Stories that i can read

18 Great Short Stories You Can Read Free Online

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(Editor’s note: this post was updated in August, 2021, with current links to all stories.) When I have no idea what to read, I find a bunch of free short stories online, save them onto the Pocket app, and read them as if I’ve compiled my own short story collection. Like a music playlist I create to match a mood, I create short story playlists to break a book slump, or to sample a bunch of different authors’ writing.

As to where to find great stories, The New Yorker stories are generally best, but require a subscription if you read too many in a month. I also like Narrative Magazine, which will ask you for an email, but their stories are free too. Tor of course has some great free stuff, and you can find most of the classics through Gutenberg. The stories on this list that are not from any of these publications, I found through simple Google searches. If I’m interested in an author, but don’t necessarily want to read a whole book, I look to see if they have any short fiction available that I can read first.

From this list, my favorites are Zadie Smith and Italo Calvino’s stories. I’d never read Zadie Smith, but after loving “The Embassy of Cambodia” I started On Beauty (a 500 page book) and I absolutely love it. Both stories satisfied a reading itch I needed scratched.

Here are a few of my favorite free short stories you can read online right now.

“

The world is a library that contains all the books that have ever been written, but most of them are indecipherable. Many people venture to the library to find the meaning of life. It reminded me of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld library.

“Perhaps my old age and fearfulness deceive me, but I suspect that the human species—the unique species—is about to be extinguished, but the Library will endure: illuminated, solitary, infinite, perfectly motionless, equipped with precious volumes, useless, incorruptible, secret. ”

“The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson

This used to be my favorite short story, and I might only think that because I read it when I was a freshman in high school and I remember being shocked by the ending. It’s always stayed with me.

“A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor

Another story with an ending that you won’t forget anytime soon. O’Connor was a master. If you’ve never read any of her work I would start here.

“In the Penal Colony” by Franz Kafka

It’s a chilling story. A man known as the Traveller is visiting a foreign penal colony where he is shown a special machine used to execute prisoners. The machine inscribes the prisoner’s crime onto their body until they die (kind of sounds familiar if you’ve read the fifth Harry Potter book). It takes twelve hours of torture before the prisoner dies. I told you it was chilling!

“The Devil in America” by Kai Ashante Wilson (Tor)

Kai Ashante Wilson has quite a talent. This ties present day police brutality towards African Americans to post-emancipation America and a family of freed slaves that are living with the Devil that followed them from Africa.

“The City Born Great” by N.K. Jemisin (Tor)

Cities, once they are old enough, must be born. New York City is ready to be born, and must be led into the world by a reluctant midwife.

“Spider the Artist” by Nnedi Okorafor (Lightspeed Magazine)

Okorafor is a wonderful storyteller, and if you’ve never read her books, this would be a great place to start. And if you like this short story, Binti: The Complete Trilogy was released in February!

“Exhalation” by Ted Chiang (Lightspeed Magazine)

Oh, you’ve never read Ted Chiang? Well, you must go out now and read this story and then read Stories of Your Life and Others and his new collection Exhalation: Stories, which comes out in May. I was shocked by how good and complex his writing was. I had no idea that the movie The Arrival was based on one of his short stories.

“The Daughters of the Moon” by Italo Calvino (The New Yorker)

I don’t know. It’s either Zadie Smith’s “The Embassy of Cambodia” or this story that is my favorite on the list… I can’t decide. I think it’s this story. A story about the people of Earth deciding to throw away the Moon. It’s a story of consumerism. Luckily, I own “The Complete Cosmicomics“, so I can continue reading Calvino’s magnificent short story collection.

“The Embassy of Cambodia” by Zadie Smith (The New Yorker)

After you read “The Devil in America” read this story and see if you can find the parallels. This was my first time reading Zadie Smith because I’d always heard mixed reviews, but if her longer fiction is anything like this short story, I’m in love. If you need help figuring out where to start with Zadie Smith’s books, check out our Reading Pathway guide to Zadie Smith.

“Sweetness” by Toni MOrrison (The New Yorker)

A prelude to Morrison’s book God Help the Child, this is the story of Bride’s mother, and her rationale for raising her daughter in a loveless home.

“Girls, At Play” by Celeste Ng (Bellevue Literary Review)

“This is how we play the game: pink means kissing; red means tongue. Green means up your shirt; blue means down his pants. Purple means in your mouth. Black means all the way.”

The first four sentences of this short story sent chills down my spine. A superbly told story of the extremes of girlhood and adolescence; the pressures girls face as they get older.

“On Seeing the 100% Perfect Girl One Beautiful April Morning” by Haruki Murakami (Genius)

Love at first sight, if you believe love is predestined rather than a choice. Fated love, to me, no matter how hard my heart becomes, still seems ridiculously romantic. I haven’t read Murakami in a long time but now I’m itching to pick up one of his books (I really want to read 1Q84, but it’s soooo long!).

“Chechnya” by Anthony Marra (Narrative Magazine)

This was Anthony Marra’s first published short story, and works as an outline for his novel A Constellation of Vital Phenomenon. It’s the kind of story you read while holding your breath.

“The Fruit of My Woman” by Han Kang (Granta)

This story was written in 1997 before the publication of The Vegetarian. The two stories share many of the same themes, and it’s evident that this story served as a blueprint for the later book. In “The Fruit of My Woman” the wife is slowly turning into a tree (something that also comes up in The Vegetarian). The allusions to Daphne turning herself into a laurel tree to escape the advances of Apollo are hard to miss, but there’s no clear indication that Daphne was an actual influence on either story. Han Kang can do no wrong in my eyes.

“A Lady’s Maid” by Sarah Gailey (Barnes & Noble)

I love Sarah Gailey. This is a great introduction if you’re unfamiliar with her work. It’s Victorian London with androids—so much to love!

“A Bruise the Size and Shape of a Door Handle” by Daisy Johnson (American Short Fiction)

A hot and bothered story about a house falling in love with the girl who lives in the attic. I loved everything about this story. This is included in Johnson’s short story collection, Fen, and I can’t wait to get my hands on it. Also, the writing style reminded me of Samantha Hunt.

“Hollow” by Breece D’J Pancake (The Atlantic)

Breece D’J Pancake died when he was 26. He was from West Virginia, and I would label his writing “grit-lit”. This story was almost too gritty for me. He’s the kind of writer that other writers love. His short story collection has a blurb from Joyce Carol Oates.

Want more short stories? Check out our post on the 100 best short story collections!

The Best Short Stories to Read Online for Free

Plus, download a free copy of "The Yellow Wallpaper."

By Kaytie Norman | Published Dec 25, 2019

• Photo Credit: ictoriano Izquierdo / Unsplash

A good short story is a thing of beauty. Short story authors must be concise and make every word count to deliver a tale that captivates readers from the first few sentences, as opposed to the first few chapters. It’s a difficult task, but when done correctly, a short story is a powerful thing.  

Plus, short stories are also an excellent way to check out an author before committing to one of their novels, and perfect for reading on your phone or when you only have 20 minutes to spare on your commute. Below, we’ve rounded up ten of the best short stories to read online for free. If you have a few minutes, you can get lost in a whole other world. 

Related: Short Story Collections That Belong on Every Novel-Reader’s Shelf

Note: Stories marked with an asterisk are available for free from The New Yorker. If you do not have a subscription, you will only be able to view a limited number of articles each month. 

• Photo Credit: An illustration by Erik Desmazières for “The Library of Babel,” by Jorge Luis Borges

In this short story, one of the greatest masters of magical realism has imagined a library that contains endless 410-page books with every possible permutation of 25 basic characters (22 letters, period, comma, and space). Of course, most of the books are gibberish—but among them must be every coherent book ever written. 

This (along with the possibility that some of the seemingly-gibberish books may be masterpieces if translated in other languages) drives the librarians who are tasked with organizing the collection to the point of insanity. 

Read it here.

Related: 8 Short Story Books to Celebrate Jorge Luis Borges

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Science fiction writer Ursula K. Le Guin won the Hugo award in 1974 for this short story about a dystopian society, the city of Omelas. The story begins by describing what seems like a blissful community—but, naturally, there’s a twist. 

Read it here.

Related: 9 Essential Ursula K. Le Guin Books

This classic short story was written in 1950, but its focus on the dangers of technology make it seem as though it was written just last week. The Hadleys live in a HappyLife home that does everything from brush your teeth to rock you asleep. But its most impressive feature is the children’s nursery, which has incredible virtual reality capabilities. It reads your thoughts and conjures whatever you imagine—including an African grassland that may be a little too lifelike.

Read it here.

• Photo Credit: Miss Shari / Flickr

When Shirley Jackson first published this short story in The New Yorker, people were somewhat outraged. The magazine received hundreds of letters from readers who were aghast at the story’s ending and desperate to find out what it meant. If you haven’t read it, there’s no time like the present.

Read it here.*

“The moon is old, Qfwfq agreed, pitted with holes, worn out. Rolling naked through the skies, it erodes and loses its flesh like a bone that’s been gnawed.” Another magical realism master, Italian writer Italo Calvino penned this tale about consumerism in 1968. As usual, his prose is imaginative, humorous, and fascinating, and well worth reading.

Read it here.*

Related: Italo Calvino’s Life, Legacy and 9 Must-Read Books

Technically a novella at 96 pages, Smith’s short story takes us into the life of Fatou, a woman who works as a domestic servant for the Derawals. The titular Embassy of Cambodia is located in north-west London, making this an excellent companion piece to Smith’s musical, engaging 2012 novel, NW.

Read it here.*

Related: 12 Fantastic Short Books to Read in a Weekend

Want more great books? Sign up for the Early Bird Books newsletter and get the best daily ebook deals delivered straight to your inbox.

• Photo Credit: Glenn Close in the pilot for Amazon's "Sea Oak." Amazon has passed on the dark comedy.

A poor family lives in a housing project called Sea Oak. Initially, their situation is so bleak it verges on comic. When their Aunt Bernie dies and they are unable to even afford a proper funeral, instead burying her in a casket made of flimsy balsa wood. Then, the unthinkable happens—Aunt Bernie rises again, and she has a lot to say before she’s done rotting.

Read it here.*

Anyone who’s ever eavesdropped on a conversation between strangers will get a thrill out of Hemingway’s 1927 short story. The plot focuses on a man, known only as The American, and a woman, known as The Girl, and the enigmatic conversation they have at a train station in Spain. The two indirectly talk about an “operation” he wants her to have, but without more context clues, readers must make their own interpretations about what they’re really discussing.

Read it here.

Joyce is known for behemoth, controversial works like Ulysses, which clocks in at 730 pages, but he was also quite skilled at writing short stories. Featured in Dubliners, a collection of his short stories, “Eveline” is about a young woman wrestling with whether she should leave her childhood home, or keep a promise she made to her dying mother to look after it.

Read it here.

• Photo Credit: Charlotte Perkins Gilman, c. 1900.

First published in 1892, “The Yellow Wallpaper” is generally regarded as an important early work of feminist literature. The story is structured as a series of journal entries from a woman whose husband, a physician, has decided she needs a “rest cure” after experiencing “temporary nervous depression” after giving birth. 

In essence, this entails the couple staying in a colonial mansion, in a room with barred windows, scratched floors, and torn, yellowing wallpaper. As you may have guessed, the room doesn’t improve the narrator’s mental health. 

New subscribers to the Early Bird Books newsletter can download this short story for free!

Keep Reading: How Long Is a Short Story vs a Novella? 

Featured photo: Victoriano Izquierdo / Unsplash. Additional photos: Library of Babel: Penn State / Flickr (CC) ; The Lottery: Miss Shari / Flickr (CC) 

fiction

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Read the book “An Ordinary Miracle.

© Kiryanova A.V., text, 2021

© Design. Eksmo Publishing House, 2021

* * *

Everything is destroyed. Spoiled. Taken away.

Nothing, nothing. The main thing is that there is a cell left from which a new one can be grown. The material remains, and the energy is there. Sad to see the destruction, whatever you say. So much work and effort down the drain! But they grieve - and that's enough. You have to get up and start repairing everything, fixing it, growing it again. It's one thing to take the head off a lizard. Another thing is the tail. We must try and grow a new tail. Better than before! nine0003

That's the point. After hitting and losing, you need to think. If you can think, then it's okay. It was the tail. Very painful and embarrassing, of course. But if you try and do not despair, you can grow a new tail. Lush and beautiful.

This is the main thing: many people mistake the loss of the tail for the loss of everything. But it's not. Energy will be restored, and the pain will pass. Maybe there is a way to fix everything. Maybe everything is fixable completely, just because of the pain and resentment you think badly and exaggerate the problem. Sometimes people even lay hands on themselves in a fever. And then they regret it very much when the angels reproach them in the next world for cowardice. And the enemies in this world happily share their belongings. Or relatives…

Anything can happen in life. But the one who distinguishes a recoverable loss from an irreparable one wins and wins. And he does not run to drown himself to the pond because of a trouble that can be corrected and survived. And it was just the tail of a lizard. Everyone who has a supply of energy, magic cells for regeneration has it. It still hurts though, of course. But we'll fix it. Quite fixable...

Sometimes illness or intrigues of enemies become the only saving way out.

But a person, of course, perceives misfortune and exile as a blow of fate. Like something bad and terrible. Only then does the logic of events become clear. You did not want to save yourself, and you were saved by force. They dragged him out by the hair like a drowning man. Or with such a good kick they were thrown out with a parachute from a falling plane. Forcibly catapulted. nine0003

Boris Godunov sent Xenia Romanova into exile. He expected that a woman in poor health would die in exile from deprivation and disease. Even the tower for her imprisonment was specially built cramped like a prison. In this tower, guarded by soldiers, in deprivation, Ksenia lived, separated from her husband and children. But there was a source of mineral water nearby. There was no other water, the prisoner had to drink a bitter and smelly liquid. So Xenia's health improved a lot, and the cold and diet also strengthened it. Her character was steel. Ksenia became the nun Martha, gained enormous influence, and her son Misha became king. And Xenia-Marfa is a great empress. Her enemies did not fare well; but it was her forced departure to the Zaonezhsky "resort" that saved her life. She would never go to a healing spring herself, right? And she would simply die from the "treatment" of the doctors of that time. nine0003

Or Churchill was dismissed; it was a terrible blow for him, he lived in politics. But there was nothing to be done - and in his estate Churchill took up painting, began to walk in the fresh air, read and relax. And his shattered health, physical and psychological, strengthened. He had a great rest, and then returned to power again. And he lived for ninety years. If not for this period of forced rest, he would have exhausted his resource and left this world much earlier...

Iron Chancellor Bismarck, who had exhausted his reserve of adaptive energy, was carried away by alcohol and various dangerous substances, began to overeat and lose his will... But it was this period of inactivity that saved him from death: the chancellor met a doctor who cured him with simple means - a daily routine, diet and abstinence. And with renewed vigor, Bismarck returned to work. Like King Nebuchadnezzar, who generally went a little crazy from overwork and crawled in the forest on all fours, eating grass like a cow. But in the open air and on a vegetarian diet, the king rested, met the prophet and returned to the throne. We can say from the resort. nine0003

Sometimes we don't notice that the energy supply is depleted. That we are in danger of serious illness or death. And if we notice, we cannot find the determination to give up everything and go to the country or to the sea. Because we have so many things to do. So many responsibilities. This is where either enemies, or illness, or other circumstances appear that will force us to rest by force. They will be pushed out of a falling plane and lead to a source of healing water. Maybe we won't like it there. But then everything will work out for the best. nine0003

So being forced out of business due to intrigue, unfortunate circumstances, or illness can be a sure sign of future success. And just salvation. Unfavorable circumstances sometimes turn out to be favorable, and a cramped tower is better than an elegant grave. Be patient and rest. And then there will be happy changes. They just have to wait, saving strength and nerves. Forced rest is saving, we then understand this.

In a remote Ural village

old man Abramych was sitting under a bird cherry tree. I do not know his name: Abramych and Abramych, that was his name. White as a harrier, Abramych sat on a bench under a bird cherry tree and wove bast shoes. Bast shoes were bought by summer residents, scientists from the Academy of Sciences. It was fashionable in the kitchen to hang bast shoes on the wall, a la russe, as they say.

Now I will tell you something useful, but indecent. Useful - it's about psychological protection. She was very good with Abramich. He was a blooming old man of more than ninety years old, he fought in the Civil War. Then to the Patriotic. And he had a calm personality. And a healthy mind. nine0003

And why? Because he knew the magic psychological words. Magic spell. When some smart professor-physicist approached Abramych and began to explain how to weave bast shoes correctly, or when a local shepherd drunk tried to devalue Abramich or his bast shoes - out of envy, of course - the old man spoke his spell. Calm and weighty.

I don't know if I can share this spell. Sacred knowledge, which at the age of five she overheard from the old man Abramych, a wise man. But I'll hint. He clearly said: “I went ...” I will not write further mystical words. Smart people will understand. This is how he spoke and again began to weave bast shoes. nine0003

Everyone respected old man Abramych: the summer residents, the locals, the fool Tereshechka, the paramedic, the mad projectionist, and even the witch Pritchina. He sat like an Indian chief. And cast his spell in response to the rare attacks of toxic critics. And it helped him a lot. And the critics too.

He also wove bast shoes for me as a gift. I even looked a bit like them - a very uncomfortable thing, I tell you.

But the spell is convenient. Useful. And what is obscene - well, excuse me, you can’t throw out a word from a song. But it does work. nine0003

Very often what happens is that a person is found on the Net.

Or he comes to a meeting of classmates twenty years after school. And a person recognizes with amazement that someone loved him in childhood or in early youth. I loved it very much with my first love. And he gave ridiculous signs or simply froze in the presence of the object of his love; and acted like a fool. Or like an idiot. And the one who was loved did not even guess about the feeling for him. Or – to her…

And the man is a little dumbfounded. Wow, they loved him, thought about him, did not sleep at night ... But he did not know. Well now; only a sad smile appears on his face. Everything is gone; but it could have been quite different. But I didn’t understand, I didn’t recognize, I didn’t guess . .. Maybe nothing would have happened. But it was still important and necessary then. The girl venomously joked and offended, but in fact she loved. Or the young man was silent and just watched; it seemed that he was looking with superiority or looking at him with indifference. And he loved. Like this! Oh, to know then about this timid, so carefully disguised love ...

You see, the thing is that the situation continues. Chances are, there is someone who really likes you right now. The one who is in love with you, but does not show his feelings in any way. This man did a great job of disguising love; in fact, true love is sometimes well disguised, it is not so easy to express. Interest, attraction, sympathy is easy to express, but love is more difficult. Moreover, with age we become more and more cautious; our hearts have already been broken…

And now, twenty or thirty years later, one can learn with amazement and some bitterness that someone loves us now. Someone thinks of us with tenderness, someone looks at our photos and mentally speaks to us. And we don't know - as in childhood or in youth. We don't guess. nine0003

Almost every person has someone who secretly loves him. Platonic love loves, thinks about him and is interested in him. Many people have such a person, but you have no idea. Maybe later a bald old man or a decrepit old woman will tell you, laughing sadly, that they once loved you. When you were only forty or fifty ... And you had no idea, wow. Funny, is not it? How young we were!..

This is the riddle and mystery of love. But many people have hidden, disguised love. It's a matter of attention; we do not see this love. Or maybe it is she who saves and supports us? Think about who secretly loves you. Wish mentally good to this person. May he or she be well. Maybe you can guess who it is. nine0003

Or maybe not. This is silent love. And why it is needed is a mystery. But almost everyone has such a lover. He keeps us.

If something good happened in your life,

joy happened, if you won, passed an exam successfully, overcame an obstacle, achieved something - give yourself a triumph. Celebrate your victory. Even if you are tired, if there is little money, if there is no time - still arrange a holiday. Little triumph.

Triumph was the highest honor in Ancient Rome. The Senate or the emperor himself rewarded the great victorious commander with the right to pass through the main streets of Rome in a victorious procession. Crowned with a laurel wreath, like that! Surrounded by the legion of honor, to the sound of a victorious march. Triumph is the procession and celebration of the winner, the reward. And thanks to the gods - look what I have achieved thanks to your patronage! nine0003

It's the right way to celebrate. You don’t need to decorate yourself with a bay leaf, times have changed. But it is necessary to dress beautifully on the day of your triumph. Put on all the best things. The most beautiful. And wear jewelry, if any. Watches and phones also count. The men have a tie and a wallet.

One must go somewhere in beautiful clothes, with the gait of a winner. Or ride a chariot - by car. You must go and go with the consciousness of your victory and with a sense of your dignity. You will feel a cloud of energy enveloping you, like an electric field. And it will give you strength. nine0003

Victor's festive meal required. Even if it's cake and tea in a small cafe, it's a winner's meal. Treat yourself and reward yourself for winning. If you are on a diet, you can buy a delicious exotic fruit. And if you share a meal with friends or a loved one, you get a real feast of the commander. Albeit in miniature, a microcosm in the macrocosm; it is a symbol of victory. It's not about the size!

And you have to walk along the main street. To visit the center of the city, but at least the village. But this is an important part of the triumph - to be in the center of the settlement, to walk in beautiful clothes. nine0003

You can also listen to music that you like. Turn it on at home or in the car, it doesn't matter. It is important that the music pleases your ears. This is also a reward for the brain - a good song or classical music. The praise of loved ones is also a delight to the ear. They give a powerful charge to your battery. And the legion of honor can be your friends and family, with whom you share your triumph.

Let the triumph last only an hour - that's enough. But a holiday is definitely needed, that's the point. This reinforces the victory and gives strength; consolidates the “victory program” for the future. Triumph is a reward, it will help to consolidate success, increase energy, and then re-enter the competition with renewed vigor. And win again! nine0003

Dr. Aibolit lived in Vilna, and his name was Tsemakh Shabad.

Timofey Osipovich - that was his name Korney Chukovsky, who considered the doctor the kindest person in the world. Once a thin, thin girl came to Dr. Shabad and asked for medicine. She didn't feel well. And Timofey Osipovich looked at her and said that one should come to him every morning for medicine. This medicine is two glasses of milk.

15 books for schoolchildren and teachers

06/16/2022

Literature is a faithful companion for both adults and
for children. If you need to take a break, get distracted, or want to take your thoughts to other, fairy-tale worlds, just pick up a book and immerse yourself in a fascinating story
.

We have prepared a non-banal list of books for the summer that are read avidly.

1. All aboard the Discovery Express. Research Expedition Through Time, 0+

The reader is sent on a journey through time and space. Stops are at the places of scientific achievements and inventions: the launch of the first balloon by the Montgolfier brothers, the opening of the Panama Canal, the departure of the first submarine to the depths of the Neva. Lots of valves, letters and hints will help you make an exciting journey.

The book explains how the automobile came about, why steamships changed New Orleans life, and how the chain drive on a bicycle works.

2. “What can I learn from Stephen Hawking”, 0+

The English theoretical physicist, cosmologist and astrophysicist Stephen Hawking lived for 76 years - during his life he created the theory of the evaporation of black holes , connected the theory of gravity and relativity of Albert Einstein with the strange world of quantum mechanics and had a huge impact on the development of modern science. He also suffered from lateral sclerosis, which deprived him of the ability to move and speak independently. nine0003

His biography is a story about being curious and pursuing knowledge, making friends and falling in love despite obstacles.

3. "Dinka", 6+

Dinka is a traveler, but still quite small. Once at the dacha with her sisters and aunt, she quickly got bored and began to run away to the bank of the Volga near the house. So she met Lenka, a boy who supports her in all her adventures. And Lyonka also keeps some secret, and Dinka is extremely interested to find out what her new friend is hiding from her. nine0003

A touching story will teach kindness, mercy and courage. And the book also has a sequel - "Dinka says goodbye to childhood."

4. Reverse River, 6+

Flip book about twelve-year-old grocer Tomek and girl Hanna. The guys go in search of the magical river Kyar. They say that the river flows backwards and gives immortality to all who have reached its banks.

But before that, you can lose your memory in the Forest of Oblivion, taste the juice of giant apricots, see beautiful blue flowers in an open field, disenchant the Non-Existent Island, guess the riddle of the old witch. ..

Why a person needs immortality and how to find true friendship - you will find out by reading the story to the end.

5. Fantastic Women Who Changed History, 11+

This book tells the stories of 14 women who left their mark on history: Ada Lovelace, an English countess and the world's first programmer who created the prototype of the modern computer, the female pharaoh Hatshepsut, Mary Shelley, who wrote the story of Frankenstein, the Indian princess Pocahontas. nine0003

Each of them faced misunderstanding and numerous obstacles, but found the strength to go their own way and change the foundations of society.

6. “What to do if…”, 12+

This book is a guide to difficult situations. Completely different: too hot or too cold, scared in the dark or a stray dog ​​stuck on the way home.

You will learn what to do instead of being afraid - and why it is important to find something that depends on you in every frightening moment. nine0003

7. Goblin Sanctuary, 12+

Time travel has become commonplace: now a university lecturer from the future is quietly meeting with Shakespeare, who is giving a lecture on "Did I Write Shakespeare's Plays?" He spends his free time with students and teachers in a place called "Pig and Whistle" and communicates with goblins, a good-natured and cheerful people.

The new world is filled with completely different creatures, and the main character will have to find mutual understanding with everyone: with the legendary inhabitants of the hills, colleagues, enemies and himself. nine0003

8. "The Twelve Chairs", 12+

Who doesn't dream of one day going on a treasure hunt? Ippolit Matveyevich Vorobyaninov, an ordinary civil servant, learns that he can become incredibly rich. All you have to do is find the jewels hidden in Madame Petukhova's furniture set. More precisely, in one of the 12 chairs.

A new friend, Ostap Bender, a "great strategist" with an impeccable sense of humor
and a talent to find a way out of any situation, helps him in his search. Tandem of a hero and an antihero, shyness and impudence, orderliness
and chaos fell in love with many schoolchildren of previous generations and still causes a sincere smile from the reader.

9. “The house in which…”, 12+

This is a story that can capture the reader for all holidays.

There is a House on the outskirts of the city. Among its inhabitants are teenagers with nicknames instead of names. The Sphinx, the Blind One, the Lord, Tobacco, the Macedonian... Time passes there in a completely different way, and the House itself can reject or accept those who try to comprehend its secrets and become part of the Inside Out. nine0003

10. Dandelion Wine, 15+

Do you want to go back 100 years and see summer through the eyes of a twelve year old boy? Douglas makes discoveries every day, seeks adventure, and experiences happy and sad events.

There are no other civilizations and galaxies in this story, as in other works of the great science fiction writer. But there is a mysterious and mysterious world of a small town that Douglas explores.

This story is Ray Bradbury's most personal work. And despite the fact that this is a story of childhood feelings, impressions and fantasies, it can be re-read at any age and discovered in a new way. nine0003

11. Pride and Prejudice, 16+

Friendship and love do not always happen at first sight. Elizabeth Bennet hated the arrogant and proud Mr. Darcy immediately after they met.

The girl's mother dreams of successfully marrying her off, otherwise the whole family will be left without a roof over their heads after the death of their father. But Elizabeth builds her life the way she wants, and not according to the rules accepted in society. How will the fate of the freedom-loving girl turn out? Will she be able to get rid of prejudice and take a different look at new acquaintances from high society? nine0003

12. The Wizard of Earthsea, 16+

Often the heroes of literary works are clearly divided into good and evil. Ursula Le Guin departs from the bookish stereotype and endows Heb, the son of a blacksmith, with both positive and negative qualities at the same time.

Will he fight the Shadow, or will he accept the part of himself that he fears?

13. "Green King", 16+

Reb Michael Klimrod is the richest man in the world, whom no one has heard of. He miraculously survived during the Second World War, and during his life he managed to be a smuggler, a judge, a racket fighter. nine0003

The hero perceives money as a way to achieve personal goals — they are needed to help close people. He earned his first millions before the age of 18, but, having become incredibly rich, will he be able to find friendship and love?

14. “The brain is material”, 16+

Why does a person need sleep? How does the victory of the German national team affect life satisfaction? And when will scientists be able to create cyborgs? The answers to these questions are revealed by Asya Kazantseva in a book dedicated to the brain, which is much more complex and interesting than it seems. nine0003

15. Possess, 18+

Roland Mitchell explores the work of Randolph Henry Holly. One day, he takes his book from the local library and finds between the pages drafts of letters addressed to an unknown woman.

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