Roger B. Goodman (1918–2012)

Started out trying to read this straight through a long time ago and got bored. Many of these stories are anything but masterpieces, and it is difficult to remember some of them a minute or two after finishing. The selection is certainly wide-ranging, covering authors from all over the world, but the editor's chosen themes are not mine. Just not arresting enough, except in the case of honored classics like John Collier's "The Chaser". So, I ended up leaving this on my nightstand, and over the past few weeks have finally finished it and can now relegate it to the stacks of books overflowing my shelves. But as I sometimes say, your mileage may vary, so please read it and post your own review. I do find it interesting that as of this writing, 270 members have this book in their libraries, but I'm the first to post a review. That seems to imply a lot of shelf-sitting.… (mer)

This text includes the short stories: "A Wedding Without Musicians" by Sholom Aleichem, "Senor Payroll" by William E. Barrett, "How Light Belief Bringeth Damage" by Bidpai, "A Psychological Shipwreck" by Ambrose Bierce, "I See You Never" by Ray Bradbury, "Luck" by Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain), "A Game of Billiards" by Alphonse Daudet, "The Test" by Angelica Gibbs, "The Disabled Soldier" by Oliver Goldsmith, "Virtuoso" by Herbert Goldstone, "The Hollow of the Three Hills" by Nathaniel Hawthorne; "The Boy Who Drew Cats" by Lafcadio Hearn, "The Exact Science of Matrimony" by O. Henry, "The Wife" by Washington Irving, "If Not Still Higher" by Isaac Loeb Perez, "The Wild Duck's Nest" by Michael McLaverty, "How the Devil Lost His Poncho" by Ricardo Palma, "The Standard of Living" by Dorothy Parker, "The Oval Portrait" by Edgar Allen Poe, "Three Letters ... and a Footnote" by Horacio Quiroga, "An Attempt at Reform" by August Strindberg, "The Three Hermits" by Leo Tolstoy, "The Phoenix" by Syliva Townsend Warner, "The Hour of Letdown" by E.B. White, and "How Grandpa Came into the Money" by Else Zantnev. Any one of these stories could easily be a "One Day Wonder" lesson where meaning and symbolism are explored. If another text by the same author is being read in class, these could be a short intro to his/her writing style as they average about 3 pages in length.… (mer)