5 More Short Novels You Can Read in a Weekend

Looking for more quick weekend reads? Here is our second batch of books you can read in a weekend. Do you have your own recommendations? Let us know on Instagram or Bluesky! 

1. Leaf Storm by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

A novella from Gabriel Garcia Marquez, best known for A Hundred Years of Solitude and Love in the Time of Cholera. If you’re looking for a taste of his work without having the time to dive into his longer novels, start with Leaf Storm, the novella where readers first encounter Macondo, the fictional village that later becomes the setting for One Hundred Years of Solitude. 

Spend your weekend: grappling with the death of a disliked doctor in a fictional South American town

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2. Candide by Voltaire

This famous novel can be easily devoured in a weekend, and it’s difficult to resist doing so, since the adventures of Candide will keep you turning the pages to see what he gets up to next. 

Spend your weekend: following the hilarious adventures of a man with too much optimism

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3. The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

Another book that tops our “famous for a reason” list, The Old Man and the Sea is just what the title says: the story of an old man and his trip out to sea as he struggles to catch an elusive fish. It’s a simple story but one that never loses its grip on our attention, just like a fisherman who can’t look away from his line, waiting for a sign of something below the surface taking the bait. 

Spend your weekend: Far out at sea, focused only on the waves and water in front of you

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4. The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

Meet neighbors and friends you won’t easily forget with this coming-of-age book, a series of vignettes, from Sandra Cisneros. Once you read The House on Mango Street, the house and the people living in it will become part of your memory and imagination, always existing somewhere in the world, even as you grow up and move elsewhere. 

Spend your weekend: Exploring the tangled lives of the residents of an apartment complex in Chicago

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5. The Word for World is Forest by Ursula K. Le Guin

In this short, evocative book, sci-fi/fantasy master Ursula K. Le Guin tells the story of a backwater planet that has been taken over by humans with the intention of turning it into an Earth colony. The human settlers have little regard for nature, and treat the local inhabitants—small, furry creatures—as little more than animal slaves. But when one of the indigenous population fights back and flees into the woods, the humans begin to realize that this supposedly-docile race may be more “human” than they realize…and that perhaps the forest is not happy about their presence.

Spend your weekend: On a jungle planet fighting back against oppression

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For more novels you can read in a weekend, check out our list on Bookshop.org.

This post includes affiliate links to Bookshop.org. By purchasing using these links, you are supporting Penny Magic. Or, consider finding your local bookstore on Bookshop.org and shopping with them!

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5 Short Novels You Can Read in a Weekend

Like speeding through the newest season of a TV show or tackling a jigsaw puzzle, there’s something uniquely satisfying about reading an entire book in one weekend. Whether you have an empty weekend coming up this spring or you are looking forward to a vacation in the summer, here are five short novels you can tackle when you’re ready to be swept up for two days, leaving your normal life behind.

1. The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

This short novel will keep you on the edge of your seat, leaning into the story of a nanny and the children she is watching. It’s sinister and unsettling, but also satisfying to the very last word. 

Spend your weekend: Twisting away from the things that haunt you in an English country house

Buy it on Bookshop or read the book for free on Project Gutenberg

2. Silas Marner by George Eliot

Step into the world of Silas Marner, a solitary man who is still reeling from a false accusation years earlier that threw him into his lonely existence. As we get closer to Silas than seemingly anyone around him, we see him for who he is: more than his past mistakes and misunderstandings, a person still finding his way forward. 

Spend your weekend: Quietly weaving linen in an English village

Buy it on Bookshop or read the book for free on Project Gutenberg

3. The Moon is Down by John Steinbeck

Not one of his best-known novels, The Moon is Down is John Steinbeck unlike most people know him. In this story of a fascist invasion of a small town, Steinbeck uses his keen observational skills to examine the impact of war, the rise of fascism, and the “durability of democracy.” For a more typical Steinbeck novel to read in a weekend, try Cannery Row. 

Spend your weekend: Fighting fascism in a small town in Northern Europe

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4. The Optimist’s Daughter by Eudora Welty

Eudora Welty is a master in tracing back a character’s steps to the early moments that formed them. In The Optimist’s Daughter, follow Laurel as she returns home to help her father through surgery, only to be thrown even further into the past with his new and much-younger wife Faye. 

Spend your weekend: Uncovering dusty memories in small-town Mississippi

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5. The Time of the Doves by Mercè Rodoreda

Beginning in pre-Civil War Barcelona, The Time of the Doves tells the story of a woman dealing with the rise of war, the growth of her family, and her own place in a world that moves seemingly without her. Mercè Rodoreda is one of the best-known Catalan authors, and this book will sweep you away for a few hours to La plaça del Diamant, or the Diamond Plaza, as the book is originally titled in Catalan. 

Spend your weekend: Walking the streets of Barcelona, looking for a way forward through life and loss 

Buy it on Bookshop

For more novels you can read in a weekend, check out our list on Bookshop.org.

This post includes affiliate links to Bookshop.org. By purchasing using these links, you are supporting Penny Magic. Or, consider finding your local bookstore on Bookshop.org and shopping with them!

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Short Story Ideas with a Twist: Twist Endings and Unpredictable Plots

As humans, we’re entertained by many things, but it’s hard to resist the thrill of a story that takes a turn you weren’t expecting. Whether it’s a well-loved story told in a movie or a book, a friend telling you their latest vacation misadventure over a meal, or a cold case that finally gets solved through an unexpected break in the case, we love to see what happens when we can’t predict what will happen next.

Not every story needs to be the length of a movie to have the payoff of a twist ending or an unpredictable turn. Here are five short stories famous for keeping readers on the edge of their seats, or perhaps a better way of putting it for readers: Stories that pull our noses closer to our books. 

“The Gift of the Magi” by O. Henry: A Classic Twist Ending

When a young wife and husband struggle to find the perfect Christmas gifts for each other, they each take a big risk to try to show the lengths they will go to in their devotion. But the result isn’t what either of them intended. This simple short story can be read online or found in collections of O. Henry’s stories such as The Very Best of O. Henry. Or, if you prefer to read a PDF of the story, you can download our free printable PDF from Penny Magic.

“The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson: Unsettling and Unpredictable

One of our Penny Magic favorites, Shirley Jackson has offered readers thrills and chills for decades. While her books The Haunting of Hill House and We Have Always Lived in the Castle will entertain readers in novel form, this unsettling short story has kept readers captivated by its unpredictable turns since it was first published in the New Yorker in 1948. Read it from the New Yorker, or find it in a collection like The Lottery and Other Stories. 

“The Monkey’s Paw” by W. W. Jacobs: You Won’t Always Get What You Wish For

What would you do with three wishes? When a content elderly couple end up in possession of a monkey’s paw that grants three wishes, they quickly learn that their wishes may not come true in the way they think. Can they rectify the consequences of their first wish through their second? Or their second through the third? 

“It moved,” he cried, with a glance of disgust at the object as it lay on the floor. “As I wished, it twisted in my hand like a snake.”

Read this story for free online.

“The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin: Short and Powerful

When a woman learns of her husband’s death in a railroad disaster, she spins through many emotions and takes the readers along with her. In this very short story (just a four minute read), we watch as the newly-widowed woman sees her future change before her very eyes. 

“She sat with her head thrown back upon the cushion of the chair, quite motionless, except when a sob came up into her throat and shook her, as a child who has cried itself to sleep continues to sob in its dreams.”

Read this online on Penny Magic, or find it in a collection of Kate Chopin’s The Awakening and Selected Short Stories. 

“The Outsider” by H. P. Lovecraft: Otherworldly Revelations

How far would you go in search of connection, of something you sensed you were missing or had lost? A wretched man who lives alone in a castle breaks forth to find something beyond the life he knows. What fate awaits him?

“Unhappy is he to whom the memories of childhood bring only fear and sadness.”

Published in Weird Tales in 1926, you can read this story online or find it in many H. P. Lovecraft collections. 

This post includes affiliate links to Bookshop.org. By purchasing using these links, you are supporting Penny Magic. Or, consider finding your local bookstore on Bookshop.org and shopping with them!

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Download The Raven (Poem) by Edgar Allan Poe as a PDF

Looking to read or teach The Raven, Edgar Allan Poe’s famous poem? Read the poem online with the Poetry Foundation or download a printable PDF on this page. This short PDF can be printed for a classroom or can be shared online. Enjoy this classic poem around Halloween or any time you are looking for something dark and off-kilter to set your heart racing.

Famous for its ominous refrain, “Nevermore,” The Raven was published in 1845 in The Raven and Other Poems.

Looking for more Edgar Allan Poe? Pick up The Complete Poetry of Edgar Allan Poe, or consider reading some of his famous short stories, starting with these three recommendations on our blog.

This post includes affiliate links to Bookshop.org. By purchasing using these links, you are supporting Penny Magic. Or, consider finding your local bookstore on Bookshop.org and shopping with them!

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Classic Authors and the Books They are Known For

Who comes to mind when you think of classic authors? From Louisa May Alcott to Eric Carle, here are some of the most-searched-for authors on the Internet and the books that made them famous.

These authors span centuries, from 1698 to 1973, and genres, from allegory to adventure. Some write for children and others for adults. Some write delightful tales to warm your heart while others write chilling stories that will keep you awake, staring at your ceiling late at night.

Some of these names you will recognize from the movies that have been made based on their books, and others are so recognizable that it’s hard to imagine a time when you hadn’t heard of them. (Can you remember the first time you heard about The Little Mermaid?) 

Though these are all commonly search-for books, they just scratch the surface of what classic authors have to offer readers, even today, nearly 350 years after the first book on this list was published. 

How many of these most-search-for classics have you read?

20 Classic Authors and the Books They are Known For

  1. Little Women (1898) by Louisa May Alcott 

  2. Madame Bovary (1857) by Gustave Flaubert

  3. Great Expectations (1861) by Charles Dickens

  4. The Princess Bride (1973) by William Goldman

  5. The Very Hungry Caterpillar (1969) by Eric Carle

  6. The Wizard of Oz (1900) by Frank Baum

  7. The Pilgrim’s Progress (1678) by John Bunyan

  8. The Neverending Story (1979) by Michael Ende

  9. The Little Mermaid (1837) by Hans Christian Andersen

  10. Wuthering Heights (1847) by Emily Bronte

  11. Charlotte's Web (1952) by E. B. White

  12. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884) by Mark Twain

  13. The Three Musketeers (1844) by Alexandre Dumas

  14. The Birds (1952) by Daphne du Maurier

  15. Pride and Prejudice (1813) by Jane Austen

  16. Treasure Island (1883) by Robert Louis Stevenson

  17. Peter Pan (1911) by J. M. Barrie

  18. The Swiss Family Robinson (1812) by Johann David Wyss

  19. The Secret Garden (1911) by Frances Hodges Burnett

  20. Fahrenheit 451 (1953) by Ray Bradbury

Looking to get more familiar with other classic authors? Consider reading through a list of classics or trying out one of their famous short stories, some of which are available here on Penny Magic. Check out your local library or Bookshop.org for more classic authors and the books they are known for.

This post includes affiliate links to Bookshop.org. By purchasing using these links, you are supporting Penny Magic. Or, consider finding your local bookstore on Bookshop.org and shopping with them!

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Classic Literature Book Lists: What Classic Novel Should I Read Next?

Looking for classic literature book lists to guide you as you expand your bookshelf? Look no further. This is a list of lists for you to choose from as you look for your next classic novel to read. These lists focus mostly on fiction, but each list has its own leaning and personality, so scan through them to see which one might be right for you as you search for your future reads!

100 Must-Read Classics, As Chosen by Penguin Readers

Published in May 2022, here’s how Sarah McKenna and the Penguin editors described their user-determined list: “They broke boundaries and challenged conceptions. We asked you for your must-read classics; from iconic bestsellers to lesser-known gems, these are your essential recommends.”

Top five books on the list:

BBC’s The Big Read: Top 100

This list is archived now, but it’s still a good snapshot of what readers in the UK were talking about in the early 2000s. “In April 2003 the BBC's Big Read began the search for the nation's best-loved novel, and we asked you to nominate your favourite books.”

Top five books on the list:

Amazon’s 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime

In 2014, Amazon Book editors curated a list of 100 books to read in a lifetime, apparently not using algorithms, but through discussion and debate among the Amazon Book team. The list is not ranked, but rather alphabetical, though it feels appropriate for 1984 by George Orwell to be at the top either way. 

Recommended books on this list:

  • A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle: Delightful words and otherworldly adventures--just what Penny Magic is all about!

  • Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury: As relevant today as it was when it was published in 1953

  • The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson: Recommended for first-time Chicago visitors or long-time residents alike

  • Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi: A graphic novel about Iran during the Islamic revolution and one of our book club’s favorite picks

  • The Secret History by Donna Tartt: An inspiration for the dark academia genre and a source of endless book club discussion

Want to keep your eyes off a screen as you look for your next book? Check out the book 1000 Books to Read Before You Die for recommendations from bookseller and editor James Mustich.

Looking for more options?

Browse more lists on listchallenges.com. Check off the books you’ve read before or, if you’re with a friend or a book club, see how many you’ve read collectively! No need to sign up or log in if you’re not tracking and just casually counting for fun. 

ListChallenges.com has challenges for most of the well-known lists above, but it also has quirkier lists with a bit more personality like: 

If you’re still not sure where to start, dip your toe into classic literature by starting with some of our favorite short stories by classic authors or start with a Penny Magic classic from our store!

This post includes affiliate links to Bookshop.org. By purchasing using these links, you are supporting Penny Magic. Or, consider finding your local bookstore on Bookshop.org and shopping with them!

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5 Well-Known Short Stories by Famous Authors

Many famous novelists began their writing careers by publishing short stories in magazines and periodicals. If you’re looking to read more from famous authors but you’re not ready to dive into their novels, here are five short stories that you can use to get you started with their writing instead.  

1: “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner

William Faulkner, born in Mississippi in 1897, is famous for his novels like The Sound and the Fury and As I Lay Dying. But he also wrote many short stories, including this tale of a reclusive woman whose hidden life is revealed when her neighbors gain access to her house after her death. Faulkner, one of the most famous Southern writers, set many of his books and short stories in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, including this story. 

You can find “A Rose for Emily” online, or find it in a collection of Faulkner’s short stories.If you like this story and are looking to read more from William Faulkner, try reading Light in August.

2: “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson

Shirley Jackson is one of our favorite writers, and this short story is what she is best known for. Maybe you read this in your high school lit class, or maybe this will be your first time. Either way, this story is a classic for a reason—gripping, unsettling, and dark, just like our favorite Shirley Jackson novels. 

If you like this, consider reading We Have Always Lived in the Castle or The Haunting of Hill House. Or, if you like this vibe and want to read a contemporary author, consider the collection White Cat, Black Dog from Kelly Link.

3: “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” by Mark Twain 

Mark Twain, known best for his novels, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, was a prolific short story writer as well as a novelist. In this story, a man looking for a Jim Smiley is told the story of Leonidas W. Smiley and his jumping frog instead. Even in a short story that takes most readers around 10 minutes to finish, Twain’s famous humor and incisive commentary about people and their behavior comes through. 

Read the short story on Penny Magic. If you like this, consider reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the story of Huck Finn and his friend Jim as they navigate youth, the Mississippi river, and racism in the 1800s American South.

4: “Bernice Bobs Her Hair” by F. Scott Fitzgerald

F. Scott Fitzgerald, known most of all as the author of The Great Gatsby, brought the culture of 1910s and 20s America to the pages of magazines like The Smart Set, Collier’s, and The Saturday Evening Post, through his short stories. In this story, readers watch as Bernice visits her sophisticated cousin Marjorie and attempts to make her way upward in a changing society. Read it for free on our site or sign up to download a printable PDF.

If you like this, consider reading The Great Gatsby. Or, if you’ve read that before, pick up Tender is the Night, another of Fitzgerald’s famous novels, this one examining the relationships of a couple over the years of their marriage, and the sickness and health that pushes them together and pulls them apart. Or, for contemporary short stories that examine the social strings that tug our relationships, try Jhumpa Lahiri’s award-winning collection Interpreter of Maladies.

5: “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas” by Ursula K. LeGuin

The most recent of the short stories on this list, “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” is one of the most-searched for short stories of the past decade. Perhaps it is Ursula K. Le Guin’s insightful commentary into the social constructs we build for ourselves or her uncanny ability to point out the pain we choose for others, this story will unsettle you and make you think in all the best ways. 

If you like this, consider one of Le Guin’s books that is easy to get lost in, her children’s classic, The Wizard of Earthsea. 

Famous Short Story Collections

Are you looking to read even more famous short stories? Find a collection of influential short stories at your favorite bookstore or in your local library. Here are a few collections to consider as you start:

What are your favorite short stories? Have you ever discovered a writer through their short stories and then gone on to love their novels and other work? Find us on our social media to let us know your favorites. 

This post includes affiliate links to Bookshop.org. By purchasing using these links, you are supporting Penny Magic. Or, consider finding your local bookstore on Bookshop.org and shopping with them!

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Short Love Stories: Classic Romance Tales from Fiction

How quickly can you tell the story of love? These short story writers have taken on the challenge of condensing love, that many-splendored thing, down into a few thousand words. Some stories take on love’s nuance, others its complications, and still others its pureness. We’ve also added two bonus stories at the end, some of our favorite original stories about love from the Penny Magic archives.

Classic Short Love Stories

Jessamine by Lucy Maud Montgomery

Best known for her book, Anne of Green Gables, Lucy Maud Montgomery was a prolific short story writer. In this touching love story, a woman stuck living in the city is given a flower by a sympathetic vegetable man who comes to her door.

Violets by Alice Ruth Moore, also known as Alice Dunbar Nelson

“The violets and pinks are from a bunch I wore to-day, and when kneeling at the altar, during communion, did I sin, dear, when I thought of you?” This quick tale is a story about love, unrequited and forgotten.

Rapunzel by The Brothers Grimm

This classic fairytale has stood the test of time in its simplicity. Rapunzel, who has fallen in love with a prince in spite of the witch who has kidnapped her, learns the lessons of love, its consequences, but also its healing power.

The Kiss by Kate Chopin

This very short story tells the tale of a young woman looking for love—and money. When a romantic man kisses her, it finally prompts an interested millionaire to make his move. How can she have both love and money? Or will she just choose one? This short story is less of a traditional love story and more of a vignette that could be added to a late 1800s adaptation of the 2003 movie Love Actually.

The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry

This famous short story is all about love in its most ironic form, when two lovers are trying so hard to give the other a gift worthy of their love, they end up stepping on the gift that the other has given them. It is a classic short story that leaves us asking the question of what love looks like, for richer or poorer, in all the ways that can play out.

Penny Magic Original Stories about Love

Sunburn by Natalie Mills

“Sharing a booth is the most personal thing in the world, aside from sharing a kiss or a mausoleum.” This is a simple story from our second volume, A World of Our Own, about finding new love.

The Oyster Girl by Matt Mills

A prince learns to sail the seas and spots a girl gathering oysters off the shore of an island. They trade messages in bottles for years until he is forced to choose: Her or his kingdom?

Quick Bedtime Stories for All Ages: Classics, Princesses, and Originals

When we think of bedtime stories, we picture parents reading to their children, snuggled under the covers before they go to sleep at night. But bedtime stories can be for everyone, young and old, some stories tales as old as time and some legends of family lore. 

If you’re looking for quick bedtime stories to share with someone you love, here are a few simple stories you can read aloud to a child as they get ready to sleep—or that you can read on your own if you are a grown-up who still loves to fall asleep after a great story!

Classic Bedtime Stories

Here are two classic bedtime stories that have endured the test of time for taking children (and adults) closer to their sleepy state, plus a Penny Magic original short story, the first story in our book Fairytales for Grown-Ups. And if you’re feeling too sleepy to read these yourself, we’ve included links to audio versions if they are available.

The Book of Beasts by E. Nesbit

Looking for dragons and hippogriffs and manticores? Watch a young boy discover new worlds and the beasts inside them when he opens The Book of Beasts. Read online | Listen to the podcast

Saint Bridget and the King’s Wolf by Abbie Farwell Brown

When a king's pet wolf is mistakenly killed, Saint Bridget must get something to appease him in order to save the peasant who did it. Read online

Melisande, or Long and Short Division by E. Nesbit 

When a group of irate fairies curse a princess to be bald because they were left out of her christening, she uses a wish from a fairy godmother to have hair that will never stop growing. Read online

What the Sparrows Did by Matt Mills

How did the light come into the light bulb? Listen in as a father answers his child’s question, telling the story of two inventors and the sparrows who brought them light. Read online | Listen to the podcast

Tell Your Own Bedtime Story

What about a real story? Here are three questions you can answer to tell your child a bit of your own life that they might not know. Be warned: Curious children might have trouble falling asleep after hearing more about the life of their favorite storyteller.

  • What was your most adventurous day when you were a child?

  • What is the farthest you’ve ever been away from home? 

  • What is the highest place you’ve ever been or the deepest place you’ve ever gone? 

Let us know what original stories you’ve told or which classic bedtime story is your favorite by reaching out to our Penny Magic Instagram account!

Who is Shere Khan? All about the Tiger in The Jungle Book

Shere Khan is the tiger in Rudyard Kipling’s classic book of animal tales, The Jungle Book. He’s described as “the Big One” for his hunting skills and “the Lame One” by his mother because of his one lame foot from birth. Readers can see his threat and brilliance in two key stories in The Jungle Book, “Mowgli’s Brothers” and “Tiger! Tiger!”

Download the full ebook or printable PDF of The Jungle Books from Penny Magic here when you sign up for our emails.

Rudyard Kipling published The Jungle Book in 1894, based on his experiences living in India during the British occupation. His book of classic tales became a staple in children’s books about animals, gaining even greater popularity and cultural longevity with the 1967 Disney movie by the same name.

When is Shere Khan first mentioned in The Jungle Book? 

Shere Khan is mentioned in the very first story of The Jungle Book called “Mowgli’s Brothers.” This story begins with Mother and Father Wolf learning from Tabaqui, the jackal, that Shere Khan has changed his hunting grounds to come their way. They discover a man’s cub, who they name Mowgli, near their cave and must decide what to do when Shere Khan comes looking for his prey.

Tabaqui sat still, rejoicing in the mischief that he had made, and then he said spitefully:

“Shere Khan, the Big One, has shifted his hunting grounds. He will hunt among these hills for the next moon, so he has told me.”

Shere Khan was the tiger who lived near the Waingunga River, twenty miles away.

His mother did not call him Lungri (the Lame One) for nothing,” said Mother Wolf quietly. “He has been lame in one foot from his birth. That is why he has only killed cattle. Now the villagers of the Waingunga are angry with him, and he has come here to make our villagers angry. They will scour the jungle for him when he is far away, and we and our children must run when the grass is set alight. Indeed, we are very grateful to Shere Khan!”

“Shall I tell him of your gratitude?” said Tabaqui.

“Out!” snapped Father Wolf. “Out and hunt with thy master. Thou hast done harm enough for one night.

What other mentions are there of Shere Khan in The Jungle Book? 

Shere Khan is also mentioned in the later story “Tiger! Tiger!” Mowgli, now older, has been found by villagers and taken in when he learns that Shere Khan is back and looking to kill him. Mowgli must decide how to deal with the vicious tiger and which of his friends—animal and human—he should trust for help.

“It is an order,” said Mowgli. “I am a village herd for a while. What news of Shere Khan?”

“He has come back to this country, and has waited here a long time for thee. Now he has gone off again, for the game is scarce. But he means to kill thee.”

“Very good,” said Mowgli. “So long as he is away do thou or one of the four brothers sit on that rock, so that I can see thee as I come out of the village. When he comes back wait for me in the ravine by the dhâk-tree in the center of the plain. We need not walk into Shere Khan’s mouth.”

Want to read this story and more? Get The Jungle Books, Penny Magic’s collection of both The Jungle Book and The Second Jungle Book in one volume. Sign up to download the ebook or a printable PDF, or find the book in our store. 

Download The Gift of the Magi as a PDF or Read the Story Online

Looking to read or teach The Gift of the Magi, O. Henry’s famous short story? Read the story on our site or download a printable PDF on this page. This three-page PDF can be printed for a classroom or can be shared online. Enjoy this classic short story ahead of Christmas—or anytime of the year!

The Gift of the Magi was first published in 1905 in The New York Sunday World. The next year, it was published in O. Henry’s short story collection, The Four Million. O. Henry was the pen name of William Sydney Porter, an American writer born in 1862. This simple story has provoked many variations and adaptations, even meriting its own section on Wikipedia to keep track of them all.

Looking for more O. Henry? Pick up a collection of his famous short stories, or read the contemporary stories of O. Henry prize winners in The Best Short Stories: 2024!

This post includes affiliate links to Bookshop.org. By purchasing using these links, you are supporting Penny Magic. Or, consider finding your local bookstore on Bookshop.org and shopping with them!

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What Should I Read Next? Five Strategies for Finding Your Next Book

It’s a familiar feeling for book lovers: You finished a fantastic book, and now you’re craving the next one. Before you go into narrative withdrawal, try using one of these methods to find your next favorite book.

1: Wander in your local library.

Some of the best books of my life, I found by walking up and down the aisles of my local library. See what books are face out. See what the librarians have to say. Is there a new books area? Or a shelf of themed book recommendations picked by patrons and staff? Libraries are a treasure trove of new books waiting to be discovered, and the fact that books are free to check out means you can take home a stack of possible options without worrying about wasting money if you start one that’s not for you. In the US, you can use libraryfinder.org to find the public library closest to you.

2: Visit your local bookstore. 

There’s no feeling like holding new books in your hands, getting ready to pick the one you’ll take home with you. Local bookstores will often have hand-written recommendations from their booksellers. Read what these booksellers think, and see if it matches what you are looking for as your next read. Or, ask the local bookseller if they have a recommendation for you. They live among the books—let them guide you with their knowledge!

Unfortunately, not everyone lives within an easy distance of a local bookstore. If that’s the case, you can still support a local store by using a website like bookshop.org. Choose a bookstore in your state or find one in a favorite city. Browse their recommendations on their store’s page within the site, and support their business when you buy something from Bookshop.

3: Browse StoryGraph. 

StoryGraph is a reading tracker and book recommendation app that uses community reviews to determine a book’s characteristics such mood, pace, plot, and character development. From there, you can browse similar books or read reviews from other readers. Similar to Goodreads (which is owned by Amazon), StoryGraph has more options for ratings (such as quarter and half stars) and more detailed statistics on the books you’ve read. It also has a more robust content warning system if you like to know what you’re getting into before you start a new book.

4: Look for recommendations on social media. 

Book recommendations on TikTok and Instagram have blown up in the past few years, for good reason. Lovers of books are finding their new favorite books based on the recommendations of book bloggers, booktokers, and bookstagrammers. You’ll probably need to search by the specific genre of book that you enjoy in order to find the right people to follow. If your favorite author uses one of those sites, follow them and see what books they recommend!

Or, you can ask for a personalized recommendation from users on the Suggestmeabook subreddit. Readers there will give you recommendations based on the information you give them to work with. If you aren’t comfortable posting, you can browse previous posts to see if any recommendations line up with what you’re looking for.

5: Work your way through a list. 

One way to stave off the last-page malaise is to have your next book ready to go as soon as you’re done with your current one. Working your way through a list of recommended books, either in the genre that you love or a list of classic books for all time, can help expose you to books you wouldn’t have read otherwise. Most likely, you’ll find some books that you love and some books that you don’t—and that’s okay! Not every book is for every reader, and you don’t need to finish every book you start. 

Use a website like ListChallenge.com to see how many books in a list you’ve already read and to see which lists are most likely to have more books for you. Each list has its own slant and personality, so scan down the lists to see which one has books that are the most interesting to you. A few well-known lists of English-language books are BBC’s Top 100 Books You Need to Read Before You Die, Modern Library’s Top 100 Novels, or for more recent novels, try the New York Times’ 100 Best Books of the 21st Century.

Do you have other ways you love to find your next book? Let us know on the Penny Magic Instagram or by reaching out here on our site!

3 Scary Short Stories from Edgar Allan Poe for Halloween

Looking for scary short stories for Halloween? Here are three stories that will give you goosebumps this October. All of these stories can be read for free online, either here on our website or on Project Gutenberg. Or, if you’re looking for a printable option, sign up for our emails to get a printable PDF of “The Tell-Tale Heart,” perfect for using with a class or reading away from your screen.

Edgar Allan Poe was an American poet and writer. He is famous for poems like “The Raven” and short stories like the ones below. Known for dark and unsettling themes in his stories, his work has lived on long after his death in 1849. Enjoy these spooky short stories that have been giving people goosebumps for more than 100 years.

The Tell-tale heart

One of Poe’s most famous short stories, “The Tell-Tale Heart” is a story about murder and the unbearable weight of guilt. The story is told from the perspective of the murderer himself, a madman who insists he is not mad at all. The narrator is tormented by an old man and his Evil Eye, but when the narrator resolves to rid himself of the Evil Eye once and for all, he finds himself plagued by something else: a thudding heart, beating beneath the floorboards…

Read “The Tell-Tale Heart” on Penny Magic.

The Cask of Amontillado

A twisted story of revenge, this tale is also told by a narrator who we probably shouldn’t trust. Taking place during an unnamed carnival, a man persuades his friend to join him in the catacombs. Drunk and unsuspecting, the friend follows him in. Will he ever make it out?

Read “The Cask of Amontillado” on Penny Magic.

The Black Cat

“The Black Cat” takes us into the mind of another unfortunate narrator, a man who begins as a pet-collecting animal lover and who descends into violent paranoia and madness toward his pets and the people around him. As his mind unravels, he blames his black cat Pluto for his actions. Will this man be held accountable for his crimes? Or will he continue his torment of the people and pets he is supposed to love? (*If you have trouble reading about violence toward animals, skip this story.)

Read “The Black Cat” on Penny Magic.

Looking for other scary stories? For a novel, try out Frankenstein by Mary Shelley to keep the chills coming.

What Should I Read Next After Frankenstein? Recommendations and Similar Books

You’ve finished Frankenstein, and you’re ready for your next book to follow up on Mary Shelley’s spine-tingling monster-chasing classic. Here are a few books similar to Frankenstein that we love to keep the goosebumps coming.

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

If you’re looking for something with a similar sinister vibe, The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson will keep your heart rate up. This book is a similar length as Frankenstein, but since it was written more recently (albeit in 1959), it will probably be an easier, faster read. 

And we can’t mention The Haunting of Hill House without also mentioning one of our other favorite books, We Have Always Lived in the Castle, another Shirley Jackson novel that is an even shorter and faster read, a good option for any season, spooky or otherwise. 

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

Rebecca has been thrilling readers since 1938, and it’s a classic worth returning to whenever you want to relive the chaos and risk of falling in love without really knowing someone. This book isn’t about monsters that are created as much as the ones that haunt you from your past. Join the narrator, a newlywed young woman swept off her feet, in trying to figure out who exactly she has married in this dark-romance-turned-thriller. What secrets are her new husband hiding?

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

Want to make a story creepy? Add children. That’s what Henry James’s narrator asserts in this 1898 gothic horror classic. Only about 40,000 words, this book probably won’t take you more than an afternoon to read, and you won’t have any trouble finishing it as you follow the story of a governess who is unsettled both by the supernatural happenings around her and by the eerie unknowns of the children in her care.

Frankenstein: Quotes from the Book

Mary Shelley’s monster has been haunting dreams for more than 200 years. First published in 1818, then revised and republished in 1831, Frankenstein is a classic novel that will enthrall readers as much today as it did when it was first published. That’s why we’ve released our own Penny Magic Classics version of the book, to bring great books to new readers, letting you join us in saying, “I understand why this book is famous!”

To get a taste of the thrill of this famous novel, here are some of the top quotes from Frankenstein, curated by the readers of Goodreads, as well as some of our own favorites:

Our favorite quotes, cementing this as the horror classic that it is:

“I have love in me the likes of which you can scarcely imagine and rage the likes of which you would not believe. If I cannot satisfy the one, I will indulge the other.”

“If I cannot inspire love, I will cause fear!”

“Destiny was too potent, and her immutable laws had decreed my utter and terrible destruction.”

Here are some favorite quotes from Goodreads users:

“Nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change.”

“Beware; for I am fearless, and therefore powerful.”

“Life, although it may only be an accumulation of anguish, is dear to me, and I will defend it.”

“I do know that for the sympathy of one living being, I would make peace with all. I have love in me the likes of which you can scarcely imagine and rage the likes of which you would not believe. If I cannot satisfy the one, I will indulge the other.”

We’ll leave you with this epic poem from chapter 10 of the book, the perfect poem for days of restlessness or ennui:

“We rest; A dream has power to poison sleep.
We rise; One wandering thought pollutes the day.
We feel, conceive, or reason; laugh or weep,
Embrace fond woe, or cast our cares away;
It is the same: for, be it joy or sorrow,
The path of departure still is free.
Man's yesterday may ne'er be like his morrow;
Nought may endure but mutability!”

To read more, get the book in paperback in our store or on Amazon. Or, download the ebook or a printable PDF for free from Penny Magic here.

5 Short Story Writing Prompts Based on Classic Short Stories

Are you looking for short story inspiration and ideas? Here are five prompts developed from famous short stories, perfect for use in a classroom or as a writing exercise.

  1. Make a choice. The Lady or the Tiger? by Frank R. Stockton shows characters making seemingly impossible decisions. What are some difficult choices your characters might face? What force is driving them to pick? Write a story about a decision that must be made.

  2. Receive a gift. In the story Violets by Alice Ruth Moore, a man reminisces over a bunch of violets he received years ago. The story includes a change in perspective from beginning to end, and we learn as we go who the violets are from and where they are now. Write a story about someone giving or receiving a gift.

  3. Commit a crime. In A Jury of Her Peers, one of the most famous American short stories of the twentieth century, Susan Glaspell allows us to see a slice of life in a small town after a crime is committed. Write a story about a crime being committed or about its aftermath.

  4. Meet a fantastic beast. We meet many unique creatures in E. Nesbit’s classic short story, The Book of Beasts. Write a story about an encounter with an unusual creature.

  5. Find a home. In A Haunted House by Virginia Woolf, we learn about a home from the perspective of people who once lived there. But home can mean more than just a house. It might be a place, or a person, or a way of life. Write a story about home. Plus, find more stories about home in our fourth volume of original Penny Magic short stories, Long Live the Legends.

Get started with these prompts or draw inspiration from more classic short stories from Penny Magic and create your own prompts.

5 Classic Short Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm

Looking for a short fairy tale? Here are ten classic fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm. Writing in Germany in the 1800s, Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm crafted and compiled some of the most famous fairy tales of all time, including “Snow White” and “Hansel and Gretel.” Their stories of enchantment, revenge, and occasional dismemberment have held readers captive for centuries. Each of these stories is under 4,000 words so you can easily enjoy these short fairy tales in a quick sitting when you have the time.

The Seven Ravens

“The Seven Ravens” is the story of a sister born after seven brothers. When her brothers turn into ravens, she must find a way to save them and make them human again.

The Juniper Tree

“The Juniper Tree” is the dark tale of an evil stepmother, her comically inadequate plot to hide her murder of her stepson, and his ultimate revenge.

The Six Swans

“The Six Swans” tells the tale of the children of a king. After the sons are turned into swans by their evil stepmother, their sister must find a way to turn them back.

Rapunzel

“Rapunzel” is a classic fairy tale about a girl trapped in a tower who lets down her beautiful golden hair for a prince to climb up. It has been adapted many times, most notably into the Disney movie Tangled.

The Frog Prince

“The Frog Prince” lets us hear the story of a prince who turns back into his human self from his frog form, not by being kissed, but by being thrown against a wall, rather satisfactorily.

To read these stories for yourself, you can find them free online or you can get a collection of them from your local library, bookstore, or Bookshop.org. (Penny Magic is a Bookshop affiliate, so buying through that link helps support our work!)

If you’re looking for more modern and unconventional fairy tales, Penny Magic’s first volume of stories, Fairy Tales for Grown-Ups is available for free to read online or in print in our store.

Book Word Count Guide: Novel, Novella, or Short Story?

Have you ever wondered what makes something a novel versus a novella? How short does a story have to be to be considered a short story? Below are some general rules for categorizing fiction by word length. While these rules aren’t hard and fast, they are a helpful guide to figuring out how a story might be categorized. 

Novel Word Count: Typically over 40,000 words for an adult novel

The average word count of a novel or book varies based on genre and audience. Novels can range from the shorter side—such as The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald at 47,094 words—to much longer—such as War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy at 587,287 words. 

Looking for the length of a certain novel? Check out websites such as Word Counters or Reading Length to look up the word count of a specific book. Or view this infographic from Electric Lit to see word counts of famous novels and series.

Novella Word Count:  20,000 to 50,000 words

Novellas fill an odd space in the reading world—somewhere between a really long short story and a short novel. As you can see, the typical word count will even overlap between a short novel and a novella. For readers, if you’re reading a standalone book that is over 40,000 words, you’ll probably think of it as a novel rather than a novella. You might encounter novellas more frequently on digital reading platforms, as they are very popular formats for genre ebooks. Or you might spot a novella in an anthology with other stories either by the same author or of the same genre. 

Short Story Word Count: Typically 1,000 to 10,000 words

Short stories often come in collections, obscuring just how long or short they are. Typically, magazines or short story contests look for short stories that are under 10,000 words. Here on Penny Magic, we publish short stories that range from about 1,500 to 7,500 words. We love to publish short stories around 5,000 words because those will take the average reader about 20 minutes to read—a perfect length of time to add some fiction to your day. 

Flash Fiction Word Count: Under 1,000 words

Flash fiction stories are typically stories told in under 1,000 words. This length of story has become increasingly popular as the internet makes it easy to share very short stories via blogs or social media. There are a ton of places online to read flash fiction such as Flash Fiction Online or The New Yorker. 

Microfiction or Mini Story Word Count: Various measurements, often under 100 words or under 280 characters

If flash fiction is growing in popularity because of the internet, this length of story probably owes its life to it. While 100-word stories have been around for a long time, online platforms have made sharing these ultra-short stories easier than ever. Twitter in particular offers a unique platform for telling 280-character stories, the maximum length of a tweet. Many writers participate in writing a daily story this way using the hashtag #vss365. Follow the hashtag for a daily dose of microfiction, or follow us on our Penny Magic Instagram or Twitter to read our mini stories, all under 280 characters. 

Short Story Examples: Contemporary and Classic

Looking for examples of short stories? 

Short stories are often considered any story under 10,000 words in length, usually closer to 7,500. If a story is under 1,000 words, it is often considered flash fiction, a subset of short stories that are even shorter than traditional short stories. 

Short stories often span across genres, with some of the most prominent writers of the 20th century prolifically publishing short stories, including authors like Ernest Hemingway, Virginia Woolf, and Shirley Jackson. 

Penny Magic looks to bring readers delightful stories of literary and speculative fiction, as well as classics that will encourage readers to spend more time reading fiction. The examples below are curated to reflect that desire. 

Classic Short Story Examples

You can find curated examples of classic short stories on our classics page such as: 

You can also find more classic short stories for free on Project Gutenberg. Or, if you looking to read short stories in print, you can find many options at your favorite bookstore or in your local library. Here are a few collections to consider as you start:

Contemporary Short Story Examples

You can find examples of contemporary short stories of literary and speculative fiction here for free on our site as well as read aloud on our podcast, including stories and genres like:

Penny Magic focuses on delightful stories of literary and speculative fiction around 5,000 words in length, but you can find other contemporary short stories in publications like The New Yorker or The Atlantic.

What are your favorite examples of short stories? If you love an author’s short stories, do you also enjoy their other work? Find us on our social media to let us know your favorites. 

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