Short Stories Humor

I Will Open My Mouth in Parables is a collection of fictional short stories recounting events that take place in or near the small town of Quick, West Virginia. The stories are set in the 1950's and are told in the first person by "Richie Smith."

It's that time of the year again, the holiday season. Between checkout lines a mile long, the office party hangover, battles with traffic, and delayed flights, what's better to do than to listen to The Worst Noel and laugh your holiday aggravation away? The collection features an eclectic mix of writers with playful, often dark humor as the common thread.

Nathan Lochmueller studies birds for just enough money to live and learn on. He drives a glitter-festooned truck, the Gypsy Moth, and he is in love with Lola, a woman so free-spirited and mysterious she can break a man's heart with a sigh or a shrug. Around them swirls a remarkable cast of characters: the proprietor of Fast Eddie's Burgers, the genius behind "Thong Thursdays"; Uncle Dart, a Texan who brings his swagger to Indiana with profound and nearly devastating results; a snapping turtle with a taste for thumbs; a German Shepherd who howls backup vocals; and the very charismatic state of Indiana itself.

These are the stories of three boys living in Texas: one growing up, one dreaming, and one fighting to stay alive in the face of destitution and adversity. There's second-grader William, a shy yet imaginative boy who schemes about how to get back at his school-yard bully, Randy. Then there's Sam, a 15-year-old boy who dreams of getting a 1980 Mazda RX-7 for his 16th birthday but has to work at a Greek restaurant to fund his dream. Finally, there's Seff, a 21-year-old on the brink of manhood, trying to survive along with his roommate, working as waiters and barely making ends meet.

A young woman is relocated by the Witness Protection Program to a position as hospital admission director in another state. An illegal Latino immigrant loses his job and becomes homeless, and lives on the street. A young 19-year-old man, with an exceptionally high IQ, joins the US Army and befuddles his sergeant with his amazing knowledge. A married couple buy a cemetery lot in their hometown, planning ahead for the future. A 70-year-old widow is shocked to learn that she is pregnant at a routine medical examination by her doctor.

Pickled Bananas is a collection of 14 quirky short stories from the mind of Douglas Schwartz.

The mystique of the river life has often been romanticized but rarely scrutinized. The brotherhood of mariners who live and work the waterways of the heartland is made up of a rare breed that usually keeps to itself. Towboat Joe has broken the golden rule of "what happens on the boat stays on the boat" by inviting us to set sail on an unprecedented voyage.

In the 1930s, the fictional town of Toad Springs, Florida, is filled with the adventures and daily whatnots of worthy, down-to-earth folk such as Flavey Stroudamore, owner of a three-legged gator named Precious who also just happens to have a birthmark of Jesus on his side.

In this quirky ghost story, a woman endures jury duty by observing the many characters in the room, including a TV crew filming a paranormal presence in the courthouse, a service-dog-in-training, and a man with a "ghost box," a radio to try to communicate with the beyond. As humorous chaos ensues, our protagonist unexpectedly needs to confront the truth about the secret crush she’s been harboring.

Few authors in America write with such sheer love of story, language, and imagination as T.C. Boyle, and nowhere is that passion more evident than in his inventive, wickedly funny, and widely praised short stories. In After the Plague, Boyle speaks of contemporary social issues in a range of emotional keys. Presented with characteristic wit and intelligence, these 16 stories will delight readers in search of the latest news of the chaotic, disturbing, and achingly beautiful world in which we live.

Ready to feel the chills running down your spine? Wait, that's just the green gelatin monster from one of the stories in this collection of very silly (and a few not-so-silly) horror stories. Vampires, werewolves, demons, mummies, and zombies compete with evil little Shirley Temple look-alikes and their collectibles, centerpieces and church women, cops and monster hunters, for your laughs. It's a light-hearted take on the horror genre.

Here is a story collection about love, death, humor, and the glue called family. In one narrative, a man wakes up one morning to find the odor of dead fish won't go away, but no one else can smell it. In another, a couple's visit with friends to watch the Academy Awards has the protagonist envying his friends' lawn and lifestyle. In these and 11 other stories, Christopher Meeks balances tragedy and wit.

Ever dream about writing to your favorite writer and receiving a package as a reply? What's in that package? What if you could see murders and suicides before they happened? How would you proceed? Easy answer, but what if you enjoyed it? Why is a grandmother singing about the apocalypse in the street? Most importantly, what's your good line?

An awful poet, dumped by his girlfriend, roams through Italy, where he clearly doesn't belong; an oil delivery man falls in love with a clumsy woman and becomes even clumsier than she is; and a six-year-old and his father kill over 200 flies at a horse farm while the father wonders about life and death. Poor Advice and Other Stories, with its mix of the serious and the absurd, reveals Lou Gaglia's humor, imagination, and range.

Knowing, perceptive, and wickedly funny, Matt Klam loves his characters but spares them nothing: the swaggering womanizer Sam falls in love with a woman across a crowded room who, upon closer inspection, turns out to be not quite what he expected; a self-doubting young professional attends the posh wedding of his successful friend and delivers a disastrous toast; the chicken one man's girlfriend is preparing for dinner comes to embody the darkly corrosive element in their relationship.

Todos somos los héroes o las heroínas de nuestro propio cuento. Pero ese cuento cambia según quién decida ponerse tras el papel para narrarlo, o quizás si entran en escena personajes que no nos esperábamos o que deciden, de golpe, cobrar un papel más protagonista. ¿Qué pasaría si el príncipe no puede salvar a la princesa... porque tiene que quedarse en casa cuidando a su padre? ¿El cuento hubiera terminado de la misma manera?

Arkady Averchenko - brilliant writer of humorous stories and novels, which have stood the test of time. His works have enjoyed enormous popularity in pre-revolutionary Russia, and after the exile - among the Russian diaspora. His stories are really funny, subtle and clever - a rare combination for a comedian. And they are written in excellent literary style.

Wodehouse introduces us once again to the "wonder butler" Jeeves, who, as usual is able to solve any and all of Bertie Wooster's endless problems with ease and finesse. And he also introduces us to a character not dissimilar to Bertie . . . by name of Reggie. Such fun to follow Jeeves in the hijinks!

Horror, humor, and science fiction collide in this collection of weird tales about possible futures, warped present-day realities, and alternate history. Unreliable narrators run rampant alongside aliens, ghosts, bullies, cannibals, home invaders, heroes, villains, unimaginable creatures, and gifted individuals of all ages. Paranoia, fear, and bizarre situations abound in these reality-bending stories guaranteed to take you places you've never been.

He has the mind of a child, the sexual proclivities of a teenager - and the subconscious of a scientific genius. And despite the best efforts of Mama Schimmelhorn to get her old man to make Swiss cuckoo clocks by day and stay home by night, Papa's inventions will keep coming.