Daily Lit Challenge 2014: Short Stories

As a writer, it's so important to read as much as possible. I've been concentrating on writing short stories lately so it's the perfect time to delve into the art.  I plan to read one short story or creative nonfiction essay per day in 2014. These pieces will be sourced from literary magazines and journals,  online and hardcopy, as well as from story collections, and I'll try to include a link to the original work whenever possible.

And every weekend, I'll write about my favorite story of the week. Lucky you.

I'm really excited about this--I just hope I can keep it up for the entire year. Most importantly, there's really no downside to reading a wide variety of great fiction and nonfiction.  If you have any recommendations, please leave a comment or send me a message--I'd love to hear what you think!

List of Works Read

• January 15, 2014: "First Husband" by Antonya Nelson. The New Yorker, January 6, 2014.
• January 16, 2014: "After the Coma" by Nancy McCabe. Citron Review, December 15, 2013.
• January 17, 2014: "Still Life" by Jason Ockert. One Story, #171, November 9, 2012.
• January 18, 2014: "The Tunnel, or the New From Spain" by Joan Wickersham. Best American Short Stories 2013, ed. Elizabeth Strout.
• January 19, 2014: "Baking Off" by Nora Ephron. The Most of Nora Ephron, 2013.
• January 20, 2014: "About Having People to Dinner" by Nora Ephron. The Most of Nora Ephron, 2013.
• January 21, 2014: "Long Trains Leaving" by Emily St. John Mandel. Goodbye to All That: Writers on Loving and Leaving New York, ed. Sari Botton.
• January 22, 2014: "Someday, Some Morning, Sometime" by Emma Straub. Goodbye to All That: Writers on Loving and Leaving New York, ed. Sari Botton.
•  January 23, 2014: "Manhattan, Always Out of Reach" by Ann Hood. Goodbye to All That: Writers on Loving and Leaving New York, ed. Sari Botton.
• January 24, 2014: "I'm Only Going to Tell You This Once" by Elissa Schappell. Blueprints for Building Better Girls, 2011.
• January 25, 2014: "Out of the Blue and Into the Black" by by Elissa Schappell. Blueprints for Building Better Girls, 2011.
• January 26, 2014: "Aren't You Dead Yet?" by Elissa Schappell. Blueprints for Building Better Girls, 2011.
• January 27, 2014: "The Joy of Cooking" by Elissa Schappell. Blueprints for Building Better Girls, 2011.
• January 28, 2014: "Are You Comfortable?" by Elissa Schappell. Blueprints for Building Better Girls, 2011.
• January 29, 2014: "Property" by Elizabeth McCracken. Best American Short Stories 2011, ed. Geraldine Brooks.
• January 30, 2014: "Hilarious, In The Wrong Way" by Stephen Ornes. One Story, Issue #160.
• January 31, 2014: "World's End" by Clare Beams. One Story, Issue #166.
• February 1, 2014: "Miss Lora" by Junot Diaz. The New Yorker, April 23, 2012.
• February 2, 2014: "Referential" by Lorrie Moore. The New Yorker, May 28, 2012.
  
• February 3, 2014: "Inappropriate Behavior" by Murray Farish. Five Chapters, January 2014.
• February 4, 2014:  "We Show What We Have Learned" by Clare Beams. Hayden's Ferry Review, Spring/Summer 2012.
• February 5, 2014: "The Doctor and the Rabbi" by Aimee Bender. Tablet Magazine, September 14, 2012.  
• February 6, 2014: "Paper Losses" by Lorrie Moore. The New Yorker, November 6, 2006.
• February 7, 2014: "Goodbye, Bear" by E.B. Lyndon. One Story, Issue #172.
• February 8, 2014: "The Kontrabida" by Mia Alvar. One Story, Issue # 165. 
• February 9, 2014: "Ice House" by Kate Blakinger. Gettysburg Review, Spring 2011 Issue. 
•  February 10, 2014: "Wrapped Up In Skin, Hidden Behind Eyes" by Gina Troisi. Gettysburg Review, Spring 2013 Issue.
• February 14, 2014: "Impertinent, Triumphant" by Theodore Wheeler. Five Chapters, February 2014. 
• February 19, 2014: "Coda" by Bridget Apfeld.   Better, Issue #4.  
• February 20, 2014. "This Cat" by Karen E. Bender. Narrative, Winter 2014.  
• March 5, 2014: "Where Will All The Buildings Go?" by Laura van den Berg. Brooklyn Magazine, March 2014.