The Cryptozoologist, Tony Earley

A beautifully-rendered, riveting account of a woman’s encounters with a skunk ape while she struggles through the grieving process. For now, it can be read at The New Yorker website for free–http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/01/09/060109fi_fiction?currentPage=all—be warned, however, that this could go to archives, for which you’d need a subscription, at any time. I believe it may be coming out in the forthcoming collection of his Mr. Tall, but I’m not sure.

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Lately I’ve been working on the overwhelming task of thinning out my book collection; it’s something no book lover likes to do, but let’s face it, every once in a while it has to be done, either to clear clutter or make room for more.

It’s no surprise that a good portion of my collection is devoted to short story collections. I’ve read my share of great stories, and I’ve read my share of awful ones—but I’ve also read my share of a few that blew me away to the point at which I’ll never forget them. So instead of doing a typical “Top” list, I decided instead to focus on ones which fall into the last category (please note that in my “about” descriptions I tried to be spoiler-free). Do you have any that have made a lasting impression on you? Leave them in the comments.