Literature Anthology

The internationally acclaimed author of The Martian Chronicles, The Illustrated Man, and Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury is a magician at the height of his powers, displaying his sorcerer's skill with 21 remarkable stories that run the gamut from total reality to light fantastic, from high noon to long after midnight.

In this masterful collection of short fiction, Joe Hill dissects timeless human struggles in 13 relentless tales of supernatural suspense, including “In The Tall Grass”, one of two stories cowritten with Stephen King, basis for the terrifying feature film from Netflix.

Following the enormous success of 2004 bestseller and critics' favorite Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, Susanna Clarke delivers a delicious collection of ten stories set in the same fairy-crossed world of 19th-century England. With Clarke's characteristic historical detail and diction, these dark, enchanting tales unfold in a slightly distorted version of our own world, where people are bedeviled by mischievous interventions from the fairies.

At the heart of every Irish family, the hopes of the future are tied deeply to the dreams of the past. And at the heart of every Maeve Binchy novel, the lives and loves of vividly drawn characters are deftly woven into unforgettable, beautifully realized tales. Now, in this charming audio set, three of Maeve Binchy's classic coming-of-age tales are collected together. These wonderful audio presentations represent the very best work of one of the world's most celebrated authors. And listening to her comforting stories feels just like coming home.

Edgar Award-winning editor Otto Penzler collects more than 50 of his all-time favorite holiday crime stories - many of which are difficult or nearly impossible to find anywhere else. From classic Victorian tales by Arthur Conan Doyle, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Thomas Hardy, to contemporary stories by Sara Paretsky and Ed McBain, this collection touches on all aspects of the holiday season, and all types of mysteries. They are suspenseful, funny, frightening, and poignant.

A darkly funny short story about one woman’s reflections on the routes she’s taken through life and the detours she’s made along the way. Doubts and guilt swirl through her mind as she rides the train to her fertility appointment. Each stop stirs up introspective thoughts on her marriage, the loss of her baby, and the lover who got away—contemplations that push her ever closer to wondering if she’s made the right decisions.

Selected from the best of the world's short fiction, 50 Great Short Stories brings together writings by great masters of the genre. Carefully picked for their timeless quality, listeners are sure to be delighted by the inclusion of such favourites as 'The Gift of the Magi', 'The Lady with the Dog', 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button', 'Rain' and 'Mrs Packletide's Tiger', to name but a few.

Exploring the boundaries of the genre, Bova not only writes of spaceships, aliens, and time travel in most of his titles, but also speculates on the beginnings of science fiction in “Scheherazade and the Storytellers,” as well as the morality of man in “The Angel’s Gift.” Stories such as “The Café Coup” and “We’ll Always Have Paris” dip into speculative historical fiction, asking questions about what would happen if someone could change history for the better. This expansive collection is a key addition for Bova fans and sci-fi lovers alike!

"The Red House”, a story by Robert McCammon, was originally published in the 1985 anthology Greystone Bay and was selected for inclusion in The Year's Best Fantasy Stories 1985.

Summer. Holiday season. A time for rest and relaxation. But murder can strike anywhere, as this selection of an "unlucky 13" mysteries by Agatha Christie proves. Join Hercule Poirot, Christopher Parker Pyne, Harley Quin and James Bond on this special holiday-themed collection, and take a dip into these short stories, perfect for killing time on the beach, by the pool - or at home, when planning to get away from it all.

"...I managed to open the door and get up inside the cab. It had a soft leather seat and the seat felt so good that I knew if I didn't fight it I would soon be asleep." A brutal personal treatise on the need for work, even the most menial - and the need for dignity.

In folktales, the trickster can be the wise one or the fool, the one who fools or the one who is fooled. That is why children of all ages enjoy hearing these tales. The psychology of childhood is pretty much the same everywhere, giving these enjoyable stories universal appeal.

We’re all faced with challenges in our lives which in the moment often seem unsurmountable and hopeless. That was the case for Sophie, a high school student who found herself sitting on a park bench one torturous autumn day, ready to end her life and her struggle. In Sophie’s moment of truth, a stranger suddenly appeared next to her, offering his handkerchief which was embroidered with these words: “If you want your life to change, you must change.”

Do not let Etgar Keret deceive you. The Israeli writer who's worked in film, illustration, animation, and radio, is a storyteller in all senses of the word. Like a conman, he'll promise you a simple story and then the next thing you know your emotional reserves have been completely emptied. It's a literary bait and switch, and he'll get you every time.

A city at once ancient and modern, Istanbul is the quintessentially postcard-perfect metropolis. But don’t let the alluring vistas fool you. For beneath its veneer as the meeting place of cultures, religions, and ethnicities lies a heart of darkness, seething with suppressed desire, boiling with frustration, and burning with a fervor for vengeance.

My Man Jeeves, first published in 1919, introduced the world to affable, indolent Bertie Wooster and his precise, capable valet, Jeeves. Some of the finest examples of humorous writing found in English literature are woven around the relationship between these two men of very different classes and temperaments. Where Bertie is impetuous and feeble, Jeeves is coolheaded and poised.

In this evocative short piece, Candace worries that her mother, Annie, has reached an emotional breaking point. When her best friend loses her battle with cancer, Annie is acting in uncharacteristic ways, seemingly less concerned than ever about what her friends and neighbors think of her - a troubling development in her daughter’s eyes. But while Candace may think she knows her mother better than anyone, something deeper lingers beneath the surface, and times of hardship have a way of bringing us closer together than ever.

The following books are included: Paingod and Other Delusions, I Have No Mouth & I Must Scream, and From the Land of Fear.

In this riveting tale of looming apocalypse, Pup is living off the grid for the summer with her parents on an island off the coast of Maine, when all three of them face the hardest decisions of their lives. Across the water one night they can see homes burning and hear gunfire. Pup and her parents, with their goat and chickens and garden and their dog, Opey, have no contact with the mainland, except for boat runs into town.

Detective-Lieutenant Gene Trimble faces an increasing number of bizarre suicides in a world struggling to come to terms with its place in a multiverse of different timelines, where every decision ever made by anyone becomes an alternate universe.