Short Stories Humor

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

Snack-sized, humorous journal entries about seeing the world from the perspective of a man whose favorite pastime is avoiding large groups of people. In this captivating book, Nick shares bite-sized observations gathered over his two decades on and off stage, delivering unexpected, funny, and heartwarming moments that will leave you in stitches.

Renovierungsarbeiten sind nie leicht, aber wie streicht man am besten die Decke? Was erklärt einem aufgebrachten Teenager den Sinn des Lebens? Wie gelingt ein Date, wenn man online zu viel geflunkert hat? Wir schenken euch Freude am Morgen, einen Funken Hoffnung gegen Mittag, ein Kichern am Abend und Ideen zum Träumen für die Nacht. All diese wundervollen Geschichten sind im Band Wir schreiben für Euch: Humor und Belletristik zu finden.

An enjoyable collection of 21 short stories that will make you smile, wonder about human nature and stifle a giggle. From the absurd to the thought provoking, the past to the present, this eclectic anthology of original tales takes an irreverent look at life, pokes a stick at officialdom, and explores the daft side of our existence.

John Updike's 21st novel, a bildungsroman, follows its hero, Owen Mackenzie, from his birth in the semi-rural Pennsylvania town of Willow to his retirement in the rather geriatric community of Haskells Crossing, Massachusetts. In between these two settlements comes Middle Falls, Connecticut, where Owen, an early computer programmer, founds with a partner, Ed Mervine, the successful firm of E-O Data, which is housed in an old gun factory on the Chunkaunkabaug River.

Björn is a compulsive, meticulous bureaucrat who discovers a secret room at the government office where he works—a secret room that no one else in his office will acknowledge. When Björn is in his room, what his co-workers see is him standing by the wall and staring off into space looking dazed, relaxed, and decidedly creepy. Björn’s bizarre behavior eventually leads his co-workers to try and have him fired, but Björn will turn the tables on them with help from his secret room.

Mischief, prank, and mistaken identity take on a new meaning in this delightful concoction by the master of the silver age of Russian literature Dmitrey Merezhkovsky. Sound interesting? The author thinks so too! Listen to Transformation, and experience the compelling world of short-story fiction.

Such barking, such endless yapping from a dog that usually holds his peace unless he is unduly troubled can only mean one thing. It is our turn to be honored by a visit from Oscar the 'possum. Oscar is what you'd call a shadowy figure. He never does come out where you can see him in broad daylight, like birds and squirrels and other creatures do. I don't know if it's because he doesn't like the looks of us or he thinks we wouldn't like the looks of him. Or maybe he's just too shy to come right up and introduce himself.

If you’ve ever had the feeling that, at heart, most people are just really terrible, then this is the book for you - a collection of short stories about awful people doing awful things to one another. In these dark and satirical tales, you’ll witness the fallout from a disgraced pop star, the perils of cancel culture, the rabbit hole of COVID conspiracies, the merciless hunt for revenge, and one billionaire’s plan to save the world.

Why did Claire have to drink so much at a small gathering of old friends, and how will she get home now that the host has kicked her out of his house? Hungover and ashamed, Claire begins a harrowing journey back to her apartment. Songs blend into the narrative and reveal harsh truths Claire would prefer to avoid.

In Once Upon A More Enlightened Time, Garner tackles many demeaning, culturally biased viewpoints through his retelling of such well-known tales as "The Princess and the Pea" and "The Tortoise and the Hare". He has striven to fashion these bedtime stories into literature that is totally free from bias and purged from the influences of a flawed cultural past in hopes of freeing our social consciousness from these blights.

This anthology contains a mix of mostly humorous short stories.

Alicia Erian's characters are brave, disarming, affectionate, and deeply flawed. They inhabit the not-so-very-wide space between a good intention and a bad outcome. The Brutal Language of Love challenges traditional notions of right and wrong with what has become Erian's signature—an achingly stylish humor and a deep understanding of the brutal truth about human nature. These surprising, provocative, and deeply resonant stories marked the emergence of a major talent.

Surprising and revealing, set along the East Coast from Maine to Key West, Ann Beattie's astutely observed new collection explores unconventional friendships, frustrated loves, mortality, and aging.

There's nothing worse than having to watch your sister marry your ex fiancé. Organized, event planner, Jaya Trudeaux is used to doing things by the book and never making waves. The only thing that can tie carefree, playboy, Alec Danthers down is a promise he made to his mother. Can Jaya put the lists down long enough to enjoy the ride that is Alec?

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.

Centering us in Rome, but transporting us seamlessly into worlds as varied and exotic as they are emotionally real, these stories paint landscapes that are populated - vividly, hauntingly - by animals: from squawking, violent seagulls, to magical snakes, to a tiny dog on the side of a deserted road, to starlings circling the evening sky in exhilarating formation.

In the stories of Confidence, there are ecstasy-taking PhD students, financial traders desperate for husbands, owners of failing sex stores, violent and unremovable tenants, aggressive raccoons, seedy massage parlors, experimental filmmakers who record every second of their day, and wives who blog insults directed at their husbands. There are cheating husbands. There are private clubs, crowded restaurants, psychiatric wards. There is one magic cinema, and everyone has a secret of some kind.

Ordinary realities and yearnings to transcend them lead to miraculous other worlds in this dazzling collection of stories. A woman's deceased father appears in her dreams with clues about the afterlife; a Russian professor in a small American town constructs elaborate fantasies during her cigarette break; a man falls in love with a marble statue as his marriage falls apart. With the emotional insight of Chekhov, the surreal satire of Gogol, and a unique blend of humor and poetry all her own, Tolstaya transmutes the quotidian into aetherial alternatives.