LitReading - Classic Short Stories

Set in the frozen Yukon during the Klondike Gold Rush, it follows a man traveling alone through temperatures so extreme they defy ordinary experience. Confident in his judgment and dismissive of risk, he presses forward—unaware of how narrow his margin for error truly is.

With stark realism and relentless tension, London explores humanity’s limits in the face of nature’s indifference. This is not a story of heroic triumph. It is a story of judgment, instinct, and the consequences of small mistakes in unforgiving conditions.

First published in 1908, To Build a Fire remains a timeless classic of American literature.

If you enjoy great stories narrated by Don, be sure to check out his other short story podcasts at shortstoryverses.com
We are expanding our universe of short story podcasts on our new podcast channel, Short StoryVerses. Listen to some of Don's new, original short stories on the "New Tales Told" podcast. Look it up on your favorite podcast player.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Here is a quiet story about love that arrives too late, and lingers in unexpected ways.

About two people who find each other where they never expected to meet.

And what it means to hold on, even when you know you can’t.

Please check out our other short story universes are shortstoryverses.com
We are expanding our universe of short story podcasts on our new podcast channel, Short StoryVerses. Listen to some of Don's new, original short stories on the "New Tales Told" podcast. Look it up on your favorite podcast player.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant is a classic tale of ambition, illusion, and unintended consequences.

In this short, elegant story, a young woman’s desire for wealth and status leads her down a path she never expected.

A quiet masterpiece with a devastating final twist.

Guy de Maupassant was a nineteenth-century French writer and one of the masters of the modern short story.

He wrote hundreds of stories, known for their clarity, irony, and emotional precision.

His work often explored class, ambition, and the hidden costs of desire.

The Necklace, published in 1884, remains one of his most famous and enduring stories.

If you want more stories like this, go to shortstoryverses.com.

You’ll find a whole story universe there: classic literature brought to life, original fiction, stories for younger listeners, and themed collections for whatever mood you’re in.

We are expanding our universe of short story podcasts on our new podcast channel, Short StoryVerses. Listen to some of Don's new, original short stories on the "New Tales Told" podcast. Look it up on your favorite podcast player.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a special presentation of my original short story, “The Right Call,” first released on my companion podcast, New Tales Told.

For now, I’ll be sharing my new stories here on Litreading as well—so you can hear them easily, without having to go looking.

Litreading will always remain a home for classic short fiction. These are simply new stories, told in the same spirit.

The Right Call is a work of fiction, loosely inspired by a real turning point in my own life.

The events, characters, station, and circumstances have been changed. What remains is the emotional truth of a moment many people recognize: standing at a crossroads between what looks sensible and what feels right.

This story isn’t about radio.

It’s about listening—to others, and to yourself—when the script stops working.
We are expanding our universe of short story podcasts on our new podcast channel, Short StoryVerses. Listen to some of Don's new, original short stories on the "New Tales Told" podcast. Look it up on your favorite podcast player.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Bet is a devastating meditation on freedom, knowledge, money, and the illusions we cling to when we mistake intellect for wisdom and wealth for meaning. Sparse, icy, and quietly explosive, this story leaves no one untouched—not the characters, and not the listener.

Anton Chekhov was a Russian physician, playwright, and master of the modern short story. Writing at the turn of the twentieth century, Chekhov rejected melodrama in favor of moral ambiguity, emotional restraint, and brutal psychological honesty.

His stories rarely offer heroes or villains—only people, trapped by their own beliefs, habits, and blind spots. With surgical precision and profound compassion, Chekhov reshaped fiction, influencing generations of writers who followed.

He believed that a writer’s job was not to provide answers—but to ask questions so clearly that the reader could not escape them.

The Bet is one of his sharpest.

You're invited to explore our many short story podcasts at shortstoryverses.com
We are expanding our universe of short story podcasts on our new podcast channel, Short StoryVerses. Listen to some of Don's new, original short stories on the "New Tales Told" podcast. Look it up on your favorite podcast player.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.