle Hand–a Classic Short Story by Mary Roberts Rinehart

Mon, 18 Aug 2025 21:37:02 GMT

During these stressful times, forced into close quarters with those we love. we may find ourselves growing angry when a softer approach tends to me far more effective as is illustrated in this story.

Mary Roberts Rinehart is yet another fine example of a talented early 20th Century authors. Known as The American Agatha Christie, she is best known for her mystery stories. A character in her 1920 play “The Bat” was the inspiration for Bob Kane’s comic book character “Batman.”

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A Pair of Silk Stockings–a Classic Short Story by Kate Chopin

Mon, 18 Aug 2025 21:24:11 GMT

Money has the power to take us away, if only temporarily, from the due routines of life. However, there is always a price to pay for our fiscal flights of fancy and real life eventually hoists its humdrum head again.

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Nobodys Story–a Classic Short Story by Charles Dickens

Mon, 18 Aug 2025 21:21:15 GMT

Charles Dickens was a constant observer of the plight of his fellows and critical of the divisions between humanity’s strata. In this deep and poignant parable of mankind’s need to be recognized by others he arrives at the conclusion that in the end, despite our apparent differences, we are all same.
Dickens wrote "Nobody’s Story" to honor those who toil in anonymity and suffer quietly. It was originally published in 1853 as part of a Volume of Christmas stories, but felt more appropriate for today.

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The Boston Massacre–a Classic Short Story by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Mon, 18 Aug 2025 15:56:00 GMT

What began as a street brawl on a winter evening in Boston, became one the biggest sparks to help ignite the American revolution. 250 years ago, on March 5th 1770, anger over the British housing troops among civilians in Massachusetts boiled over into what the British called the Incident on King Street but was referred to my early Americans as "The Boston Massacre."

To commemorate the 250th anniversary of the seminal event in early American history, we present Nathaniel Hawthorne's unique narrative account of this fascinating tale.

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Father Forgets–a Classic Short Story by W. Livingston Larned

Sun, 17 Aug 2025 22:50:00 GMT

A special Father's Day episode of Litreading

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Jabberwocky–a Classic Poem by Lewis Carroll

Sat, 16 Aug 2025 17:03:00 GMT

From the mind behind "Alice in Wonderland" comes one of the best examples of nonsense poetry. Jabberwocky tells the tale of a young knight who slays a mythical beast.

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Excerpts from Adam's Diary–a Classic Short Story by Mark Twain

Fri, 15 Aug 2025 17:12:00 GMT

What must life have been like in the Garden of Eden for the first man, Adam, and that new creature who suddenly appeared in his idyllic life? Well, left to the imagination of Mark Twain, the story takes a fanciful and funny early 20th-century take on Genesis.

Extracts from Adam’s Diary was written in 1904, the final decade of Samuel Clemens's (aka Mark Twain’s) life, and was published as a short book. The character of Adam is obviously based on Twain himself, and Eve was his wife Lily. Shortly after writing this story, Lily died. This may have led to Twain penning “The Diary of Eve,” which was first published in 1905.

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Eve's Diary–a Classic Short Story by Mark Twain

Fri, 15 Aug 2025 15:30:00 GMT

Imagine waking up in a strange and wonderful place with no memory and no one to guide you. Your world is filled with strange creatures and incredible beauty along with one enigmatic creature who looks similar to you but is still quite different. Here is the sequel to “Extracts from Adam’s Diary.”

When Mark Twain (whose real name was Samuel Clemens) wrote “Eve’s Diary” he was in his 80s and had enjoyed and long career as an author, speaker, and publisher. Two years before its publication, Twain had penned “Extracts from Adam’s Diary” (also available on Litreading). Shortly thereafter his wife of 34 years, Olivia (Lily) died. While he never explicitly said as much, many believe this to be his final love letter to her.

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