The Scribner Anthology of Contemporary Short Fiction: 50 North American Stories Since 1970 (Touchstone Books (Paperback))

I like the book. But since it’s a used book their were scribbles in it that weren’t really notes.

I really enjoy the wonderful anthologies for their variety of short stories, making so many authors available to me that I may not ever encounter otherwise. While there were a few stories I had previously read, they happened to be ones that I enjoy. I still have several left to read, but of the 50 stories included, I had only previously read a few like Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried" and "Brownies" by Z.Z. Packer. Many of the stories I've read so far have been very enjoyable.Melanie Rae Thon's "Xmas, Jamaica Plain" is a brilliant story told through the first person point of view about a tragic drug-related death. Rick Moody's "Boys" is a well-designed story told with a 'long time' narrative. There have been humorous stories like "Orientation" by Daniel Orozco and "The School" by Donald Barthelme. "The Cavemen in the Hedges" by Stacey Richter might be my favorite so far.This is a great collection of short stories and it's also inexpensive. I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for a good assortment of fantastic contemporary stories in one book. I look forward to reading the rest of the stories!

Over the years I've read a boatload of short stories. I can't say may judgement is always right the first time. Some stories entertain me wonderfully only to leave me dissatisfied in the aftermath. Other stories mystify or disappoint me when I first read them only to leave me thinking I've discovered on of the greatest short stories ever at some later sitting. I've read the "Best American Short Stories" over the years and for at least half of them it's a question of whether I can push myself through to the end. None of the stories in this collection is that way. They grip me from the first and leave me thinking about them long after I've finished. Some I've read when they were first released, others in collections and many I was unfamiliar with. Some of these stories have led me to seek out the author unfamiliar to me and seek out more of his work. I recommend this collection highly.

This book was required for an upper level honors class that I took in high school. I actually found that this book held my interest and contained a great deal of varying stories that really grabbed my attention. Since it is an anthology, it exposed me to a lot of literature during a single term. This book seemed to make it extremely easy to build a course around it as we read around one to three short fiction stories at a time per assignment. I would definitely recommend this book to both students and professors. The best part is that it came at a very reasonable cost.

I like many of the stories, and many are classics, but I am bothered by what I perceive to be a fairly recent trend (10-15 years) of the very dark overtaking any sense of light or hopefulness about humanity. Why not write some stories that inspire us and give us hope?I think people need stories and stories need people. Therefore, writers, let's see the full range, since we, most of us, are full-range emotional beings looking for encouragement and inspiration.

This book was assigned for a non-credit class on short stories. Having more books than I want, I wasn't excited to have to get another one. I find the stories so engaging they grab you and keep you involved to the end. The discussions are so interesting and stimulating based on the story content. I haven't heard of many of these stories or authors even though I taught high school English for many years. I highly recommend this book for a class, discussion, or pure enjoyment.

Great short story fiction. We use this book in my Advanced Short Story writing course at Harvard University and they are fantastic. There are a number of various authors, many award winning short story writers. Remarkable book and so many different authors and types of fiction.

Very diverse group of stories which makes for some very interesting reads. Not all of the stories were to my taste, but I could definitely appreciate the literary devices employed within each. This was a textbook for an english class so that is what I am basing my review off of, not as a casual reader. Though I did enjoy this collection of stories.

Wide range of stories by incredible writers.

sono dei racconti, anche molto brevi, che tengo sul comodino per fare un po' di esercizio. Alcuni non sono usciti in italiano. Talvolta li leggo ad alta voce. E' un piccolo impegno, ma molto utile.