Get to the Point - Short Stories

I got a really high score on my ACT test when I applied for college, and ended up testing out of almost everything in the English department. Looking back, I think I missed out on a lot. The point of that is that I've had no training in what is considered "good" literature. I don't care about themes, I don't look for hidden meaning. I just know if I like what I read, or not.

So here are the things that a novel must have to make my list. As you see, it's a very short list. I love to read, and I've read thousands of novels. I've loved and enjoyed many, but... only four make my list. What set them apart?

The characters in these books are so real to me. I'm not reading about them, I become one of them. I am so drawn into their world that I'm not just watching from the outside, but it's as if I'm sitting at the table with them, or out walking among the country roads or city streets, right there with them.

I laugh so long and hard that I cry. I cry hard enough to have to stop reading and get some tissues. I feel sorrow, pain, joy, fear, shock, and awe. The turns of phrase are stunning, the use of words ... I can read a passage over and over and wonder how the author ever came up with putting those particular words side by side to evoke such emotion.

Best of all.... the first time I read the novel, I cannot for the life of me see where it's going. A literal page-turner, I HAVE to keep turning the pages and reading, because I HAVE to know what happens next and I can't imagine ahead to the ending.

I know a woman who picks up a new book, and goes straight to the last page. She reads the ending first. WHAT IN THE WORLD.... WHY?????

I simply cannot understand this. To me, one of the greatest joys is NOT knowing how it will end. I've read novels where, from within just the first few pages, I can tell how it's going to turn out. Maybe not how it gets there, and maybe it's still an enjoyable read, but those books will never make my list. I love to be surprised, and for me, each of these novels had a surprise ending.

To me, an exceptional short story is like an exceptional novel. It can draw emotions out of me, and I don't know where it's going. The stories in Thomas Steinbeck's collection (yes, son of John) meet these criteria. I hope my own short stories do that for you, too.