Archive of Read Stories
With thanks to Sunshine Centres
for Seniors |
Tony
and the Beetles Philip K. Dick (4705 Words) |
How
to Remember Perfectly by Eric Schwitzgebel (5020 words ) A philosophical look at love, life and reality. AUDIO VERSION Eric Schwitzgebel is a professor of philosophy at University of California, Riverside, and author of over a hundred academic articles in philosophy, psychology, and technology ethics. |
April
in Paris
by Ursula Le Guin (4500 Words) A 15th century French scientist, frustrated with being unable to prove a theory he had developed, decides his work is a waste of time. He experiments with black magic and is surprised when his first spell is a success. |
In
the Garden of the North American Martyrs
by Tobias Wolff (4,250 words) Tobias Jonathan Ansell Wolff (born June 19, 1945) is an American short story writer, memoirist, novelist, and teacher of creative writing. He is known for his memoirs, particularly This Boy's Life (1989) and In Pharaoh's Army (1994). He has written four short story collections and two novels including The Barracks Thief (1984), which won the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. Wolff received a National Medal of Arts from President Barack Obama in September 2015. |
Powder
by Tobias Wolff (1,438 words) This story explores the relationship between a boy and his father at a time when his parents marriage is failing. The two have very different personalities. |
Cat
and Mouse by Ralph Williams (10315 Words) |
Aliens
Like Mosquitos by Mike Scofield (5058 Words) The title says it all |
The
Minority Report
by Philip K. Dick (13,784 words) Philip K. Dick's posthumous influence has been widespread, extending beyond literary circles into Hollywood filmmaking. Popular films based on his works include Blade Runner (1982), Total Recall (adapted twice: in 1990 and in 2012), Screamers (1995), Minority Report (2002), A Scanner Darkly (2006), The Adjustment Bureau (2011), and Radio Free Albemuth (2010). Beginning in 2015, Amazon Prime Video produced the multi-season television adaptation The Man in the High Castle, based on Dick's 1962 novel; and in 2017 Channel 4 produced the anthology series Electric Dreams, based on various Dick stories. |
The sorcerers apprentice: A cautionary tale of integrating AI at work by Adam Thies (1809 Words) Video |
The
Invisible Man
by G.K. Chesterton (6474 Words) A Father Brown mystery. Audio |
Dick
Whittington and His Cat
by Flora Annie Steel (3,072 words) A well known tale of rags to riches. |
Monster
by Catherine Lim (1,700 words) Generational conflict, cultural change (less respect for the aged), sentimentality, materialism, social class. |
Bible
Tobias Wolff
(4,523 words) Bible starts with schoolteacher Maureen facing one of a womans worst fears. A man comes up behind her in a parking lot, demands her keys, and forces her into her car. |
Omelas
by Ursula K LeGuin (2822 Words) A timely time about the underpinnings of joy. Frequently described as an author of science fiction, Le Guin has also been called a "major voice in American Letters" |
Bullet
in the Brain
by Tobias Wolff (1,933 words) his Tobias Wolff story features a protagonist who is so unlikable that it seems a relief when a bank robber silences him. |
Interpreter
of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri (8280 Words) The Indian protagonist (a doctors translator who moonlights as a tour guide) fantasizes that the wife in an Indian-American family he takes sightseeing has a romantic interest in him. The author's debut collection of short-stories, Interpreter of Maladies (1999), won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the PEN/Hemingway Award. |
The era of super-wild weather is already here - Japan Times (1529 Words) |
Fragments
of a Symbiotic Life by Will McMahon (846 words) Thanks to Gillian for finding this one for us |
Lamb
to the Slaughter
by Roald Dahl (3,483 words) An unusual murder mystery. |
D
& D on Death Row A short piece on the importance of Dungeons & Dragons to prisoners and the difficulties faced in reporting on that. |
The
Silver Key by H. P. Lovecraft (4,988 words) |
Dr
Heideggers Experiment by Nathaniel Hawthorne (3,674 words) an ageing scientist invites four elderly friends to participate in an experiment ostensibly designed to test the efficacy of the waters of the fabled fountain of youth. Nathaniel Hawthorne (born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts) was an American novelist and short story writer. His works often focus on history, morality, and religion. |
Counterfeit
Bills by Richard Matheson (710 words) William is credited with building an amazing machine that can create duplicates of himself. |
Reaping
Time by A. Bertram Chandler (1199 Words) |
THE
EMPTY HOUSE
By Algernon Blackwood (6231 Words) |
Some
Little Bug by John Leroy Atwell aka Roy Atwell (581 Words) |
Seven
of Cups by S.F. Brock (2500 Words) Meditation on a Tarot card. |
The
House on Mango Street
by Sandra Cisneros (943 words) |
The
6% Squeeze by Eddie Robson (2102 Words) |
Ancient
Lights by Algernon Blackwood (2680 Words) An ominously spooky tale comes from a mere walk in the wood. Blackwood (1869 1951) was among the most prolific ghost story writers in the history of the genre. |
ABACUS
and the Android Blast-Off by Angelique Fawns (1238 Words) |
Walker
Brothers Cowboy by Alice Munro (6,150 words) |
The
Bull by Tammy Thorne (2,508 Words) PDF was be sent to members. From a waitress in a biker bar. Tammy says: "Suggestions are welcome! Im trying to craft it as a stand-alone essay but definitely will later add more details especially the gritty ones and change names and plan to include it in my collection of short stories." |
The
King of Jazz by Donald Barthelme (1,220 words) |
The
Toxic Donut by Terry Bisson (1,450 words) | |
Aunt
Philippa and the Men by Lucy Maud Montgomery (4594 Words) A beautifully written character study. Lucy Maud Montgomery OBE (November 30, 1874 April 24, 1942), published as L. M. Montgomery, was a Canadian author best known for a collection of novels, essays, short stories, and poetry beginning in 1908 with Anne of Green Gables. |
The
Baby by Donald Barthelme (800 words) |
Drive
by James S.A. Corey (1356 Words) Time is everything. James S. A. Corey is the pen name used by collaborators Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, authors of the science fiction series The Expanse. |
The
Happiest Ive Been by John Updike (5,416 words) Themes: solitude, nostalgia, transition (from childhood to adulthood), looking ahead. |
Indian
Camp by Ernest Hemingway (1,454 words) |
Jack-in-the-Box
by Ray Bradbury (5825 words) |
The
400-Pound CEO by George
Saunders (5,991 words) Despite the indignation of being stuck in an unrewarding, distasteful job and suffering constant humiliation from colleagues, the 400-pound narrator remains calm and optimistic about the future. |
Public
libraries saved my life By Nancy Dutra |
Allamagoosa
by Eric Frank Russell (4648 Words) Missing item on a spaceship checklist and consequences thereof. |
Haunts
of Guilty Minds by John Lambshead (6776 Words) Magic and mayhem in a timeshifting London. Everything you read in this about London is true, except for the bits I have exaggerated, distorted or completely fabricated. - John Lambshead (Dr. John Lambshead is senior research scientist in marine biodiversity at the Natural History Museum, London.) |
Amnesty
by Nadine Gordime (3,600 words) |
Off
Track by Luc Diamant (2050 words) Student non-violent resistance in the future. |
Justice is Served
by Andrew R.S. Jensen (2335 Words) Canadian justice. |
There
Was Once by Margaret Atwood (604 words) |
How
To Talk To Girls At Parties by Neil Gaiman (5094 Words) Not the party they expected. |
A
Scandal in Bohemia
by Arthur Conan Doyle (8,54 3
words) The hereditary King of Bohemia hires Holmes to retrieve (steal!) photographic evidence of a scandalous affair. Uncharacteristically, the great detective underestimates the jilted woman and is unable to complete the assignment. |
Potatoes
Potatoes Are the Perfect Vegetablebut Youre
Eating Them Wrong Because resistant starches arent easily digested,
they dont spike your blood sugar as much as regular starch does. |
Welcome
to the Medical Clinic at the Interplanetary Relay Station
by Caroline M. Yoachim (2134 Words) From Lightspeed Magazine Caroline M. Yoachim is a three-time Hugo and six-time Nebula Award finalist. Her short stories have been translated into several languages and reprinted in multiple best-of anthologies, including four times in Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy. |
With
All Flags Flying by Anne Tyler (3,948 words) Anne Tyler (born October 25, 1941) is an American novelist, short story writer, and literary critic. She has published twenty-four novels, including Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant (1982), The Accidental Tourist (1985), and Breathing Lessons (1988). All three were finalists for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and Breathing Lessons won the prize in 1989. |
Walking
with Thorny
by Stetson Bostic (3309 Words) Animism (from Latin: anima meaning 'breath, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence. Animism perceives all thingsanimals, plants, rocks, rivers, weather systems, human handiwork, and in some cases wordsas being animated, having agency and free will. |
The
Dolls House by Katherine Mansfield (2,800 words) In the first story, a family friend gives a magnificent dolls house to the children of a well-to-do family. Their mother allows them to invite all but two of the girls at their school to come and see it. Kathleen Mansfield Murry was a New Zealand writer and critic who was an important figure in the modernist movement. Her works are celebrated across the world, and have been published in 25 languages. The Washerwomans Children - Witi Ihimaera(5,000 words) In The Washerwomans Children, the tables are turned. One of the outcast sisters has achieved success far beyond any other student from the school. Witi Tame Ihimaera-Smiler is a New Zealand author. Raised in the small town of Waituhi, he decided to become a writer as a teenager after being convinced that Maori people were ignored or mischaracterised in literature. He was the first Maori writer to publish a collection of short stories. |
Shooting
an Elephant by George Orwell (3257Words) The essay describes the experience of the English narrator, possibly Orwell himself, called upon to shoot an aggressive elephant while working as a police officer in Burma. he does so against his better judgment, his anguish increased by the elephant's slow and painful death. The story is regarded as a metaphor for colonialism as a whole, and for Orwell's view that "when the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys."[ |
The Artist Rabindranath
Tagore (2,053 words) Embrace your passions and dont let the criticism of others or worship of money stand in your way. |
Zero
Hour by Ray Bradbury
(3,100 words) An inattentive mother, a feisty seven-year-old girl, and her imaginary friend Drill. Invasion! |
The Devil and
Tom Walker Washington
Irving (4.800 words) The major theme of this story is greed. Other themes include storytelling, usury, religion and hypocrisy. A miserly, poverty-stricken man (Tom Webster) meets Old Scratch (the Devil) as he takes a short-cut home through a swamp. |
The
Man Who Would be King By Rudyard Kipling (14,302 Words) An accurate and moving portrayal of the British Raj in India told by Kipling who worked as assistant editor for the Civil and Military Gazette in Lahore, and later, The Pioneer in Allahabad. Rudyard Kipling (18651936) was born in Bombay but returned to England, at age six, to be cared for by a couple whose cruelty became the basis of his work. Recognized as an incomparable interpreter of the British Empire, Kipling wrote The Man Who Would Be King (1888) about the imperial impulses of military campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq. |
A
City of Churches by Donald Barthelme Jr. (1,366 words) A girl has a special talent; she can will her dreams. When told she cannot leave the City of Churches she threatens to dream the life [they] are most afraid of. |
Swarm
X1048 - Ethological Fieldeport: Canis Lupus Familiaris, 6
by F.E. Choe (2870 words) Point of view story. An alien culture surveys the earth and on special wolf pup. AUDIO |
All You Zombies Robert Heinlein (4,667 words) Despite the title, this fascinating story from science fiction writer Robert Heinlein has nothing to do with zombies of the walking dead kind. Rather, it is a cleverly constructed brainteaser that explores some potential problems and paradoxes of time-travel. AUDIO 28 Minutes |
The
Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka (21,950 words) A man who works hard as a traveling salesman to support his parents and younger sister wakes up one morning having metamorphosed into a giant bug. |
Divine
Beat by Shehzad Shah (1000 words) This story deals, touchingly, with the interaction between a young boy and a Djinn. Note: While their natural form is invisible, jinn have the ability to transform into human-like beings when they choose to do so The story was sent to members as an email attachment. |
A Life of Color by N.V. Haskell (6300 words) Lauras job with the Department of Magical Resources has left her no time or desire for human connection but when a mysterious magical infant is thrust into her care, she is forced to confront elements of her painful past. |
The
Coffee House of Surat by Leo Tolstoy (2,797 words) Customers in an Indian coffeehouse overhear a disillusioned religious scholar questioning his servant about the existence of God. |
The
Rockpile by James Baldwin (3,500 words) This partly autobiographical story from James Baldwin explores aspects of African-American life in Depression-era Harlem. It contrasts religious zeal with violence and division in the community. |
Cat
in the Rain
Ernest Hemingway (1,147 words) |
The
Subliminal Man by
J. G. Ballard (6,456 words) A dystopian future where peoples lives are conditioned by subliminal messages disseminated through advertising billboards and the mass media. |
Tales
of Houdini by Rudy Rucker (2152 Words) An unlikely tale of perilous escapes Rudy Rucker (born March 22, 1946) is an American mathematician, computer scientist, science fiction author, and one of the founders of the cyberpunk literary movement. He is a direct descendant of the philosopher Georg Hegel. |
The
War Prayer
by Mark Twain (1,282 words) |
The Moon Rabbi by David Ebenbach
(4280 words) You see things differently when you're on the moon. AUDIO 26 Minutes |
The
Secret Of Goresthorpe Grange by Arthur Conan Doyle (5193 Words) Arthur Conan Doyle is, of course, the author of the Sherlock Holmes stories. |
My
Grandfather in Chicago, Illinois and Valparaiso, Indiana (501 words) |
A
Subway called Mobius by Armin Joseph Deutsch (5792 Words) Shortly after the opening of a new track known as the Boylston Shuttle, Boston MTA train No. 86 goes missing. Whyte, the manager of the system, cannot explain its disappearance nor account for the fact that the system acts as though it was still there, drawing power and causing signals to operate automatically, sometimes miles apart. Armin Joseph Deutsch was an American astronomer and science fiction writer. |
Clean
Sweep Ignatius by Jeffrey Archer (2,372 Words) |
Small
Things by Sonia Brock (856 Words) Little things can mean a lot. Three of these little stories are from Sunshine Centre members. |
The
Fat Girl
Andre Dubus (6.429 words) |
The
Chessplayers by Charles L Harness (5,000 words)
Harness's ideas influenced numerous writers and he continued to publish until 2001, being nominated for multiple Hugo and Nebula awards. In 2004 he was named Author Emeritus by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. |
Bears
Discover Fire by Terry Bisson (4,551 words) Terry Ballantine Bisson was an American science fiction and fantasy author best known for his short stories, including "Bears Discover Fire", which won the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award, and "They're Made Out of Meat". |
They're
Made Out of Meat by Terry Bisson (813 words) |
Memoir
by Phyllis Fricker Brock (466 words) I'm taking an online course on MS Publisher. This tiny exerept was done as a class assignment where I saved the Publisher file to a PDF. It is more Canadiana. |
To
Build a Fire by Jack London (6700 words) Jack London was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to become an international celebrity and earn a large fortune from writing. He was also an innovator in the genre that would later become known as science fiction. |
THE FALL OF
THE SPIDER MAN -
Folk Tale (2333 words) From Canadian Fairy Tales by Cyrus MacMillan |
In
Port Dover by Phyllis Fricker Brock (1300 words) From my mother memoir |
How
to Live to be 200 by Stephen Leacock (1276 words) Humourous health advice. Stephen Leacock was a Canadian teacher, political scientist, writer, and humourist. Between the years 1915 and 1925, he was the best-known English-speaking humourist in the world. |
Franchise
by Issac Asimov (5700 words) |
WHY
I LIVE AT THE P.O. by
Eudora Welty (4,850 words) When a prodigal daughter returns with a two-year-old child in tow the petulant narrator, who has remained at home, is far from welcoming. Eudora Alice Welty (April 13, 1909 July 23, 2001) was an American short story writer, novelist and photographer who wrote about the American South.. She won the Pulitzer Prize in 1973 |
Fragments
of a Symbiotic Life
by Will McMahon (846 WORDS) A different kind of disability/ability. Will McMahon is a union organizer and writer living in Brooklyn, NY. |
FAMILY
VIGNETTES by Phyllis Fricker-Brock Four short items from my mother's memoir. From my mother's memoir site at https://www.soniabrock.ca/Phyllis/ |
Evening
Primrose
by John Collier (3,464 words) The experiences of a failed poet who gives up the outside world to spend the rest of his life living in a department store. John Collier (3 May 1901 6 April 1980) was a British-born writer and screenwriter best known for his short stories, many of which appeared in The New Yorker from the 1930s to the 1950s. |
Maneki
Neko by
Bruce Sterling (5680 WORDS) Maneki Neko is the story of a man who does what his phone tells him to do, the trouble he gets in, and how it gets him out. Because his phone is connecting him to a series of other people who are all trying to do small acts for each other, to help each other out. With computer co-ordination. Michael Bruce Sterling is an American science fiction author known for his novels and short fiction. In particular, he is linked to the cyberpunk subgenre. Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a dystopian futuristic setting that tends to focus on a "combination of lowlife and high tech", featuring futuristic technological and scientific achievements, such as artificial intelligence and cyberware, juxtaposed with societal collapse, dystopia or decay. |
By
the Waters of Babylon
by Stephen Vincent Benét (5,642 words) A remarkable description of a post-apocalyptic world devastated by weapons of mass destruction. Survivors lead a primitive existence. Stephen Vincent Benét was an American poet, short story writer, and novelist. He received the Pulitzrer prize for poetry. "By the Waters of Babylon" was published in 1937. |
The
Butler by
Roald Dahl (1,207 words) A newly rich man who tries to buy his way up the social ladder. He employs an expensive butler and French chef and hosts many lavish dinner parties. To impress his guests, he buys some of the worlds best wines and learns a lot about them. Roald Dahl was a British author of popular children's literature and short stories. He was a poet, screenwriter and a wartime fighter ace. His books have sold more than 300 million copies worldwide. He wrote "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" |
The
Eatonville Anthology by Zora Neale Hurston (4,400 words) Aseries of vignettes and anecdotes about life in a small African-American community outside Orlando, Florida in the early 1920s. Eatonville was Hurstons hometown, and the power of her anthology is that each story is based on either real people and events or local folklore. |
The
Dinner Party by Mona Gardner (472 words) An Army officer argues that men are better than women at staying calm during a crisis. The hosts wife proves him wrong by demonstrating nerves of steel when the guests are threatened by a deadly visitor. |
All Summer in a Day Ray Bradbury (1,936 words) The climate in this story, set on the planet Venus, features almost constant rain. The only break comes every seven years, when there are two hours of sunshine. The children of the Earth space travel families on the planet are all looking forward to playing outside during the short break. |
Bigfoot
Stole My Wife by Ron Carlson (1,837 words) Two linked stories from Ron Carlson: Bigfoot Stole My Wife and I am Bigfoot. In the first, despite a host of context clues suggesting that the protagonists wife has left him, shame and denial lead him to believe that the legendary Bigfoot has abducted her. |
I
Am Bigfoot by Roy Carlson (695 words) In the ironic second story, credibility comes as Bigfoot issues a fearful warning to all men of the world. |
We
Shall Not Be Bitter at the End of the World by David Anaxagoras (2988
Words) Its my twelfth birthday and were all waiting for Wormwood and everyone is here and I mean everyone. Me and Mom and Dad and Big Pa which is my grandpa who was the strong man at one of the last traveling carnivals in America, and Bigfoot of course, and a swarm of killer bees collectively named Kyle who arent really so mean. |
Cat Pictures
Please by Naomi Kritzer (3420 words) An explanation as to why there are so many cat pictures on the Internet ane elsewhere. |
The
Enormous Radio by John Cheever (4,400 words) A seemingly contented couples life changes when a malfunctioning radio begins to pick up conversations from people in surrounding apartments. Video |
The Egg Andy Weir (997 Words) The story comprises a conversation between god and a dead man about the meaning and purpose of life (to grow his soul through new experiences), and his place in the universe. |
The
Green Door by O. Henry (2,745 words) A man is standing outside a building distributing cards promoting an upstairs dentists office. The card he hands to Rudolf contains the words: The Green Door. Rudolf goes inside and knocks on the only green door he can find. This leads to a series of events that could change his life forever. |
The
Shifty Lad Traditonial Irish Folk Tale (4,404 words) A boy who likes to play tricks on people and wants nothing more than to grow up to be a thief. His mother warns him that if he does become a thief he will be caught one day and hang from the Bridge of Dublin. |
The
Eyes Have It by Philip K. Dick (1,080 words) A satirical look at the clichéd use of English idioms in popular fiction. |
Silo, Sweet Silo by James Castles (4550 words) James Castles is Head of Special Projects at Who Gives A Crap; a toilet paper company that donates half of its profits to fund access to sanitation and clean water for people in need. Born in Melbourne, Australia, he has lived in six countries, including the USA, Singapore and Ireland. AUDIO 32 Minutes |
Janus
by Ann Beattie (2,300 words) Janus is about a realtor (Andrea) who strategically places her most prized possession (a decorative, lucky bowl) in houses she is showing in the belief it will help them sell. |
The
Drummer Boy of Shiloh by Ray Bradbury (2,000 words) A fourteen-year-old drummer boy who must march into battle with no gun or means of protecting himself is a bundle of nerves on the night before his first encounter with the enemy. An inspirational talk with his commanding general teaches him that his drum may be one of the most effective weapons in the army. |
The
Catbird Seat by James Thurber (3800 words) Set in 1940s New York, this story is a not-so-gentle satire of the lengths to which desperate people will go to resist change. A meek, solitary man believes the brash efficiency expert brought in to streamline his employers workflows threatens his job and must be rubbed out. |
The
Story of Ming-Y by Lafcadio Hearn - 1850-1904 (4868 words) A young man meets a beautiful, noble-born widow who has a crush on him; the noblewomans servant girl helps the two of them orchestrate their trysts. But all is not what it seems. |
LOKI
7281 by Roger Zelazny (2326 words) Computer gets into trouble when it starts changing its owner's stories without his permission. Audio 14 Minutes |
Bigger
Fish by Sarah Pinsker (5005 words) Robots again but told humorously through the eyes of a Private Detective. |
The
Direction of the Road Ursula Le Guin (2650 words) Only an author as creative as Ursula Le Guin could conceive a story where the protagonist is a murderous roadside oak tree. It's all a matter of perspective. |
Answer
Fredric Brown (254 words) One of the most concise SciFi horror stories. There are eerie similarities between the new supercomputers response to the first question asked of it in this story and the final sentence of Isaac Asimovs The Last Question. Both stories were published in the mid-1950s and reflect concerns about the future influence of computers on society. |
RAFI
BY Amal Singh (6110 words) Rogue Robots and trees. |
The Blues Im Playing by Langston Hughes (5,525 words) A wealthy, white, middle-aged widow finds purpose and intimacy through the patronization of young artists. Tensions emerge when the woman, who expects her protégés to behave in a manner consistent with her high social standing, takes on a black pianist for the first time. |
The
Open Window - H.H. Munro (Saki) Saki's tale of the anxious Framton Nuttel's ill-fated encounter with the imaginative young Vera in the English countrysideis, ultimately, a satire of excessive decorum. |
Magic and Other Honest Lies by Robert Buettner Good old-fashioned space opera stuff. Interesting to see how the trick is done and there are some clever bits within a well-worn theme. |
Tobermory H. H. Munro (aka Saki) Clovis attends a weekend house-party. Among the other guests is a visiting scientist who was invited in the hope that his cleverness would contribute to the general entertainment. All are amazed when the scientist teaches Tobermory, the family house-cat, to speak perfect English. |
Toy Shop Harry Harrison An Air Force scientist buys a trick rocket from a toy fair. A thin piece of string makes the rocket rise and fall, and he plans to entertain some other scientists with it at a poker party. At the party, the scientists discover that the trick only works in certain conditions. They are curious as to why, because it seems that the toy may break a basic law of physics. |
The Kugelmass Episode Woody Alllen This story includes elements of fantasy, science fiction and farce. Kugelmass, bored with his oafish wife, wants a lustful extra-marital affair with no commitments either way. His wish seemingly comes true when a failed magician offers him a chance to seduce any woman from world literature. |
Key Item Isaac Asimov In this Asimov story, Multivac has problems. It does not respond to commands, and isnt following its built-in program to self-diagnose the cause. As the global economy depends on Mulitvac, this could result in panic across the world. |
Chivalry Neil Gaiman Mrs. Whitaker is a nice old lady with nice friends, who lives in a nice house in a nice neighborhood. She was also living a nice, peaceful life until one day her routine was interrupted by Sir Galahad, a handsome knight on a quest to find the Holy Grail. |
The Star Arthur C. Clarke A group of scientists travel to the edge of the galaxy to explore a nebula (cloud of interstellar gas) surrounding a collapsed star. To their surprise, within the nebula is a burnt out planet that survived the explosion. On the planet is a huge stone marker left by a highly advanced civilization that did not survive. |
Voodoo
Fredric Brown Exploring the use of black magic to solve a marriage problem. |
The Empty House Algernon Blackwood Algernon Blackwoods most famous ghost story |
ANCIENT ENGINES BY MICHAEL SWANWICK Robots and life. Audio 23 Minutes |
Hermann the Irascible H. H. Munro (aka Saki) H. H. Munro (aka Saki)s story Hermann the Irascible is a classic example of the use of reverse psychology to achieve a desired result. The story first appeared in 1909 at the height of the suffrage movement in Britain. |
Listen to The Aberdeen Horse-Boy by Robert Dodds |
April in Paris Ursula Le Guin |
Filboid Studge H. H. Munro (Saki) |
The House, the Witch, and Sugarcane Stalks by Amanda Helms
The house wakes from its somnolence as the witch trudges up the path made of tarts. Through its rock-candy windows, the house scans her figure for any signs of hurt. |
The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky by Stephen Crane The taming of Americas Wild West. The instrument of change is the railroad, which brings Eastern ways to previously isolated communities like Yellow Sky. |
The Ant and The Grasshopper W. Somerset Maugham (Text only) A new take on an old fable. |
Leaf by Niggle by J.R.R. Tolkien He was the sort of painter who can paint leaves better than trees. He used to spend a long time on a single leaf, trying to catch its shape, and its sheen... Audio 36 Minutes |
Aunt Agatha Takes the Count by P.G. Wodehouse A humourous tale of fashion and skulduggery with the inimitable Jeeves in attendance. AUDIO 36 Minutes |
The Verger by W. Somerset Maugham Text 18 Minutes |
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty by James Thurber AUDIO 15 Minutes |
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce AUDIO 30 Minutes |
"The Veldt" by RAY BRADBURY Classic Radio Play Read by Leonard Nimoy Audio 28 Minutes |
The Garden of Forking Paths by Jorge Luis Borges |
The Three Strangers by Thomas Hardy AUDIO 27 Minutes |
The Ransom of the Red Chief by O. Henry |
The Outcasts of Poker Flat by Bret Harte (1839-1902) |
The Signal Man by Charles Dickens |
Craphound by Cory Doctorow |
The Devil and Daniel Webster by Stephen Vincent Benet |
Rikki Tikki Tavi Rudyard Kipling |
When the Yogurt Took Over by John Scalzi |
THE McWILLIAMSES AND THE BURGLAR ALARM by Mark Twain |
AI and the Trolley Problem by Pat Cadigan |