Short Stories Humor

James Bascule is adrift. College beckons—but not quite strongly enough to actually get him to campus. A trip to Europe showed him a world bigger than his Northern California upbringing—and yet, one broken heart later, Northern California is where he’s returned. Back to his old bedroom, paying his bemused parents rent with his new hobby, baking bread with the sourdough starter that is his only souvenir of what was apparently just a summer fling.

The Desert Living Retirement Community is located smack dab in the middle of the Southern California desert, surrounded by windmills. Within this retirement community is a quaint little coffee shop running on a budget. Join the retirees in this quirky and comical short story as they spend their day drinking coffee and gossiping.

Diane Williams, an American master of the short story who will "rewire your brain" (NPR), is back with a collection in which she once again expands the possibilities of fiction. These stories depict ordinary moments - a visit to the doctor's office or a married couple's hundredth dance together - but within the quotidian, Williams delivers a lifetime of insecurities, lusts, rejections, and revelations, making her work equally discomfiting and amusing.

Farmer Eben Smith heads off to the big city to trade his wagonload of produce. But he barters a lot more than goods after he stumbles across a strange crossroads in time, bargains with different cultures in alternate realities, and accidentally wreaks havoc and chaos in each.

The world is divided between Asia and the United Continents - two great super powers locked in eternal warfare. But the balance of power is about to shift in Asia’s favor. They have developed a top-secret weapon - the cohesion projector-that could lead to annihilation on an unprecedented scale.... But as far as Lorrilard is concerned, the number one problem with the projector is that it stands in the way of his profits. Can he find a way to subvert the powerful weapon and resume his enterprising exploits?

When it comes to big dreams and schemes, young Chuck Lambert would give Walter Mitty a run for his money. In fact, Chuck’s biggest dream of all is really out of this world. Because he’s got his eyes on a prize in the sky. Chuck wants to buy a planet of his own.... Madman Murphy, the King of Planetary Realtors, is more than happy to oblige. He’s got a whole galaxy of planets for sale. All Chuck needs is money . . . and a lot of it. Eleven years later, saving every penny he can scrape up, Chuck’s dream comes true. He takes possession and takes off for Planet 19453X...

Extra! Extra! Read all about it! The Empire State Building has vanished into thin air! Gone, too, are Grant’s Tomb and Grand Central Station, and all hell is breaking loose in New York City! What’s the story? One grizzled old newspaper reporter known simply as Pop - a role made for Walter Matthau - is on top of it...and better stay there, because his livelihood is on the line. If Pop fails to get to the bottom of the vanishing landmarks, his job will disappear as well - and land in the hands of the newspaper publisher’s son-in-law.

Penniless, homeless, and virtually lifeless, the vagrant “Doughface” Jack is about to discover that where medical marvels meet the mysteries of the human mind, amazing things happen. The Tramp acquires a capability beyond his imagination and without equal on Earth. Riding the rails, Jack runs afoul of a local sheriff and ends up with a crushed skull. He’s as good as dead until a savvy country doctor performs a bit of medical magic.

It’s Easter in the land of Oz, and while Jack Pumpkinhead should be enjoying the lovely spring weather, Easter eggs, and candy with his new friend, little Jenny, he can’t. Something is wrong. A terrible memory is beginning to resurface, and Jack is terrified. Whatever it is, he knows it has chased after him for a long time and that he is not strong enough to face it. But very soon, Jack will discover that you can’t hide from the truth forever....

A Jewish man works as a department-store Santa in this comic tale, a short story from Nathan Englander's collection For the Relief of Unbearable Urges.

In 'A Fault on the Line' you will meet a husband who values a televised Hibs v Hearts game more than his wife’s life.This short story features in the collection 'Reheated Cabbage' and is available unabridged on audio for the first time. Hilarious, shocking and hugely entertaining, it has all the classic Irvine Welsh ingredients.

A short story/rant about why I heart (love) America. Warning: Written by a Liberal.

In this short story from Nathan Englander's collection For the Relief of Unbearable Urges, a mental patient tries to get help from a rabbi to smooth over family problems his manic episodes cause.

In this short story from Nathan Englander's collection For the Relief of Unbearable Urges, an aging wigmaker becomes, for a single moment, beautiful.

곽재식은 누구보다도 재미난 이야기 소재들을 사랑하는 작가입니다. 비단 SF뿐만 아니라 동서양의 판타지와 전설 등, 현실 밖의 꿈과 상상과 환상 속에 담긴 이야기들을 찾고 수집하죠.

Did you know that just 10 minutes of laughter a day burns calories and keeps you trim? Do you need a good belly laugh or two to release the tension of the day? Would you like to be healthier, happier, and more relaxed? You don’t need a prescription pill just try to up your daily laughter quotient. Research shows that laughter lowers blood pressure, engages your rest-and-digest system, and is linked to physical changes in the body that reduce stress and even increase pain tolerance. So basically, y’all need to be laughing a lot more.

Detta är en antologi med tio kortnoveller. Innehåller följande historier: Jared Pond räddar (och tar mödomen från) en arabisk prinsessa, Meditationslägret, Skjutningen vid Davids herrgård, Diah Lubis och jakten på den perfekta korven, Diah Lubis och jakten på grottryfflarna, och mer.

Detta är en antologi med tio kortnoveller.

Have you ever wondered why that smarmy sales guy won't quit, even when it's obvious to both of you that you're not buying what he's selling? Have you ever made a snap judgment about someone's character - only to find out that you were completely wrong? I live in California yet work for Celebrity Magician Criss Angel in Las Vegas. Needless to say, I find myself flying three to four times per week. Those who fly know. This collection of short stories set on airplanes will let you see the strangers around you in an entirely new light - and what you learn just might surprise you.

Colonies require support and expansion to other planets means shipping supplies to them. Pirates love long supply chains and not even Elon Musk is invulnerable, although there is reason to believe he might do slightly better than cumbersome governments. This highly speculative look at the perils of building the first functional Mars colony stars Elon Musk.