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December 23, 2014

These are the short fiction collections I have recommended most to blog readers, friends, and family throughout the year.

All links go to the authors' contributions to the Book Notes series. I have reposted my original comments for each book.

What was your favorite short story collection of 2014?





Flings by Justin Taylor

Justin Taylor's Flings is filled with stories both strikingly modern and perfectly structured, easily one of the year's finest short fiction collections.





The Heaven of Animals by David James Poissant

David James Poissant's The Heaven of Animals may be my favorite short story collection of the year. His skill at creating sympathetic, yet unlikeable, characters is impressive, as is the emotional depth found in these stories.





Karate Chop by Dorthe Nors

Dorthe Nors acutely mines the unexpected and explosive of everyday lives in this brilliantly understated short story collection.





Praying Drunk by Kyle Minor

Kyle Minor's new collection Praying Drunk remarkably explores themes of faith, family, and friendship in its linked stories filled with desperate characters.





Thunderstruck by Elizabeth McCracken

Elizabeth McCracken's new short fiction collection Thunderstruck is the work of a storyteller at the top of her game, the stories both poignant and resonant.





When Mystical Creatures Attack! by Kathleen Founds

Deeply poignant and incredibly funny, When Mystical Creatures Attack! proves Kathleen Founds a talented and inventive writer.



also at Largehearted Boy:

online "best of 2014" book lists

Largehearted Boy favorite comics of 2014

Largehearted Boy favorite food and drink books of 2014

Largehearted Boy favorite nonfiction books of 2014

Largehearted Boy favorite novels of 2014



Largehearted Boy favorite short story collections of 2013

Largehearted Boy favorite short story collections of 2012

Largehearted Boy favorite short story collections of 2011

Largehearted Boy favorite short story collections of 2010

Largehearted Boy favorite short story collections of 2009

Largehearted Boy favorite short story collections of 2008

previous lists at Largehearted Boy

Antiheroines (interviews with up and coming female comics artists)

Book Notes (authors create playlists for their book)

Note Books (musicians discuss literature)

guest book reviews

musician/author interviews

52 Books, 52 Weeks book reviews

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