It’s time to say goodbye…

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed blogging over the last seven and a half years but as life brings more twists and turns, I’ve decided it’s time to move on. I appreciate all of the support I’ve gotten from book bloggers and readers everywhere. I will continue to be on goodreads.com (Dale Barthauer) and Twitter (@DBarthauer).

As one of the many things I’ve learned over the course of blogging is how great short stories are, I will close with a Top 20 list of my favorites:

20.) Yours – Joe Ashby Porter

19.) Watch With Me – Wendell Berry

18.) The Reach – Stephen King

17.) Bonus Baby – Joe Donnelly

16.) Death of a Right Fielder – Stuart Dybek

15.) In the Gloaming – Alice Elliot Dark

14.) The Virgin’s Gift – William Trevor

13.) A Father’s Story – Andre Dubus

12.) The Whore’s Child – Richard Russo

11.) “Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You My Lad” – M. R. James

10.) The Turkey Season –  Alice Munro

9.) Everything That Rises Must Converge – Flannery O’Connor

8.) The Diary of Adam and Eve – Mark Twain

7.) The Balloon – Donald Barthelme

6.) The School – Donald Barthelme

5.) My Son the Murderer – Bernard Malamud

4.) A Voice in the Night – Steven Millhauser

3.) DeDaumier-Smith’s Blue Period – J. D. Salinger

2.) For Esme – With Love and Squalor – J. D. Salinger

1.) Sonny’s Blues – James Baldwin

 

A Top Ten List for 2019…so far

I’ve read a lot of good short stories in the last six months so I’ve compiled my top ten favorites for 2019 so far:

10.) The Rotifer – Mary Ladd Gavel

9.) The Drowned Life – Jeffrey Ford

8.) Good for the Soul – Tim Gautreaux

7.) The Hurt Man – Wendell Berry

6.) The Minister’s Black Veil – Nathaniel Hawthorne

5.) The Child Screams and Looks Back at You – Russell Banks

4.) The Middle Years – Henry James

3.) Watch With Me – Wendell Berry

2.) Bonus Baby –  Joe Donnelly

1.) “Oh Whistle, and I’ll Come to You My Lad” – M. R. James