Making a Commitment to Short Stories

Short stories have never been my bag. Not since high school. Guy de Maupassant's The Necklace had me spellbound, and I was convinced that O. Henry's Gift of the Magi would end differently. Jonathan Swift's Metamorphosis was not a fun read, but since I still remember it, clearly a superb one.

Given my relatively short attention span, I'm not sure why I gravitated solely to books for fiction. However, last spring I attended a conference at which we were given an issue of Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine and another of  Alfred Hithcock's Mystery Magazine. I devoured them on the long train ride from Washington, DC to Chicago. And then didn't pick up another short story until recently.

So, 2018 is going to be the year of the short story for me. I picked up a couple of articles on writing them, because I like to assess fiction as I read it. I don't know much about short story pacing. And I need to get away from the idea that everything I write (or read) has to be a mystery.

I went to the used book store and bought some short story anthologies, one classics and another of the wonderful books that Sisters in Crime does periodically. Lots of authors whose books I like to read.

Suggestions? I'll read a bunch and review them here. All ideas welcome.