LitReading - Classic Short Stories

This story is only available here during the holidays, but can be heard year-round at Season's Readings, a part of Short Storyverses at shortstoryverses.com

O. Henry often found the heart of a story in the everyday moments most people overlook. The Purple Dress is one of those pieces — a small, vivid glimpse into life in early-1900s New York, told with his familiar mix of humor, warmth, and gentle surprise.

William ...

This story is only available here during the holidays, but can be heard year-round at Season's Readings, a part of Short Storyverses at shortstoryverses.com.

Somewhere there’s a great story for almost every holiday, even the decidedly American tradition of Thanksgiving and who better to tell such a story than one of America’s finest authors, O. Henry.

We are expanding our universe of short story podcasts on our new podcas...

We are expanding our universe of short story podcasts on our new podcast channel, Short StoryVerses. Listen to some of Don's new, original short stories on the "New Tales Told" podcast. Look it up on your favorite podcast player.

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Jack London takes us into the frozen silence of the Yukon and leaves us beside an aging chief who has reached the appointed end of his trail. As the tribe moves on, Old Koskoosh remains behind with only a small fire, a dwindling stack of wood, and the memories of a life spent obeying the relentless rhythms of nature. This is a stark, almost ceremonial meditation on aging, duty, and the brutal simplicity of the natural world. T...

Ernest Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants” is one of the most celebrated short stories ever written — a masterclass in subtext, restraint, and emotional tension.

Set at a train station in Spain, it captures a quiet conversation between two lovers waiting for a train — a moment in which everything that matters lies between the lines.

Presented by Litreading, part of Short Storyverses — where class...

O. Henry had a gift for wrapping heartbreak in humor. His stories feel light, almost playful—until that last line hits and you realize he’s been quietly aiming for your chest the whole time.

In The Skylight Room, we meet a bright, hopeful young woman renting the smallest, loneliest room in New York. But she still finds a way to fill it—with imagination, with laughter, and with a star she names Billy Jackson.

What ha...

We reprise another classic thriller from Litreading's archives for this year's scary season,

In this episode, we go on an adventure off the coast of South America, as a famous big game hunter finds himself stranded on an island where hunting has been elevated to a new and frightening level. It’s time to play “The Most Dangerous Game.”

"The Most Dangerous Game" has been called "the most popular story ever written in English" and w...

This dark, thriller deserves to be included in our reprise of classic stories for the scary season. Written by one of America’s greatest writers, Sinclair Lewis, "The Willow Walk" features some fascinating characters, shocking twists, and powerful imagery. It is also one of our longest stories clocking in at over one hour.

In addition to winning a Pulitzer Prize, Sinclair Lewis was the first American to win the Nobel Prize for L...

Kate Chopin’s Doctor Chevalier’s Lie is a moving meditation on compassion in the face of tragedy. Set against the backdrop of a harsh and unforgiving city, the story turns on a doctor’s quiet decision: whether to report what he sees with unflinching honesty, or to soften the truth for the sake of those left behind. Chopin invites us to consider the value of mercy, the weight of dignity, and the moments when a carefully ch...