Short, Cheap, Nearly Great Books SE Denver

Friday, May 8, 2026

Tues May 12, 2026 @ 7:30 PM [MT] via Zoom

Please read The Meeting by Alix Ohin and join us for a discussion.

Find it on page 180 of The Best American Short Stories - 2022.

contact me for the Zoom link.

Alix Ohin

Friday, April 17, 2026

Tues, April 21, 2026 @ 7:30 PM [MT] via Zoom

Please read Mbiu Dash by Okwiri Oduor and join us for a discussion.

Find it on page 167 of The Best Americah Short Stories - 2022 or read it online at:

https://granta.com/mbiu-dash-okwiri-oduor/

Contact me for the Zoom link: Levin_DePrenger@Yahoo.com

Okwiri Oduor

Okwiri Oduor (born 1988/1989) is a Kenyan writer, who won the 2014 Caine Prize for African Writing for her short story, ‘My Father’s Head’. In April 2014 she was named on the Hay Festival's Africa39 list of 39 Sub-Saharan African writers aged under 40 with potential and talent to define trends in African literature, with her story "Rag Doll" being included in the subsequent anthology edited by Ellah Allfrey, Africa39: New Writing from Africa South of the Sahara.

Friday, April 3, 2026

Tues, April 7 2026 @ 7:30 PM [MT] via Zoom

Please read Soon the Light by Gina Ochsner and join us for a discussion.

Find it on page 153 of The Best American Short Stories - 2022.

Learn about the author at https://www.ginaochsner.com/.

Contact me for the Zoom link.

Friday, March 20, 2026

Tues, March 24, 2026 @ 7:30 PM [MT] via Zoom

Please read Bears Among the Living by Kevin Moffett and join us for a discussion.

Find it on page 145 of The Best American Short Stories - 2022

Contact me for the Zoom link.

Kevin Moffett

Friday, March 6, 2026

Tuesday, March 10, 2026 @ 7:30 PM [MT]

Please read Post by Alice McDermott and join us for a discussion.

Find it on page 121 of The Best American Short Stories - 2022.

Contact me for the Zoom link.

Friday, February 20, 2026

Feb 24, 2026 @ 7:30 PM [MT] via Zoom

Please read The Souvenir Museum by Elizabeth McCracken and join us for a discussion.

Find in on page 105 of The Best American Short Stories - 2022.

Read it online at https://harpers.org/archive/2021/01/the-souvenir-museum-elizabeth-mccracken/

Contact me for the Zoom link.

Friday, February 6, 2026

Tues, Feb 10, 2026 @ 7:30 PM [MT] via Zoom

Please read Sugar Island by Claire Luchette and join us for a discussion.

Find it on page 97 of The Best American Short Stories - 2022.

Read it online at https://pshares.org/issue-article/sugar-island/

Contact me for the Zoom link.

Basic Guidelines for Shared Inquiry

Read the selection carefully before participating in the discussion. This ensures that all participants are equally prepared to talk about the ideas in the work.
Most of us need to read short stories more than once.
Support your ideas with evidence from the text. This keeps the discussion focused on understanding the selection and enables the group to weigh textual support for different answers.
Discuss the ideas in the selection and try to understand them fully before exploring issues that go beyond the selection. Reflecting on the ideas in the text and the evidence to support them makes the exploration of related issues more productive.
Listen to other participants and respond to them directly. Directing your comments and questions to other group members, not always to the leader, will make the discussion livelier and more dynamic.
Expect the leader to only ask questions. Effective leaders help participants develop their own ideas, with everyone gaining a new understanding in the process. Participants should look to the leader for questions, not answers.