The story shelf

Follow your curiosity.

A name you know. A mood you’re in. Ten minutes to yourself. Start anywhere.

26 stories · Selected from the catalog · Page 2 of 2

Folklore, myth & moral tales

The Wine Worm

Ryūnosuke Akutagawa

A Chinese landowner who can drink without ever growing drunk submits to an eccentric monk’s treatment for the creature said to live inside him.

14 min · Dreamlike

More details

Themes: Identity · Transformation · Addiction & dependence
Settings: The countryside
Tone: Moralizing
Style: Descriptive · Ornate
Pace: Measured
Written for: For adults
Craft: Allegorical

Science fiction

The Hoofer

Walter M. Miller Jr.

A long-haul spacer returns to Earth to meet his newborn son, drunk, broke, and unsure whether he can stop choosing space over his family.

18 min · Melancholy

More details

Themes: Parenthood · Isolation · Addiction & dependence
Settings: The countryside
Tone: Darkly comic
Style: Conversational · Symbolic
Pace: Measured
Written for: For adults
Craft: Interior monologue
Motifs: Homecomings