iPhone app: short stories!

I have just read this very interesting article on a new iPhone app that has been hailed as the renaissance of a neglected literary form.

Chile: Roberto Bolaño

I have just come back from Santiago, Chile. When I travel, I usually try to find out about local short story writers. This time, I already knew what I wanted: Roberto Bolaño´s books. I only read my first story by this fantastic writer about three years ago, and since then I have been longing for more of his sophisticated stories.

Here is one of his stories: Sensini.

You can read an article about Bolaño in the New York Times.

You can learn more about Roberto Bolaño here.

Short stories for EFL learners

Reading short stories in a language we are learning is a great way to enlarge our vocabulary. If you are learning English the number of stories available on the net is enormous.

Please, take a look at this link. Or this one for more advanced readers.

The Late Story

BBC Radio 4 is a wonderful website. There are loads of programmes about arts and literature, in general. Try their late stories page.

New Year, new stories!

It is quite easy to find classic stories online. Sometimes, I am even lucky enough to find an audio recording of them. However, it is a difficult task to find more contemporary stories to share with you. That is why a visit to the Short Story Website is a must for all those interested in reading new writers.

What makes a good short story?

Is it the plot? The language? The resolution? If you want to know more about what makes a good short story, visit this site. You will be able to read "A Jury of Her Peers", by Susan Glaspell and also learn more about the elements of a good story.

Fay Weldon

I love reading Fay Weldon´s stories. They teach you a lot about the British middle class. Besides, she wrote one of my favourite books on literature: Letters to Alice. People have always regarded her as a feminist, but her plays, essays and stories reject pigeonholing.




Weekend:

http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/files/teacheng/weekend_text.pdf

To listen to this story read by Fay Weldon:

http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/try/resources/britlit/weekend

The Landlady by Roald Dahl

Roald Dahl is better known for his books for children. However, he wrote several stories for older people and they are all wonderfully told. Some of them are a bit spooky, but hey!... It is almost haloween time!

http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/files/teacheng/landlady_text.pdf

You can listen to this story here:

http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/try/resources/britlit/the-landlady

A Rose for Emily

I read this story by William Faulkner, for the first time, when I was 18. It has made such an impact on me that I still place it as one of my favourite short stories. It is a classic and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
http://www.ariyam.com/docs/lit/wf_rose.html




A film based on the story can be seen here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gt9i2QCp_lM

The Death of the Moth

I would like to begin the blog with this story by Virginia Woolf that is not even a story, but a short essay. I simply love the language, the figures of speech, and the rhythm of this text.

http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/w/woolf/virginia/w91d/chap2.html