Favorite Stories

Hodgson · Post by **Hodgson** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 9:59 am

No one asked for it, and here it is: The favorite story thread.

I've never tried to rank my favorites but here are a few at random.

Chickamauga--Ambrose Bierce
The Pit and the Pendulum--EA Poe
The Willows--Algernon Blackwood
What was It?--Fitz-James O'Brien
The Body-Snatchers--RL Stevenson

Of more contemporary stories, "Sticks" by Karl Edward Wagner and "Born of Man and Woman" by Richard Matheson come to mind.

Rodr-Evil · Post by **Rodr-Evil** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 10:26 am

Of those the Pit and the Pendulum is the only one that I have read.

Jesus Prime · Post by **Jesus Prime** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 3:32 pm

Are we just talking short stories here?
In order, from first, my top three.

H.P. Lovecraft - "At The Mountains of Madness"
Edgar Allen Poe - "The Black Cat" and "The Oblong Box"

If we go into more novella-sized territory, then everything below "At The Mountains of Madness" would be moved down a notch for Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness".

Hodgson · Post by **Hodgson** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 10:43 am

Jesus Prime wrote:Are we just talking short stories here?
In order, from first, my top three.

H.P. Lovecraft - "At The Mountains of Madness"
Edgar Allen Poe - "The Black Cat" and "The Oblong Box"

If we go into more novella-sized territory, then everything below "At The Mountains of Madness" would be moved down a notch for Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness".

"Mountains of Madness" was the first HPL story I read, way back when. During the past year, I went back and reread. It's still very good.

It's been quite a while since I read "Heart of Darkness" but I remember liking it fairly well. Some months ago, I tried to read Secret Sharer and didn't care for it so much. He had a good idea but insisted on it (the identity between the stowaway and the captain) a little too much.

Hodgson · Post by **Hodgson** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 11:10 am

I forgot to mention some of my favorites by Borges. Here they are:

The Library of Babel

The Garden of Forking Paths

The Lottery in Babylon

Enkil · Post by **Enkil** » Sat Sep 02, 2006 9:13 am

The Mysterious Stranger - Mark Twain
Goldfinger - Ian Fleming
Queen of the Damned - Anne Rice
Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and His Family

In no order.[/url]

Jesus Prime · Post by **Jesus Prime** » Sat Sep 02, 2006 2:15 pm

Hodgson wrote:It's been quite a while since I read "Heart of Darkness" but I remember liking it fairly well.

It's better every time you read it again. It's one of those things that usually has to grow on you, like Beckett or Camus.