Weekly Short Stories

Each week The Literary Roadhouse podcast hosts deeply read and discuss one short story.

Discussing The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry | Literary Roadhouse Ep 148

The Gift of the Magi | O. Henry | Literary Roadhouse Ep 148

January 16, 2019 Anais Concepcion Weekly Short Stories 0:27:13 0 Comments

Discussion Notes: The Gift of the Magi

This week’s story:  The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry

Next week’s story: House Taken Over by Julio Cortázar

Rated: Clean

Gerald, Rammy, and Anais discuss the classic parable ¨The Gift of the Magi¨by O. Henry. Our podcast typically doesn’t love parables, which Rammy insists on submitting. However, Gerald appreciated the twist and Anais was won over by a quirky narrative style. Truth be told, it was refreshing to read a wholesome story.

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Psst: Full list of short stories discussed on the podcast >>
Discussing The Adulterous Woman by Albert Camus | Literary Roadhouse Ep 147

The Adulterous Woman | Albert Camus | Literary Roadhouse Ep 147

January 9, 2019 Anais Concepcion Weekly Short Stories 0:42:30 0 Comments

Discussion Notes: The Adulterous Woman

This week’s story:  The Adulterous Woman by Albert Camus

Next week’s story: The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry

Rated: Adult Themes, Clean Language

Gerald, Rammy, and Anais discuss “The Adulterous Woman” by Albert Camus, a stirring story about a woman’s mid-life yearning for freedom from the trappings of a comfortable, unfulfilling life. The story takes place in Algeria before the war of independence from France, and features a French couple moving through the Arab interior. The stark imagery and deep internal musings make the story a satisfying read.

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Psst: Full list of short stories discussed on the podcast >>
A podcast for literary fiction discussions of short stories and novels.

(REWIND) Year’s End | Jhumpa Lahiri | Literary Roadhouse Ep 47

January 2, 2019 Anais Concepcion Weekly Short Stories 0:52:09 0 Comments

Discussion Notes: Year’s End

Happy New Year! We’re still off this week and will return next week with a brand new episode. This week we’re replaying an episode from our archive. We picked this story because it’s one of our favorite discussions to date.

Find this week’s rewind story here:  Year’s End by Jhumpa Lahiri

Next week’s episode:  The Adulterous Woman by Albert Camus

Rated: Clean

This week we discuss Year’s End, a story about a young Indian-American college student who must once again process the death of his mother after an announcement that his father has re-married several years after his mother’s death. This story sparked some great discussion on pain, clichés and culture in literature. 

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Psst: Full list of short stories discussed on the podcast >>
A podcast for literary fiction discussions of short stories and novels.

(REWIND) The Piano Tuner | Peter Meinke | Literary Roadhouse Ep 35

December 26, 2018 Anais Concepcion Weekly Short Stories 0:38:39 0 Comments

Discussion Notes: The Piano Tuner

Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays! We’re off this week and next, but we still want to bring you great literary fiction. This week we’re replaying an episode from our archive. We picked this story because it’s one of our favorite discussions to date.

Find this week’s rewind story here:  The Piano Tuner by Peter Meinke

Next episode we will also by replaying an episode:  Year’s End by Jhumpa Lahiri

Rated: Explicit

What in the world did Gerald make us read! This story left Rammy feeling blah, and both Anais and Gerald loving it. During the conversation Rammy piped up with an interesting take and then Gerald added to it with information from an interview the author did years ago. That extra information left Maya incensed! Great discussion, tons of laughter and the most NSFW discussion we have ever had and worth every second.

Have thoughts on this story?

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Psst: Full list of short stories discussed on the podcast >>
Discussing A Sound of Thunder by Ray Bradbury | Literary Roadhouse Ep 146

A Sound of Thunder | Ray Bradbury | Literary Roadhouse Ep 146

December 19, 2018 Anais Concepcion Weekly Short Stories 0:28:55 0 Comments

Discussion Notes: A Sound of Thunder

This week’s story:  A Sound of Thunder by Ray Bradbury

Next week’s story: The Adulterous Woman by Albert Camus

Rated: Clean

Gerald, Rammy, and Anais discuss “A Sound of Thunder” by Ray Bradbury, a brilliantly visual story that sets the pace for an entire genre of plot structures, and explores a theme of man v. nature v. time. Man’s hubris is put to the test with dire, unintended consequences.

Have thoughts on this story?

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Psst: Full list of short stories discussed on the podcast >>
A podcast for literary fiction discussions of short stories and novels.

The Bet | Anton Chekhov | Literary Roadhouse Ep 145

December 12, 2018 Anais Concepcion Weekly Short Stories 0:46:22 0 Comments

Discussion Notes: The Bet

This week’s story:  The Bet by Anton Chekhov

Next week’s story: A Sound of Thunder by Ray Bradbury

Rated: Clean

Gerald, Rammy, and Anais discuss “The Bet” by Anton Chekhov, a deceptively simple story. Through discussion, our hosts discover that the moral of this story is buried deep in the narration’s point-of-view, in the rambling letter of a mad man, and the hypocrisy of a greedy would-be murderer.

Have thoughts on this story?

Did we miss a crucial piece of this story? Tell us below! Or on Twitter @litroadhouse or in our FB group.

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We’re still a self-funded podcast. We work hard every week to bring you the best content possible.


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Psst: Full list of short stories discussed on the podcast >>
A podcast for literary fiction discussions of short stories and novels.

Birdsong | Jahnavi Barua | Literary Roadhouse Ep 144

December 5, 2018 Anais Concepcion Weekly Short Stories 0:24:49 0 Comments

Discussion Notes: Birdsong

This week’s story:  Birdsong by Jahnavi Barua

Next week’s story: The Bet by Anton Chekhov

Rated: Clean

Gerald, Rammy, and Anais discuss a very short story called “Birdsong” written by renowned Indian author Jahnavi Barua.  This discussion will give aspiring writers a lot to chew on. Our hosts marvel at Barua’s writing craft, and her talent for guiding mystery, tension, and mood. Interestingly, Gerald and Rammy were confused by the ending, which Anais absolutely loved.

Did the ending leave you confused or enchanted?

Have thoughts on this story?

Did we miss a crucial piece of this story? Tell us below! Or on Twitter @litroadhouse or in our FB group.

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We’re still a self-funded podcast. We work hard every week to bring you the best content possible.


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Psst: Full list of short stories discussed on the podcast >>
A podcast for literary fiction discussions of short stories and novels.

The Signal-Man | Charles Dickens | Literary Roadhouse Ep 143

November 28, 2018 Anais Concepcion Weekly Short Stories 00:28:02 0 Comments

Discussion Notes: The Signal-Man

This week’s story:  The Signal-Man by Charles Dickens

Next week’s story: Birdsong by Jahnavi Barua

Rated: Clean

Gerald, Rammy, and Anais discuss a classic Charles Dickens ghost story, “The Signal-Man.” Anais notices a pattern in Dickens’ ghost stories, and draws parallel to another Dickens story we discussed on the podcast, “The Trial for Murder.” Meanwhile, Rammy felt chills while reading this week’s story, and Gerald enjoyed the imagery. Listen for a fascinating story of Charles Dickens’ real life brush with death, and how it manifests not in this story’s wraiths, but in its setting.

If you’re wondering where Maya’s been, she’s been MIA as she devotes herself to getting her nomadic artist life in full gear. She’s been getting her hands dirty with some DIY van updates and camping hacks.

Have thoughts on this story?

Did we miss a crucial piece of this story? Tell us below! Or on Twitter @litroadhouse or in our FB group.

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We’re still a self-funded podcast. We work hard every week to bring you the best content possible.


Support Literary Roadhouse on Patreon


Psst: Full list of short stories discussed on the podcast >>
A podcast for literary fiction discussions of short stories and novels.

Roman Fever | Edith Wharton | Literary Roadhouse Ep 142

November 21, 2018 Anais Concepcion Weekly Short Stories 0:42:20 0 Comments

Discussion Notes: Roman Fever

This week’s story:  Roman Fever by Edith Wharton

Next week’s story: The Signal-Man by Charles Dickens

Rated: Clean

Guest host, author Tim Weed

This week the Literary Roadhouse welcomes guest Tim Weed, an author whose short fiction collection, A Field Guide to Murder & Fly Fishing, made the 2018 Eric Hoffer Book Award Grand Prize Shortlist and was a finalist in the short story category for the American Fiction Awards and the International Book Awards.

His first novel, Will Poole’s Island, was named to Bank Street College of Education’s list of the Best Books of the Year. Tim is also the winner of a Writer’s Digest Popular Fiction Award and his writing has appeared

 in Literary Hub, The Millions, Talking Points Memo, Colorado Review, The Daily News, The Writer’s Chronicle, Fiction Writers Review, and elsewhere. He teaches at GrubStreet in Boston and in the Newport MFA in Creative Writing.

He’s the co-founder of the Cuba Writers Program and works as a featured lecturer for National Geographic in Tierra del Fuego, Spain, and Portugal. 

To learn more about Tim, visit his website at timweed.net.

Tim suggested we read “Roman Fever” by Edith Wharton, and we couldn’t be more grateful. All four hosts dive deep into this story that’s smart, gripping, and instructional on how to structure a great story with an omniscient point of view.

Have thoughts on this story?

Did we miss a crucial piece of this story? Tell us below! Or on Twitter @litroadhouse or in our FB group.

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We’re still a self-funded podcast. We work hard every week to bring you the best content possible.


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Psst: Full list of short stories discussed on the podcast >>
A podcast for literary fiction discussions of short stories and novels.

Enough for Me | Becca Krock | Literary Roadhouse Ep 141

November 14, 2018 Anais Concepcion Weekly Short Stories 00:31:26 0 Comments

Discussion Notes: Enough for Me

This week’s story:  Enough for Me by Becca Krock

Next week’s story: Roman Fever by Edith Wharton

Rated: Explicit

This week Gerald, Rammy, and Anais discuss a story from Gerald’s favorite literary journal, Carve Magazine. Through discussion, ours hosts’ opinions of “Enough for Me” by Becca Krock evolve. Gerald’s and Anais’s scores rise steadily as they discover more depth and color in the story, but Rammy remains a steadfast dissenter. At the end, Anais offers some insight into Rammy’s harsh grading style. It all goes back to their shared experience as highschool English students.

Have thoughts on this story?

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Psst: Full list of short stories discussed on the podcast >>

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About Literary Roadhouse

Literary Roadhouse is a literary podcast where avid readers and aspiring writers read and discuss short and long fiction.
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