An Excellent Collection
936660
It's Harry Potter, all collected. If you like the books, or have a kid who might, just buy it already.
202450
I read this collection every year and it is always a treat.  Jennifer Egan, an amazing writer, is also a fine curator. She says that beyond compelling premise and distinctive language these stories all have a surprise of some sort, a literary kicker or plot twist.  These do indeed delight with strong works from T.C. Boyle. Lauren Groff and Joyce Carol Oates. Do note that you may have read many of these  in The New Yorker, the Paris Review and Granta.  Egan notes that this year's crop of stories seem the province of privilege, and that does show through, in these mostly mainstream choices. In the back of the book is a list of other outstanding stories and this list is a group worth seeking out.
4808978
I discovered many good poems, by women, in this collection, which was in excellent condition.  Both men and women should read the book, and if you're a male and you're a writer of poetry, you should certainly have a few collections by women in your personal library and this book should be among them.  Good read.
2829433
I love this sort of collection, and I was pleased to find this anthology of short stories, poems, recipes, and photos.  I particularly liked the trio of stories that traced a southern childhood, by Myra Yeatts, written with humor and poignancy. I could see these people as I read. I do wish there had been captions under her photos, particularly a group photo of four people, because I could not tell who was who.  Her son's recipe for Low Country Boil brought me back to a lovely meal on Tybee Island years ago.  Some authors have contributed more than others, but every piece is enjoyable to read, and the photos are interesting to study.
2529568
Every story in this book deals with emotions but in a thoughtful and elegant manner.  Several of the stories deal with writers and writing, and a reader can only wonder if some of these stories are autobiographical.  There are phrases and thoughts that have stayed with me long after finishing this book.  I liked the idea that a character who was a writer was always looking for beautiful word combinations in the writings of others.  It made me realize that a well written story is not great just because of the story as illustrated by this collection. This author uses words in a manner that is both artistic and provoking. Like the other readers, I was surprised that every story in this collection was worthwhile.  Don't pass by this book.
2669881
Frederik Pohl has done a fantastic job of assembling this collection of material.  Himself one of the first 15 SFWA grand masters, Pohl's personal reflections on each of these authors are worth the purchase price by  themselves.
For each writer, Pohl has selected at least one seminal gem  from their body of work, and at least one neglected treasure, with  additional pieces that show the tremendous range each of these authors  was/is capable of.
Although most of Heinlein's fiction is still in print,  these days it can be hard to find the work of these other Grand Masters,  especially the older material.  That makes this volume especially  valuable.
For myself, Clifford Simak and Fritz Leiber are two of my  all-time favorite writers, and I am happy to see there work exposed to a  new generation of readers, especially in this context.  Both the Science  Fiction Writers of America and Frederik Pohl should be applauded for this  worthy tribute.
419824
I have truly enjoyed this collection of works that represent every genre on the spectrum.  The short stories, the poetry, the humor pieces, the excerpts from local history have all held my attention.  The length of each entry is just perfect for its genre.
2570005
Short story anthologies are like buck shot someone once told me. Some stories will hit a few people, some will be bullseye, and some will miss people all together.

This collection was a bullseye for me.

The very first story is gripping and had me from the first page. The author writes a unique flavor of horror. This is not a splatter, blood, and guts collection of horror stories. Reading his work was more like watching an old Twilight Zone episode which was refreshing (I later found out in the author's notes, his stories have been characterized as before).

Each story has a steady flow that kept me engaged the whole read. I especially enjoyed the first story, "What Becomes God". I think it was the best of the collection.

When I finished, it reminded of me of the feeling I get when I am listening to the radio and a Led Zepplin song that I love and haven't heard in a while comes on. Excellent collection, highly recommended.
1803690
definitely an interesting collection; most are of excerpts. had a good balance of the typical ragin' vikings fare (mostly battle scenes) and some surprisingly eloquent ballad selections. "the wanderer" is amazing: "... War took off some, / carried them on their course hence; one a bird bore / over the high sea; one the hoar wolf / dealt to death; one his drear-cheeked / earl stretched in an earthen trench.") a lot of variety, including some entertaining riddles, and really captures the feel of the old english in modern english. also has great introductions to each selection. recommended.
1639069
This is a very good collection of short stories.

I especially appreciate the fact that the type is nice and sharp.

That's the way old books were printed, and for my old eyes it makes a big difference.

A very nice book.
86098
This collection was almost perfect for my taste, from length of the stories to the broad array of emotional undertones making each story unique.  From sadness, to fear, to humor and lust, each story had it's own theme.  And many of the stories are written so vividly, I wondered if they were truly fiction or spawned from the suthor's own life experiences.  As a fan of Kurt Vonnegut's shorter works, I found Ross' close to the same level.  My only setback in reading was I needed some of the stories to be more complete with a bit more follow-through. Two thumbs up.
3322823
This is a wonderful collection of short stories. Many of them are from small literary magazines, and I would have not encountered these stories and authors if Barbara Kingsolver had not assembled this great collection. In addition to some of my longtime favorite writers (John Updike, Alice Monro, Rick Bass), I met some new favorites: Roy Parvin, Annette Sanford, Peter Orner. The geographic scope of this collection is amazing--stories set in China, Russia, the Himalayas, Wales, just to mention a few. The diversity in narrative styles is pretty impressive too. This is now one of my best-loved collections of short stories.
339112
Ive read literally hundreds of collections of short stories, and very often, I find that the stories are just small versions of novels. Joy Castro, however, shows why short stories are not just little novels but are a genre unto themselves. If you are looking for stories with beginnings, middles, and ends, you probably won't like much of what you find in this collection of 28 stories, some as short as two pages and none longer than 18. Some of the stories in this collection might be better described as vignettes or tableaux than stories. But if you are looking for deft portrayals of complex characters in a wide variety of situations, you should be, as I was, delighted by most of the stories here.

Castro takes the short-story form seriously and uses its flexibility fearlessly. The title story, for instance, is told backward. Another story (I won't say which) depends heavily on its title for context: change the title, and you have a completely different story. In other words, these aren't pithy little tales. They are carefully crafted stories that resist quick consumption. I spent a good 20 minutes on one story, compulsively reading and rereading to try to find as much meaning as I could and admire the craft as much as possible.

If there is a theme to this book, it exists in the overlap of gender and ethnicity, with special emphasis on the former. But I think its probably better to focus on the quality, which is superb.
1823889
This is a really nice collection from Reader's digest. It is no longer in print so you will have to search for a source but if you find one at a good price then by all means buy the collection. Thru the years Readers Digest has released many excellent collections. This is one of them.
3577701
I am reviewing the 1980 Dell paperback.  It contains eleven stories in addition to eleven halfpage vignettes.  Each story is also accompanied by a well-worked illustration.

I really enjoyed this.  I am new to Manly Wade Wellman and to John (aka Silver John), the wanderer with the silver-stringed guitar.  I bought this collection because I came across the story Vandy Vandy in a Best of F&SF collection and wanted more.  I haven't read anything like this before and find the mix of Johns atmospheric narration and Appalachian backwoods folklore surprisingly effective.

As there may be different collections of Silver John stories, I give the titles of the stories in this anthology below.  I have not included the titles of the vignettes.

(1) O Ugly Bird
(2) One Other
(3) Shiver in the Pines
(4) Old Devlins was A-Waiting
(5) The Desrick on Vandro
(6) Vandy Vandy
(7) Dumb Supper
(8) The Little Black Train
(9) Walk like a Mountain
(10) On the Hills and Everywhere
(11) Nine Yards of Other Cloth
2903086
I really enjoyed this excellent set of stories. This is the first Chronicals Anthology I have bought, but it certainly won't be the last.
2142062
Ralph Ellison's "Flying Home and Other Stories" apparently is the first posthumous collection to be published by his estate.  And it is a remarkable collection at that.  There are thirteen stories here, six of which had never been published before.  The editor, Professor John F. Callahan, did a fine job at choosing the stories to be included, and he describes the fascinating selection process in the book's introduction.  Professor Callahan includes three early Buster-and-Riley stories which inspired me to write my short story, "Los Angeles, 1970" (Outsider Ink at: [...]  The Buster-and-Riley stories capture the wonderful and lively banter between the two boys while showing how the racism of the real world touches and affects their childhood.  There is also "A Party Down at the Square" which is a chilling story told in the first person by a white boy who witnesses the burning of an African-American man.  Each story is well-crafted and powerful in its understatement.  Ellison's graceful and evocative language paints a picture of human strength and frailty with the same honest, unflinching brush.  Though he is best remembered for his novel, "Invisible Man," this collection demonstrates that he was also a brilliant craftsman of the short story.