
The Best American Short Stories 2023
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About this listen
A collection of the year’s best short stories, selected by National Book Award finalist Min Jin Lee and series editor Heidi Pitlor.
“Without stories, we cannot live well,” shares guest editor Min Jin Lee, describing how storytelling affects and nurtures readers. The Best American Short Stories 2023 features twenty pieces of short fiction that reflect a world full of fractured relationships, but also wondrous hope. A lifelong friendship may become a casualty of the Russia-Ukraine war. Rejected by his lover, a man seeks to reconcile with his family. Twitter users miraculously muster enough empathy to help a lost cat find a forever home. Enlightening, poignant, and undeniably human, the stories in this anthology bravely confront societal darkness and offer, in Lee’s words, “our emotional truths, restoring our sanity and providing comfort for the days ahead.”
The Best American Short Stories 2023 includes Cherline Bazile • Maya Binyam • Tom Bissell • Taryn Bowe • Da-Lin • Benjamin Ehrlich• Sara Freeman • Lauren Groff • Nathan Harris • Jared Jackson • Sana Krasikov • Danica Li • Ling Ma • Manuel Muñoz • Joanna Pearson • Souvankham Thammavongsa • Kosiso Ugwueze • Corinna Vallianatos • Azareen Van Der Vliet Oloomi • Esther Yi
Narrators:
- Laura Copland
- Jeena Yi
- Pascale Armand
- Korey Jackson
- Will Tulin
- Katharine Chin
- Mirai
- Micky Shiloah
- Nikki Massoud
- Dylan Moore
- Thabang Makhubelak
- Elyse Dinh
- Johnny Rey Diaz
- Em Grosland
- Elena Rey
- Yelena Shmulenson
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- Disorder collection
- By: Min Jin Lee
- Narrated by: Greta Jung
- Length: 37 mins
- Unabridged
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An excellent student from a poor, traditional family in Seoul, the narrator has absorbed the same message her whole life: Only a boy can provide the family with dignity and wealth. Not her. Not her three sisters. Receiving approval only for uncomplaining sacrifice, she has resolved to take on her family’s troubles. She is a good girl. And she knows what good girls must do.
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Brings back sadness and hurt
- By Qats reads on 08-23-19
By: Min Jin Lee
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Out of the Darkness
- A Novel
- By: David A. Jacinto
- Narrated by: David A. Jacinto, Paul Michael, Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1837, seven-year-old Thomas Wright followed in his family’s footsteps into one of England’s most dangerous coal mines. He struggled with childhood fears, working twelve-hour days, six days a week in the darkness 500 feet below ground. That was until disaster struck in one of England’s most horrific accidents that changes the direction of his life and the course of history. This is the fast-moving story of a young boy overcoming the iron-fisted rule of the massively wealthy lord of the land.
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The Best Book I’ve Ever Read!
- By Christie on 06-18-24
By: David A. Jacinto
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The Short Story Collection
- Classic Short Stories
- By: Stephen Crane, O. Henry, Anton Chekov
- Narrated by: Frank Muller, George Guidall
- Length: 1 hr and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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This group of four classic stories from the 19th century includes works that appear in many collections of European literature. Offering tantalizing revelations and unforgettable characters, these tales have delighted readers ever since they were first published. These classic short stories are narrated by two of the most critically-acclaimed readers in the audiobook field: George Guidall and Frank Muller. Their performances bring fresh emotional nuances to the tales while highlighting the wonderful strands of irony.
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Only 4 stories included
- By Orange Monkey on 04-27-25
By: Stephen Crane, and others
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Julia
- A Novel
- By: Sandra Newman
- Narrated by: Louise Brealey
- Length: 14 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Julia Worthing is a mechanic, working in the Fiction Department at the Ministry of Truth. It’s 1984, and Britain (now called Airstrip One) has long been absorbed into the larger trans-Atlantic nation of Oceania. Oceania has been at war for as long as anyone can remember, and is ruled by an ultra-totalitarian Party, whose leader is a quasi-mythical figure called Big Brother. In short, everything about this world is as it is in Orwell’s 1984.
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Double plus good and it hurts
- By WoofUsing ThisMonopoly on 10-30-23
By: Sandra Newman
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Returning Light
- Thirty Years on the Island of Skellig Michael
- By: Robert L. Harris
- Narrated by: Robert L. Harris
- Length: 9 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1987, Robert Harris happened upon an unusual job posting in the local paper—a new warden service was being set up on the island of Skellig Michael, and the deadline was imminent. Just weeks later he was on his way to set up camp in one of Ireland’s most remote locations, unaware that he would be making that same journey every May for the next 30 years.
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Beautiful!
- By Elizabeth B. on 11-19-23
By: Robert L. Harris
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The Complete Stories of Sherlock Holmes
- By: Arthur Conan Doyle
- Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
- Length: 70 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Here in one recording is every Sherlock Holmes story ever written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Originally appearing in serial form, these famous stories are here presented in the order in which they were first published beginning in 1887. Included in this definitive, award-winning collection are four novels and 56 short stories, a total of 60 titles. The 56 short stories are aggregated into five named collections, just as they were originally published in book form.
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More collections like this, please!
- By Myusollo on 07-22-14
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The Matter of Everything
- How Curiosity, Physics, and Improbable Experiments Changed the World
- By: Suzie Sheehy
- Narrated by: Suzie Sheehy
- Length: 10 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Physics has always been engaged in the pursuit of expanding our knowledge of the nature of matter and the world around us. But how can you use experiments to further this quest? How do you measure the mass of a particle a trillion times smaller than a grain of sand? And, finally, why is all this important? In The Matter of Everything, accelerator physicist Suzie Sheehy introduces us to the people who, through a combination of genius, persistence and luck, staged the experiments that changed the course of history.
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Outstanding History of Curiosity-Driven Science
- By Ryan on 04-29-23
By: Suzie Sheehy
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The John Varley Reader
- Thirty Years of Short Fiction
- By: John Varley
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey, Paul Boehmer, Gabrielle de Cuir, and others
- Length: 26 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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From the moment John Varley burst onto the scene in 1974, his short fiction was like nothing anyone else was writing. His stories won every award the science fiction field had to offer, many times over. His first collection, The Persistence of Vision, published in 1978, was the most important collection of the decade and changed what fans would come to expect from science fiction.
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3 Hugo & 2 Nebula awards. Great narrators.
- By Ed Pegg Jr on 12-29-21
By: John Varley
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Becoming Dr. Seuss
- Theodor Geisel and the Making of an American Imagination
- By: Brian Jay Jones
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 18 hrs
- Unabridged
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The definitive, fascinating, all-reaching biography of Dr. Seuss. Dr. Seuss is a classic American icon. Whimsical and wonderful, his work has defined our childhoods and the childhoods of our own children. The silly, simple rhymes are a bottomless well of magic, his illustrations timeless favorites because, quite simply, he makes us laugh. The Grinch, the Cat in the Hat, Horton, and so many more are his troupe of beloved and uniquely Seussian creations.
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Good enough to read but not listen to.
- By Vetbo on 05-21-19
By: Brian Jay Jones
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The Mysterious Bookshop Presents the Best Mystery Stories of the Year: 2024
- By: Otto Penzler - editor foreword, Anthony Horowitz - editor introduction
- Narrated by: Kim Niemi, BJ Harrison
- Length: 15 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Anthony Horowitz selects and introduces the best mystery stories from the past year, under the auspices of the world's oldest mystery fiction specialty bookshop.
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Enough stumbling and phone won’t work
- By deepdvr_ca on 03-02-25
By: Otto Penzler - editor foreword, and others
Although there are only a few GREAT stories in each volume, I have found this series has the best curation of any of the annual short story collections I read. Each volume has 20 of the best American short stories of the year. Audible now has all the volumes since 2019.
In this volume Annunciation by Lauren Groff was my favorite. There are a handful of other very good stories, along with a dozen not-bad to good stories.
RANT: This is a curated collection of American shorts. It is not really a “Best” collection because diversity and inclusion appear to be an important editorial factor. Inclusive curated collections are great but are a different thing from a true “best of” collection.
One nice thing that is different from past years, is there is an afterword with short comments from each of the authors about their story. This was a great addition.
The narration varies but overall good to excellent.
Another Great Year of Shorts
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My favorites were "Annunciation," "Peking Duck," "The Company of Others," and "Bebo," but all of them (save the three listed above) were fantastic.
Layers and layers
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Tender, Camp Emeline, The Company of Others, Bebo, Peking Duck, Grand Mal, and This Isn't The Actual Sea. Don't miss the Contributor's Notes. In addition to the author biographies, the authors provide insight into the specific selected story.
Very Good Collection
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