Short stories are perhaps those pieces of literature that have always been involved, in one way or another, with everybody's lives. From elementary text books which contained stories so short they didn't even fill half the page to high school English books which had short stories so short they consumed more than ten pages. Bookworm or not, you must admit that some time in your life you read these short stories.
When we say "short story" maybe the first thing that comes to mind would be children's bedtime stories, in which each sentence starts with the same pronoun over and over again. And then there are those stories which are, as I've mentioned above, not so short at all, but more intellectually challenging. For...not so young people, we can't keep on reading these bedtime stories and at the same time exercise our brains. So, yes, busy folks like me and you find it hard to insert into our hectic schedule the one thing that we so like—reading. But Sue Grafton here has found "The perfect gift for those who claim to be too busy to read. For the rest of us, these stories are like literary canapés...IRRESISTIBLE." Very well said, indeed, Madame Sue. Steve Moss, in partnership with Running Press and many other writers, offers us a compilation of short, and I mean short, stories which have nothing to do with how Cinderella lost her shoe or how Snow White dies by biting a juicy apple.
The World's Shortest Stories started with a Fifty-Five Fiction contest in 1987, and people then started submitting their own 55-word stories. There were many interesting stories inside the book, one of which I like so much. And because I like it so much I'm checking the book and telling you the page number for that story, 104, and the title, On the 5:25 Suburban, and the author, too, Mark Cohen.
Not only do most of these short stories have hanging endings, they also offer you no clue about what happened prior to the story itself. Though it is generally annoying to not know everything in what you read, it still offers you the freedom to construct the happenings to suit yourself. And not only that, you also get to finish the book in one gulp (which may also be annoying for the most of us).
Aaaaaand, another thing. You also get the chance to submit your own story! Let me quote the last two paragraphs of "The Rules" section of the book.
Dislcaimer: The following sentences in white are not owned by me, but are words of Steve Moss, editor of The World's Shortest Stories.
"So. If you think you've got some winning stories, put a stamp on that envelope and mail them off to us at Fifty-Five Fiction, Dept. 55, 197 Santa Rosa St., San Luis Obispo, CA 93405. Unfortunately, we can't acknowledge receipt of any work, so please send photocopies, not originals. If any of your stories are selected, one thing's for certain: You'll be hearing from us.
And remember: Just 55 words."It may be 'so much to do, so little time', but with this book, I don't think you'd still be able to make more excuses.
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