NCW Libraries

Includes James Thurber's "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty," now a major motion picture! Spanning nearly 300 years of American humor, this anthology of entertaining tales ranges from the inventive mind of Benjamin Franklin and his 1732 story, "Alice Addertongue," to Simon Rich's 2012 fable, "Center of the Universe." More than 30 witty short stories include works by Mark Twain, Harriet Beecher Stowe, O. Henry, Langston Hughes, and other masters of the...

This musical, based on the stories of Shalom Aleichem, takes place in pre-revolutionary Russia and centers on the life of Tevye (Topol), a milkman who is trying to keep his family's traditions in place while marrying off his three older daughters. Yet, times are changing and the daughters want to make their own matches, breaking free of many of the constricting customs required of them by Judaism. In the background of these events, Russia is on the...

First published in 1908, this volume contains a collection of short stories and anecdotes compiled for use by public speakers, as well as sections on useful skills for the orator including pausing, impersonation, pronunciation, imagination, etc. Grenville Kleiser (1868-1953) was a North American author best remembered for his many inspirational and motivational books, especially those related to oration and self development. He also worked as a Public...

It is curious that, despite the rapid growth of interest in Scandinavian literature through the English-speaking world, there has been up to now no book to represent one of the most brilliant fields of achievement, the Swedish short story. The work of Selma Lagerlof is well known and a volume of Per Hallström has appeared recently, but no attempt has been made to represent a group of the leading masters. The present collection, whatever its failings,...

A collection of the year’s best short stories, selected by Pulitzer Prize winner Andrew Sean Greer and series editor Heidi Pitlor.

A special new collection of Ellison's short stories, selected especially for this volume by the author, including the newly revised and expanded tale "Never Send to Know for Whom the Lettuce Wilts." In a career spanning more than fifty years, Harlan Ellison has written or edited seventy-five books, more than seventeen hundred stories, essays, articles, and newspaper columns, two dozen teleplays, and a dozen movies. Now, for the first time anywhere,...

Ready for a story break? Enjoy 20 short stories selected from the Freely Written podcast, hosted by author Susan Quilty. Each of these stories was free-written from a simple prompt, with no planning and very little editing. They cover a range of styles, offering something for every reader. You never know where a free-written story will go! With this collection, you can enjoy a 10-minute escape whenever you have time for a story break. You can also...

This rerelease of the popular Stories for a Man's Heart is an enjoyable collection of quotes, humorous stories, and short stories selected just for a man's heart, repackaged in an attractive new cover. These uplifting, feel-good, and motivational stories will inspire men to be "all they can be." The book features contributions from many of today's most respected and loved communicators and is divided into sections on virtue, love, motivation, encouragement,...

Ideal for students of German as well as crime story enthusiasts, this dual-language edition contains ten short stories. Selections range from eighteenth- and nineteenth-century classics by Friedrich Schiller ("Der Verbrecher aus verlorener Ehre"/"The Criminal of Lost Honor") and Willibald Alexis ("Das Gelöbnis der drei Diebe"/"The Pledge of the Three Thieves") to tales by such popular contemporary authors as Iris Klockmann ("Der Kuss des Todes"/"The...

Take a bite of the Hellboy universe with the creator's hand-picked essential stories in this new jumping-on point collection! Confront the undead, swim to strange places, and encounter powerful fey in this introduction to the world of Hellboy. Newcomers to the series needn't have read the original stories to jump right in and see what Hellboy is all about thanks to this collection of short stories, selected by Mike Mignola himself as the perfect...