What should we do, when should we do it, and whose direction should we take? Those three questions have plagued humanity throughout time. Where can the answers be found or are they unanswerable?

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What is truth? How does our perception color the facts as we observe them. Those differences how we see the world complicates this Japanese murder investigation in this renowned short story.This profound modernist fable has echoed for almost a century. Also called "In a Bamboo Grove," this 1929 short story was inspiration for the critically acclaimed 1950 Japanese film, "Rashomon."

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Would it be better to start life as an old man and end it as an infant? That was the question posed by Mark Twain that inspired F. Scott Fitzgerald to write his short story, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button."

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People dream of success. Those ambitions can often be prodigious. Rarely, however, do our future business strategies develop as quickly as do those in this story that encapsulates the economic concerns of the early 20th Century.For a full-time banker and part-time author Ellis Parker Butler was prolific writing more than 2,000 stories that were published in well over 200 magazines in the early 20th Century. His most famous story is "Pigs is Pigs" which a narrated in 2019.

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Prepare to be moved by one of the most unusual short stories ever written, which tells a chilling tale of the simple life and complex death of a slave-owning planter in Union-occupied Alabama during the Civil War.

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This classic Mark Twain tale is a witty commentary on poverty and wealth. There is much of Twain’s personal circumstance reflected in the story, as Twain had himself recently gone from riches to bankruptcy.

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Falling in love is one of humanities most common events and biggest mysteries. What is it that ignites one person's passion for another. This poignant tale of surprisingly falling for someone was penned by the first woman playwright to win a Pulitzer Prize.A brilliant author author of novels, short stories and plays, Zona Gale was the first woman to win a Pulitzer Prie for Drama for the stage adaptation of her novel, Miss Lulu Bett. She sold her first story at age 16 for $3.

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A long-running feud leads two men to face each other and the ravages of nature in this powerful classic story by one the best short story authors of all time.One of listeners most requested authors is Saki, the pen name of British write H.H. Munro.His incredible short stories run the gamut from biting satire to shockingly macabre.At age 43, Munro insisted on enlisting as a mere trooper to fight for the British in World War One and was killed by a German sniper in 1916.

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I am a big fan of dogs and am fascinated with their non-verbal communication skills. I also enjoy dog stories and the writing of O. Henry, so what could be better to end season two of Litreading than a dog story written by O. Henry. Each season of Litreading stretches from fall until mid-summer, giving me time for a family hiatus. In this one, I’m going to be moving to a new home in western Virginia, where I am also building a new studio. I have some big plans for season three of Litreading, do come back often and consider signing up for my Litletter at Litreading.com.Thanks so much for listening and don’t miss season three premiering in late September.

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We all have our particular foibles and phobias. Today’s humorous short story focuses on one whose greatest fear is of banks. Would that be ripiaphobia?

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