LitReading - Classic Short Stories

Humans have shared stories for millennia. For most of that time, telling tales was a verbal process. A storyteller would regale an audience with accounts of adventure, bravery, compassion, despair, enlightenment, and fear. Stories were a shared experience, until the advent of inexpensive mass-printing processes in the 19th century which allowed most of us to read to ourselves. Yet, that desire to have a story read aloud is still ingrained in our collective soul.

While we still read books for pleasure, most of today’s stories are told via newer forms of visual media like movies and television. Consuming stories via any visual medium requires an active commitment to the process. You probably shouldn’t read a book or watch a TV program while driving, but your brain still craves a good story.

An audio book is suitable for a long road trip. But what about those times when you only have a few minutes? Enter the audio short story.

Allow me to help you fill those moments and fulfill your need for a captivating tale with readings of some of the world’s greatest literary masters best brief works.

My love of the spoken word has been honed by a more than 30-year career in radio and voice acting with a modicum of performance passion from decades of stage performances.

This venture is my hobby (I have a great full-time job), so much of the content is free of cost. I hope you enjoy them.

If you would like to share thoughts or comments, please drop me a line. If you enjoy these stories, please spread the word, subscribe, and leave a review on your favorite podcast service.

Thanks for stopping by,

Don McDonald

Fiction
Performing Arts
Books
1
The Boston Massacre by Nathaniel Hawthorne
What began as a street brawl on a winter evening in Boston, became one the biggest sparks to help ignite the American revolution. 250 years ago, on March 5th 1770, anger over the British housing troops among civilians in Massachusetts boiled over into...
12 min
2
Father Forgets by W. Livingston Larned
A special Father's Day episode of Litreading
5 min
3
The Prophet - Part One by Khalil Gibran
For almost a century, the profound words of The Prophet have stirred the hearts and moved the souls of millions of readers around the world.
38 min
4
The Prophet - Part Two by Khalil Gibran
Here is the second half of Kahlil Gibran's global bestselling book with sage advice on pain and pleasure, good and evil, and the inevitability of death.
39 min
5
Jabberwocky
From the mind behind "Alice in Wonderland" comes one of the best examples of nonsense poetry. Jabberwocky tells the tale of a young knight who slays a mythical beast.
3 min
6
Excerpts from Adam's Diary by Mark Twain
Mark Twain's humorous take on the stars of the Book of Genesis
27 min
7
Eve's Diary by Mark Twain
The diary of the first woman "translated from the original source."
42 min
8
Uncle Richard's New Year Dinner by Lucy Maud Mo...
The end of the old year and the start of the new has traditionally been seen as an opportunity to start fresh by setting aside old grievances and moving forward with a clean slate.
11 min
9
A Visit from St. Nicholas or 'Twas the Night Be...
You've heard it dozens of times, so why not once more. Here's a Visit from St. Nicholas, was it penned by Clement Moore?
4 min
10
Christmas Every Day by William Dean Powells
For many children, Christmas is the best day of the year. Yet, often it’s for selfish reasons. Some kids like it so much that they might wish that Christmas day might never end. One little girl father explains what it might be like if it was...
17 min
11
Jimmy Scarecrow's Christmas by Mary E. Wilkins ...
While this is primarily a story for children, Christmas is the perfect time to explore our inner child and share that spirit with today’s kids. This story originally appeared on my Readastorus podcast.Being a scarecrow is a hard enough job in the...
15 min
12
Reginald's Christmas Revel by Saki
This holiday tale features Reginald, a fictional young-man born to the Victorian upper crust in England, who finds himself at a stuffy family Christmas party and tries to liven things up a bit.Saki, the pen name of British author H.H. Munroe,...
8 min
13
A Stolen Christmas by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman -...
Sometimes we fall so far that we are tempted to cross lines we never would have in better times. Feelings of inadequacy can become particularly acute during the holiday season, when we see so much apparent happiness. Our next story about one woman’s...
31 min
14
A Kidnapped Santa Claus by L. Frank Baum - A Cl...
Santa and his friends face the most challenging Christmas in their long history as Santa is kidnapped.
23 min
15
Christmas at Red Butte by Lucy Maud Montgomery ...
When a bad harvest on the Canadian prairie means no Christmas for her cousins, a young woman does the only thing she can to rescue their holiday.
18 min
16
The Gospel According to Joan by Mary E. Wilkins...
When does the end justify the means and who gets to decide? One person's definition of morality may not be shared by others.
42 min
17
A Set of Poe by George Ade
This seasonal story features a theme that will resonate with most couple’s in the weeks leading up to Christmas.Beginning his writing career as a newspaper reporter George Ade went on the become a nationally syndicated columnist, playwright,...
11 min
18
The Gift Of The Magi by O. Henry - A Classic Ch...
How many times have you read “A Christmas Carol” or seen it performed. Every year millions of families rewatch classic Christmas movies like “It a Wonderful Life,” "A Christmas Story" or even "Christmas Vacation?"For some reason these traditions...
14 min
19
The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe
While Halloween is the season for scary stories, their popularity is timeless. That is why this dark tale of revenge still send chills down listeners spines after almost two centuries.The Cask of Amontillado was first published in the November...
17 min
20
The Furnished Room by O. Henry
Rather than your typical October horror story, This chilling tale is a unique variation on your run-of-the-mill ghost story with a wicked twist at the end from the master of narrative misdirection, O. Henry.O. Henry, whose real name was William...
17 min
21
A Wireless Message by Ambrose Bierce
As Halloween approaches we begin a time for scarier stories. For this short tale with a chilling twist we turn to prolific 19th century stories Ambrose Bierce for "A Wireless Message."Ambrose Bierce is considered one of the 19th Century finest...
6 min
22
The Damned Thing by Ambrose Bierce
As Halloween approaches, here is a bonus scary Litreading from one of my favorite authors. It’s the story of a mysterious death in the 19th-century American wilderness.
20 min
23
The Pale Man by Julius Long
A hotel guest is intrigued by a mysterious man down the hall.
16 min
24
The Monkey's Paw by W.W. Jacobs
25 min
25
A Haunted House by Virginia Woolf
8 min