Selected Shorts: A Touch of Magic by Symphony Space

Selected Shorts: A Touch of Magic Reviews

• 
  Gabi

  I loved listening to this collection of SF/mystical short stories. Some of them were old acquaintances from my teenage times and therefore a welcoming re-visit.
  
  The performers were nearly exceptionless great, their varying approaches to the stories made those so much more lively and tangible than audiobooks usually are.
  
  For me the most perfect combinations of story/performance were
  
  - Saki's "The Occasional Garden", performed by Daniel Gerroll, which had me giggling the whole time through with it's very Britishness.
  - Kevin Brockmeier's "The Year of Silence", performed by Anthony Rapp, where intonation and content complemented each other wonderfully without any kind of over-emphasis
  - Haruki Murakami's "The Little Green Monster", performed by Dana Ivey, whose voice made the cruel story that much more cruel and simultaneously beautiful.
  
  It's a pity, that there is not more SF in this series of Selected Shorts.
  
  
• 
  Cait Poytress

  I cannot for the life of me recall where I first heard about Selected Shorts. I might have even come across it by accident in my library's search engine. However it came to be, better late than never. This series is awesome! Granted I've only listened to one collection so far, but who cares. I'm sold. Actors perform live readings of selected short stories (usually following a theme for each event - in this case, a touch of magic), which is recorded and broadcast on an award winning radio program every week. I was going to mention that stories 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, and 10 were my favorites, but typing it out like that just looks ridiculous.
  
  1. The Palmist - Andrew Lam (performed by James Naughton)
  This story, about a teenage boy's encounter with a palmist while riding the bus, was a great opener. Naughton's narration was wonderful, very calm and understated, with perfect pacing. It's easy to be distracted by other things while listening to an audiobook, but I became immersed in this story right away. There was something about Naughton's tone, coupled with Lam's descriptions, that made me feel like I was on the bus with them, watching events unfold as we rattled and bumped through the pouring rain. I loved it.
  
  2. The Veldt - Ray Bradbury (performed by Stephen Colbert)
  Ok, so this story just confirms that I desperately need to read more Bradbury. Colbert is funny as hell reading this story about the unfortunate consequences of owning a "smart house" that does everything for you, from cooking dinner to brushing your teeth and tying your shoes. Originally published in 1950, it's an awesome mix of Science Fiction and 50's "Leave it to Beaver".
  
  3. The Monkey's Paw - W.W. Jacob's (performed by John Lithgow)
  This story felt like deja vu. I don't know if I've actually read it before or if it's so familiar because it's a story based on the premise of the main character getting 3 wishes. Either way, we all know how those end, right? I'm sure this would have been creepy on it's own, but John Lithgow's narration really made it shine. Lithgow is a virtuoso (though often times a little too over the top for my personal taste) and this performance was really phenomenal. Obviously I couldn't see it, but based on the audience response at the end, he got a standing ovation.
  
  4. The Occasional Garden - Saki (performed by Daniel Gerroll)
  Another fantastic narration that made a funny story hilarious. A woman finds a solution to her inadequate garden, with comic results. I know, it doesn't sound like much, but it was so fun! The audience reaction made it even better; it reminded me of how much more I enjoy listening to David Sedaris performing his stuff live as opposed to reading the print version. By the way, this is the fourth kick ass story in a row and at this point I'm thinking that I am currently listening to the best. thing. ever.
  
  5. The Balloon - Donald Bartheleme (performed by Maria Tucci)
  Aaaand here's where things start to backslide. The story itself wasn't bad. The narration could have been better (I could hear every swallow/mouth noise - yuck). I don't know, maybe it just paled in comparison to the first four. Regardless, my literary high started to fade a bit.
  
  6. The Year of Silence - Kevin Brockmeier (performed by Anthony Rapp)
  I only just recently stumbled across Kevin Brockmeier when I read (and loved) his story 'Parakeets' in
  Granta 97: Best of Young American Novelists 2. This second story just reinforces my belief that I will really like this guy (and makes me glad about my post-Parakeet Brockmeier book buying binge). And there's morse code! That you figure out yourself! Not in a gimmicky way, either. Anthony Rapp* was an adequate narrator, but nothing special. *As a bonus, I realized that I can finally think of Anthony Rapp without thinking of Darryl from Adventures in Babysitting. Ya think?
  
  7. The Sixth Borough - Jonathan Safran Foer (performed by Jerry Zacks)
  This story is actually an excerpt from Foer's fanfreakingtastic novel
  Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. On it's own it's a lovely little fable, but I think it's gut wrenching poignancy is lost outside of the context of the novel. I could fawn over JSF like it was my job, so I'll quit while I'm ahead. The narration was nice as well.
  
  8. Drunken Mimi - Aimee Bender (performed by Bernadette Quigley)
  Aimee Bender was another first for me this year, and I fell in LOVE (thank you,
  Willful Creatures). This story was alright... so actually, kind of a disappointment based on my inflated expectations. The narration was at least part of the problem.
  
  9. The Little Green Monster - Haruki Murakami (performed by Dana Ivey)
  This one broke my heart a little. A woman and a little green monster, but not in the way that you'd expect. I don't really want to spoil anything, but I will say that I thought about this for a while afterward. And I'm still not sure how I want to interpret it. I'm looking forward to rereading this in print form when I read
  The Elephant Vanishes.
  
  
  10. Swept Away - T.C. Boyle (performed by Rene Auberjonois)
  Another fantastic performance of another great story. Actually, that's what I think made the first 4 stories and this one stand out from the others. The others were "readings" of stories, some very good, but the 5 best were "performances". I'm so glad this collection ended on a high note.
  
  
  I found out tonight that there is a podcast on iTunes where they have the most recent 5 programs available for free download. Score! It really is worth checking out.
• 
  JZ

  For years, I've been a huge fan of Selected Shorts program, initiated by the late Isaiah Sheffer in 1985. Current shows are now available as a podcast, so you don't have to be listening to the radio when it's broadcast. Since Mr. Sheffer's death in 2012, many guest hosts have taken his place, including Jane Curtain, Neil Gaiman, Cynthia Nixon, and David Sedaris. The focus is new and classic short fiction. There's always a theme of some sort. If you like this book, check out the archives. You'll have plenty to listen to for years.
  
  When they issue a collection that is centered around science fiction, though, I don't enjoy it as much. The show usually has different kinds of stories in one hour; this has weird, fantastical stories for a few hours. I got tired.
  I love the voices of the narrators, who are frequent story tellers in New York's Symphony Space, and that made it more bearable, but this just isn't my genre. Many of the stories just creeped me out. Why do I need more of that in my life? I don't.
  
• 
  Krista

  This collection is half about the stories themselves and half about the performance of their reading, and as a result of that, it was for me a fairly uneven experience. John Lithgow brings his own brand of melodrama to The Monkey's Paw and Stephen Colbert is drily ironic with The Veldt, and these are very enjoyable to listen to. But when the stories and the performers are both unfamiliar (like Anthony Rapp reading The Year of Silence or Bernadette Quigley doing Drunken Mimi), I was less engaged. Overall, though, I did enjoy the concept and the execution of having these stories told by seasoned storytellers; this was a very different experience than listening to other short story collections on audiobook. I see there is a whole series put out by Symphony Space and I would be happy to explore their format further.
• 
  SheriC

  Overall, an interesting set of short stories, all with some speculative fiction aspect to them. Aside from the two well-loved classics (Bradbury’s The Veldt and Jacobs’ The Monkey’s Paw), they were new to me and mostly pretty good, but not my kind of thing. They were the kind of short stories that are filled with imagery and emotion but also whose point, if there was one, sort of sailed over my head. The performances, on the other hand, were all top notch, as they are recorded from the public media and Symphony Space live show.
  
  Audiobook, borrowed from my public library via Overdrive.
• 
  Kristel

  This is a collection of short stories by various authors;
  The Palmist by Andrew Lam (new to me), read by James Naughton
  The Veldt by Ray Bradbury (reread) read by Stephen Colbert
  The Monkey's Paw W.W. Jacobs (reread) performed by John Lithgow
  The Occasional Garden by Saki, new to me performed by Daniel Gerroll
  The Balloon by Donald Barthelme, new to me, performed by Maria Tucci
  The Year of Silence, Kevin Brockmeier new to me, performed by Anthony Rapp
  The Sixth Borough by Jonathan Safron Foer new to me performed by Jerry Zaks
  Drunken Mimi by Aimee Bender new to me performed by Bernadette Quigley
  The Little Green Monster by Haruki Murakami (new to me), performed by Dana Ivey
  Swept Away, T.C. Boyle (new to me) performed by Rene Auberjonois
  These were performed life at the New York's symphony Space.
  
  There is a lot of authors familiar to me, new authors were Andrew Lam, Saki, and Kevin Brockmeier. All of these have a magical element, some are funny, some are horror, some a bit romantic.
  
  
  
  
  
• 
  Simon

  Andrew Lam's "The Palmist", performed by James Naughton
  A great voice for a great performance, Naughton takes on each role and delivers the audience into the very bus and into the visions.
  
  Ray Bradbury's "The Veldt", performed by Stephen Colbert
  One of those tales that starts off as a dream, a science fiction fantastical breakthrough of modern and futuristic technology that slowly becomes a nightmare with a very real and deadly consequences, perfectly depicts the obsessions of children and the rots of spoiling them.
  
  W. W. Jacobs' "The Monkey's Paw", performed by John Lithgow
  One of the classic tales that show wishes come at a cost and that things that are too good to be true usually are. Not to meddle with fate, and take what comes. What was most surprising about this tale is that the man's wishes were trivial and not even out of greed or malicious intent, yet he payed for them dearly with the losses of life and sanity that befall his content family.
  John Lithgow delivers an astounding performance that chills the audience to the very fiber of being. He uses volume and speed as well honed tools to shock and keep us on the edge of our seats, I was enthralled, no wonder he is one of Britan's finest Actors.
  
  Saki's "The Occasional Garden", performed by Daniel Gerroll
  Since I'm not much into Gardens I kind of phased out of this one, but I was aware of a guy trying to win a competition with his Garden and some snooty elder lady with her gagle of ladies who were part of some EON group or something to that effect. The Garden gets ransacked and removed and the guy's wife or partner has a second brain for such drastic situations. I don't know, meh.
  
  Donald Barthelme's "The Balloon", performed by Maria Tucci
  What is the Balloon, why is it here? What does it mean and what is its purpose? I like the Balloon, I hate the balloon, this Balloon is illegal and cannot be here? The Balloon is art and made for people to see and enjoy and wonder upon. The Balloon does and is all of these things, and is the result of what, a trivial fight between two people?
  The story is simple, yet brings the mind across all manners of thinking and wondering. How would I react if it was to happen to me? What if? How? Is it all so much more?
  The audience thinks about the Balloon.
  
  Kevin Brockmeier's "The Year of Silence", performed by Anthony Rapp
  This one really made me think, can you imagine New York City without sound? It's impossible to think, yet this story takes on that journey and how a sudden and mysterious happening becomes more and more frequent, addicting to the point of irritability, and all these ways and methods for making and preserving something. A living example of Silence is Golden.
  
  The affects it has on us all, on what could have been, then change is wanted again and the old ways become more desirable. The city transitions back into what it has always been known as today, and getting louder and louder with each and every new sound.
  
  Silence is Maddness, yet is also peace and tranquility. Golden.
  
  Jonathan Safran Foer's "The Sixth Borough", performed by Jerry Zaks
  This story really was a touch of magic for me, I could so easily envision how this sixth borough could be possible and still exist. The idea of it, and how it is so well woven into general New York History is really admirable and fun to envision.
  
  While the ending is sad and tragic, it closes the story with a wave of mystery and enough wonder to let slip a nervous giggle and small hopeful smile.
  
  Aimee Bender's "Drunken Mimi", performed by Bernadette Quigley
  Was an interesting performance, sweet small love story of an imp and a mermaid. The Imp oozed the personality of a juvenile Tyrion Lannister, the fact he drank as well was a hilarious coincidence in my view. His voice was very much on the annoying side and his jokes were beyond cringe, while the mermaid, Mimi, was very serene and sweet and I enjoyed her method of keeping her identity a secret.
  
  Haruki Murakami's "The Little Green Monster", performed by Dana Ivey
  Interesting story that showed the love and devotion of a Little Green Monster and the abhorent and ahteful behavior of one woman's torturous thoughts and feelings. Women really can be cruel!
  
  T. C. Boyle's "Swept Away", performed by René Auberjonois
  Another example of a beautiful Love story with a sour endings, so sad it is tragic in an unsatisfying way, We the audience get to hurt the same way as the main character. Another example of how heartless a woman who doesn't love you back can be. Brutal.
• 
  Clarence Reed

  ReedIII Quick Review: Interesting collection of short stories engaging and worthy of the excellent expert performances. This version as with others of the series offers lots of variety while generally sticking to the theme “a touch of magic”.
• 
  James

  Summary from Amazon:
  
  "Recorded live at Peter Norton Symphony Space in New York City and at venues across the United States, these audio anthologies feature short stories from the Selected Shorts program that airs nationwide. More than 300,000 listeners tune in to this offering weekly to hear spellbinding tales read aloud by an assortment of terrific actors.
  
  By turns funny, moving, romantic, and surreal, each of the tales on this magical lineup is filled with unexpected twists and turns. Stephen Colbert performs Ray Bradbury’s tale about a room that can take one anywhere in the world—sometimes with dangerous consequences. From a romance between a mermaid and an imp to a wonderful ghost story about a trinket with terrible powers, this eclectic collection also features narratives by W. W. Jacobs, Andrew Lam, Saki, and T. C. Boyle as well as performances by John Lithgow, James Naughton, Daniel Gerroll, and René Auberjonois."
  
  Stephen Colbert reading Ray Bradbury is, of course, a delight, as is John Lithgow reading the classic "The Monkey's Paw." I also particularly enjoyed the Kevin Brockmeier story "The Year of Silence." These stories are all centered around some kind of fantastical event. As with any anthology, there's some inconsistency, but overall it's an enjoyable, provocative collection.
  
• 
  Bonnie G.

  A pleasant audio collection of fantasy stories most read beautifully. I found this entertaining overall. As with any anthology there is some variance in the quality of the stories, but the range goes from good but derivative story told well (The Palmist by Andrew Lam (who is also the editor) performed by James Naughton) was my least favorite, but still enjoyable) to a classic brilliantly perfectly read (The Monkey's Paw by W.W. Jacobs performed by John Lithgow) to the somewhat trite and precious performed somewhat flatly (The Sixth Borough by Jonathan Safran Foer
  -Performed by Jerry Zaks.)
  
  In addition to those mentioned the collections included
  The Occasional Garden by Saki-Performed by Daniel Gerroll
  The Veld by Ray Bradbury-Performed by Stephen Colbert
  The Balloon by Donald Barthelme-Performed by Maria Tucci
  The Year of Silence by Kevin Brockmeier-Performed by Anthony Rapp
  Drunken Mimi by Aimee Bender-Performed by Bernadette Quigley
  The Little Green Monster by Haruki Murakami-Performed by Dana Ivey
  Swept Away by TC Boyle - Performed by René Auberjonois
• 
  Terri

  This is a lovely collection of short stories all which center around some fantastical event. Like all collections, it is a bit uneven. The highlight for me was Stephen Colbert reading Ray Bradbury's Veldt. Such a deliciously creepy story. In addition to reacquainting me with a couple of old favorites (Veldt; John Lithgow reading The Monkey's Paw; Aimee Bender), I enjoyed being introduced to some author's I hadn't read before. I particularly enjoyed The Year of Silence by Kevin Brockmeier,
• 
  Carla

  I listened to the audiobook of this selection while on a trip to Canada. I was driving approximately 20 hours by myself and thought that this might be a good idea rather than a single book. What a horrible boring audio! Short stories, read by people, some of who I knew, that weren't very good. At the end of each story, people clapped, so it was taped live. I could sometimes hear the pages turning as the reader read the story. Boring!
• 
  Ana

  I've been having trouble with short stories lately, but this collection has been great. Stories about destiny, homicide, magic, competition, importance, silence, love, a dunk mermaid, destruction, a woman blow away by the wind. I love all the narrators and I'm glad I was introduced to so many great authors. I'll be checking out their other works soon!
• 
  Anna

  My favorite short in this collection is The Year of Silence, but all of the stories are great. They are, as the title promises, magical, strange, totally unique. I particularly loved Colbert's performance of The Veldt. Once again, Selected Shorts is a hit. The only reason I gave 4 instead of 5 stars is that I'm trying to be a harsher reader. I'm always clicking 5 for everything!
• 
  Donna Mork

  This was a collection of short stories that each had a little bit of fantasy or magic within it. Some of the lines were amusing, especially listening to it being read/performed. Sometimes by slipping something normal and everyday into the middle of something fantastical can ramp up the comedy factor. I will have to try this in some future writings.
• 
  Sarah

  This book was mostly older stories read by some well-known people. All of the narration is good, and the stories move from dark to light, which is a clever arrangement. But the collection is heavier on classics than I'd realized and I was disappointed by that.
• 
  Jay Miraldi

  True to its title, all of the stories in this collection have a touch of magic :) I liked some more than others but they were all worth hearing. "The Veldt" was, hands down, my absolute favorite though :P It was that story that tipped my review over into 4 stars.
• 
  Jim Prevott

  For the Audiobook version. interesting collection of short stories read before an audience but various celebrities. Favorite was John Lithgow reading " the Monkeys Paw". Fairly short listen.
  
• 
  Hannah

  This is a fun breath of writing. Lots of different writing styles and ideas. It was nice to step out of my usual genres and get a sampling of some silly, out of the box stories.
• 
  Aime'

  These were fun; Kevin Brockmeier's The Year of Silence really struck me... especially with how 2020 is an all. But still a gorgeous story, that one and The Sixth Borough, worth the listen.
• 
  Joan

  Fun and quick
• 
  Nikki

  These shorts are obviously enhanced greatly by the performers reading them.
  
  I was especially enthralled by John Lithgow's theatrical rendition of The Monkey's Paw by W.W. Jacobs. Wow, can he evoke fervor and terror and desperation. That one's a five star for sure! I'd listen to it again separately (and it is on YouTube, if anyone is interested).
  
  I'd give four stars to T.C. Boyle's Swept Away, Ray Bradbury's The Veldt, Saki's The Occasional Garden, and Kevin Brockmeier's The Year of Silence. The performers were very good, as were the stories. The Occasional Garden was laugh-out-loud funny at times, perhaps because of the narrator.
  
  Three stars to Andrew Lam's The Palmist, Jonathan Safran Foer's The Sixth Borough, Aimee Bender's Drunken Mimi, and Haruki Murakami's The Little Green Monster. The first two were fine but didn't grab me personally. The latter two were odd and a little disturbing, especially the last. At first I thought they might be sweet, both featuring inter-species love interests, but alas, big no.
  
  Unfortunately, I'd give two stars to Donald Barthelme's The Balloon only because it wouldn't keep my attention. I had to restart it three times because it just wasn't catching me. It is well-written, surely, just not for me.
  
  I think that comes out to 3.5/5, which I'll round up for the production value. I'd check out more short story audiobooks from Symphony Space for sure.
• 
  Travis

  A bit more uneven than the average short story collection.
  
   Andrew Lam's "The Palmist", performed by James Naughton (4.0 / 5.0)
   Ray Bradbury's "The Veldt", performed by Stephen Colbert (3.0 / 5.0)
   W. W. Jacobs' "The Monkey's Paw", performed by John Lithgow (5.0 / 5.0)
   Saki's "The Occasional Garden", performed by Daniel Gerroll (3.0 / 5.0)
   Donald Barthelme's "The Balloon", performed by Maria Tucci (1.0 / 5.0)
   Kevin Brockmeier's "The Year of Silence", performed by Anthony Rapp (5.0 / 5.0)
   Jonathan Safran Foer's "The Sixth Borough", performed by Jerry Zaks (4.5 / 5.0)
   Aimee Bender's "Drunken Mimi", performed by Bernadette Quigley (4.5 / 5.0)
   Haruki Murakami's "The Little Green Monster", performed by Dana Ivey (1.0 / 5.0)
   T. C. Boyle's "Swept Away", performed by René Auberjonois (2.0 / 5.0)
• 
  Benjamin Robinson

  Most stories I would rate 3 stars - enjoyable, but not particularly noteworthy. The only exceptions being Donald Barthleme's The Balloon, which I would give 2 stars, and Kevin Brockmeier's The Year of Silence, which I would give 4 stars.
• 
  Emilie Jones

  Pretty hit or miss
• 
  Desirae

  There just wasn't anything in this collection for me, unfortunately.