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LitReading - Short Stories and Timeless Tales
Based on Podcast App listening data
LitReading - Short Stories and Timeless Tales episodes
- Before the Law by Franz Kafka — A Man Waits a Lifetime for Permission to Enter
Here is a story for those times when you only have a few minutes for a story. While not long itself, this incredibly Kafkaesque parable may leave you pondering its meaning long after you have listened to "Before the Law."
Bohemian author Franz Kafka is considered one of the greats. Few storytellers have had their names turned into adjectives. Orwellian, maybe Hitchcockian come to mind. But the best known of these is Kafkaesque, whose meaning is elusive, like that of many Kafka stories. I have my own somewhat religious interpretation of “Before the Law.” I will leave it to you to ponder your own.
If you enjoyed this story, buy me an e-book!
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/donmcdonald
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7 min - The Prophet - Part One–A Classic Novel by Khalil GibranFor almost a century, the profound words of The Prophet have stirred the hearts and moved the souls of millions of readers around the world.
We are so honored to have been featured by Apple Podcasts as a great source for summer stories. If you don't want to miss our future stories, please Follow or Subscribe. Also, we have over 100 stories in our back catalog. Enough stories to keep you entertained for weeks.
Looking for even more stories? Check out all out narrative podcasts at shortstoryverses.com
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39 min - The Prophet - Part Two–A Classic Novel by Khalil GibranHere is the second half of Kahlil Gibran's global bestselling book with sage advice on pain and pleasure, good and evil, and the inevitability of death.
We are so honored to have been featured by Apple Podcasts as a great source for summer stories. If you don't want to miss our future stories, please Follow or Subscribe. Also, we have over 100 stories in our back catalog. Enough stories to keep you entertained for weeks.
Looking for even more stories? Check out all out narrative podcasts at shortstoryverses.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
40 min - The Church with an Overshot Wheel by O. Henry — An Old Mill’s Secret Brings a Lost Daughter Home
Loneliness can grind a man down like a millstone—yet grief, transformed, can become the miller’s divine salvation. A widowed man turns a forgotten mill into a memorial for his lost little girl, and fate brings a stranger—fragile, secretive—who just might be the miracle he’s been waiting for.
He called himself O. Henry, but the man behind the pen was William Sydney Porter—a sneaky little Texan with a mustache, a wicked sense of irony, and a knack for surprise endings that snap like mousetraps. He wrote hundreds of short stories while dodging his past, which included a stint as a pharmacist, a failed bank career (let’s just say the books didn’t balance), and yes, a little time behind bars. But prison gave him a pen name and plenty of time to dream up twisty tales of crooks with hearts of gold, lovers with bad timing, and small moments that change everything.
If you enjoyed this story, buy me an e-book!
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/donmcdonald
or click FOLLOW
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
30 min - August Heat by W. F. Harvey — Two Strangers Foresee Each Other’s DeathRecord summer temperature’s take their toll on both our physical and mental health. Extreme weather has been known to bring about strange and often dangerous behavior among those suffering its effects. How strange, I’ll let you be the judge in our special summer tale, August Heat.
If you enjoyed this story, buy me an e-book!
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/donmcdonald
or click FOLLOW
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
13 min - The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin — One Hour of Freedom Changes EverythingGrief and heartbreak are the typical reactions to the loss of a loved one, but other emotions may lurk within.
If you enjoyed this story, buy me an e-book!
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/donmcdonald
or click FOLLOW
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9 min - The Eyes Have It by Philip K. Dick — A Reader Takes Every Figure of Speech LiterallySo far, all of our public domain stories were created prior to 1925. However, there are a few newer tales that are no longer copyright protected. From one of the world’s best science fiction writer’s comes a tale of idioms and aliens.
Essentially, this story is a long dad joke. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I, a dad, did.
Even if you don’t know his name, you know the work of Philip K. Dick. Several of his books and stories have been adapted into movies and Tv shows like: Total Recall, Minority Report and Man in the High Castle. He died in 1982 of a stroke just four months before his blockbuster movie, Blade Runner opened.If you enjoyed this story, buy me an e-book!
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/donmcdonald
or click FOLLOW
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9 min - The Looking Glass by Anton Chekhov — A Young Woman Dreams Her Entire Married Life
On a cold New Year’s Eve, Nellie peers into a mirror, searching for a glimpse of her happily-ever-after. Instead, the glass betrays her—offering not romance, but a haunting vision of what marriage might truly hold: struggle, sickness, disappointment. Chekhov doesn’t give us a fairy tale—he gives us the nightmare behind the dream.
Anton Chekhov was Russia’s great observer of the quiet tragedies hiding in ordinary lives. A doctor by trade and a writer by necessity, he had an uncanny ability to turn small moments into revelations. His plays reshaped modern theater, his stories redefined the short form, and together they whispered a timeless truth: life is never as simple—or as sweet—as we hope it to be.
If you enjoyed this story, buy me an e-book!
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/donmcdonald
or click FOLLOW
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12 min - Love in the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald — A Moonlit Meeting Becomes a Fleeting RomanceA young man's longing for love is briefly fulfilled on one moonlight evening on the sea off the coast of Cannes.
If you enjoyed this story, buy me an e-book!
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/donmcdonald
or click FOLLOW
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40 min - Indian Camp by Ernest Hemingway — A Boy Witnesses Birth and Death in One NightThankfully, I can now read Hemingway to you. This story is a powerful way to start. It’s a tale of duty, pain, suffering, racism and so much more. It has myriad twists and turns and all manner of fascinating subplots for such a short story. You may need to listen more than once.
Hemingway penned this early work at the age of 24, shortly after the birth of his first child (which may explain the subject matter) by his first wife. It wasn’t published until 1925 and later became part of his first short story collection.If you enjoyed this story, buy me an e-book!
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/donmcdonald
or click FOLLOW
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11 min
About LitReading - Short Stories and Timeless Tales
From the publisher's feed
LitReading: Great Short Stories Read Aloud
Great stories deserve to be heard.
LitReading brings you a complete short stories, unabridged and narrated by veteran…
broadcaster and voice actor Don McDonald. Hear the masters of the form, including Edgar Allan Poe, Mark Twain, O. Henry, Edith Wharton, Anton Chekhov, Kate Chopin, William Faulkner, Katherine Mansfield, Stephen Crane, Saki, Bret Harte and Virginia Woolf. Along with them come overlooked gems from the golden age of American, British and Russian literature that deserve a second hearing.
Each episode is one full story, from a few minutes to a deeply immersive hour. Think of it as a free audiobook of short fiction, performed with warmth and clarity and just enough character to bring every voice to life. Play it on a commute, a walk or a quiet evening. It also makes good bedtime listening for grown-ups.
Come for a story. Leave with a world.
Help a good story travel. If LitReading has kept you company, tap Follow in Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite podcast app. It's free, and new stories arrive automatically. A quick 5-star rating or a one-line review helps more than you'd guess, because that's how new listeners find us. And if a story stayed with you, send this episode to one friend who loves to read. That's how this show grows.
LitReading is part of Short Storyverses (shortstoryverses.com), a family of podcasts for people who love great storytelling:
- New Tales Told: original stories in the spirit of the classics
- FRIGHTLY!: tales of terror and the uncanny
- Sci-Finds: science fiction and speculative stories
- HumorUs: comic fiction
- Season's Readings: holiday stories for any time of year
- Readastorus: stories for younger listeners
Search for any of them wherever you get your podcasts.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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