Tag: fiction

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an incomplete list of unsettling short stories I read in textbooks

  • the scarlet ibis
  • marigolds
  • the diamond necklace
  • the monkey’s paw
  • the open boat
  • the lady and the tiger
  • the minister’s black veil
  • an occurrence at owl creek bridge
  • a rose for emily
  • (I found that one by googling “short story corpse in the house,” first result)
  • the cask of amontillado
  • the yellow wallpaper
  • the most dangerous game
  • a good man is hard to find

some are well-known, some obscure, some I enjoy as an adult, all made me uncomfortable between the ages of 11-15

add your own weird shit, I wanna be literary and disturbed

The Tell-Tale Heart, The Gift of the Magi, The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calavaras County, Thank You Ma’am

the box social by james reaney. i remember we all had to silently read it in class, and you would hear the moment everyone reached the Part because some people would audibly go “what”

wHat did I just put my eyes on

“The Veldt” by Ray Bradbury

Not quite a short story, but read in class: “The Monsters are Due on Maple Street” from The Twilight Zone

Harrison Bergeron, Cat and the Coffee Drinkers

“Where are you going and where have you been” by Joyce carol oates

“The Pedestrian” by Ray Bradbury

the lottery by shirley jackson

i can’t believe Roald Dahl’s “The Landlady” wasn’t already mentioned

and also it’s not so much unsettling as more absurdist but “The Leader” by Eugene Ionesco definitely made me go wtf

Ett halvt ark papper.
I cried so much.

Ночь у мазара, А. Шалимов

A Sound of Thunder by Ray Bradbury

I Have no Mouth, and I Must Scream by Harlan Ellison

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

All Summer in a Day by Ray Bradbury 

Some of Us Had Been Threatening Our Friend Colby, by Donald Barthelme

I read Ray Bradbury’s “All Summer In A Day” in seventh grade (it wasn’t assigned, I was just going through my textbook for new stuff to read) and as a bullied kid with SAD, it Fucked Me Up.

An Ordinary Day with Peanuts, by Shirley Jackson

Eh, this was more like community college, but The Star by Arthur C. Clarke

Lamb to the Slaughter by Roald Dahl

and this story that I can’t remember the name of and can’t find, though it might be by O. Henry? it’s about a bunch of demons who want to stop Santa Claus from going through with Christmas, and he must travel through the mountains they inhabit to escape their vices? (good christ I can’t remember the name for the life of me)

Ok but the laughing man and a good day for bananafish but j.d. Salinger

The City (195) Ray Bradbury. An intense commentary on colonialism and space exploration. I read it for a sci fi survey class.

Another short story I read in that sci fi class was Vaster than Empires and More Slow (1971) by Ursula K. Le Guin. A commentary on humanity and how human we believe ourselves to be. Also, an interesting commentary on mental health.

In the Woods Beneath the Cherry Blossoms in Full Bloom, written in 1947 by Ango Sakaguchi. It made my skin crawl the first time I read it.

Also going to recommend For A Breath I Tarry by Roger Zelazny, a commentary on whether AI can become human in a future without humans: http://www.kulichki.com/moshkow/ZELQZNY/forbreat.txt

whoever posted “The Laughing Man” and “A Good Day For Bananafish” is Correct

All of Flannery O’Connor’s shorts.

I didn’t read it in a text book, but “I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream” haunted me for life.

How is “Flowers For Algernon” by Daniel Keyes not on this list? We read an abridged version in the 7th or 8th grade and it has horrified me ever since.

“The Circular Ruins” and “The Secret Miracle” (both by Borges) blew my mind

also there was one I read in 7th grade about some guy named Mr Sommer and I don’t remember a lot about it other than the weird and fucked up ending. I think it was German. anyone recognise it just from that vague description?

I keep having these little brain floofs today. 

I’m trying to think if I’ve ever come across a fic that is about being bi. Specifically a character dealing with biphobia (internal and/or external).

It’s usually a big deal when a thing includes a bi character at all, and I know that ultimately the dream is to have being bisexual as just a part of who we are and not the driving force of our existence. But I was drifting through the interwebs today and had a thought. (for those on mobile, if you’re interested there’s a read-more below)

 I couldn’t remember if I’d come across a story with a bisexual character and exploration of the ups and downs that can occur because they’re bi. I run into fics all the time where it’ll kinda be thrown out there so other characters don’t question the fact that Main Character is into Particular Dude, but that’s it. Just a means to get to the ship. (And in fics with female characters, I don’t know if it’s even mentioned in that capacity.) I know that all experiences are different, and fewer obstacles in fics can be great but I’m tired of running into “oh by the way they’re bi and this will never be mentioned again in the story” characters. I mean, to an extent I understand it. Unless we are specifically talking about sexuality (whether it be because it’s pride time, or because someone says something stupid, or because I’m carrying my purse with all my buttons, or I meet a woman for potential romantic purposes as the reveal is always met with varying reactions), it usually doesn’t come up in daily conversation. And, depending on the author, they may not want to write about that particular stuff. They may deal with it enough irl that they don’t want to deal with it in fiction too.

Still I’ll be on a fic binge and of the 47 I’ve read, maybe 8 even mention the word bisexual, and 5 of those *only* in the tags, and my brain will go: ‘ok this is sweet and the rest of this is fairly realistic but Pookie never encountered a single asshole? Not one?  …Wait Sheena slow your roll. Story’s not about that. Pookie being bi is as about as important as the color of their shoelaces.’ And I frustrate myself. On the one hand, irl I don’t want it to be some really huge deal. On the other, sailing just ain’t that damn smooth. *exhales* I’m not happy with myself for wanting to read about bisexual characters dealing with the negatives, but I want to read it. Is it catharsis that I’m seeking?