Short Stories To Get You In The Mood

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Short Stories To Get You In The Mood
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A long, cold winter night is the perfect time for an evening of white hot passion in front of a blazing fire. Of course, the lonely months between the bright glow of the holidays and the first buds of spring are also a time for runny noses, wet hair that freezes on your way to work, midterms, grey skies, and a car that just won't warm up in the morning, no matter how long you wait shivering in the front seat, struggling to secure as much warmth as your travel mug has to offer.
What with all the dreary, gloomy, dark, cold, and stormy cares consuming winter days and nights, it can be tough to turn on the passion just in time for February 14, regardless of the love in your heart or the lingerie in your closet. Of course, it has been my experience that there are very few problems in life a good book can't fix, so if you're looking to bring a little heat to your Valentine's Day doings, why not get yourself in the mood with these 10 steamy, dreamy, utterly atmospheric novels? After all, laughter may be the best medicine, but literature is the ultimate aphrodisiac.
If seduction games are what get you hot under the collar, forget Gossip Girl and turn instead to the undisputed master of decadent depravity, Choderlos de Laclos. Set in the waning days of the French aristocracy and brimming with seduction, deception, and competition, Dangerous Liaisons is deliciously devious and just naughty enough to put you in the mood for a little something devilish this February 14.
Tracing star-crossed love through generations of moody mistakes on the English moors, Wuthering Heights mixes torment and treachery with passion and penitence. If nothing turns you on more than howling wind and a brooding stare, Wuthering Heights might be just what you need to settle into the right state of mind for a truly steamy Valentine's Day.
If the daring and devilish Alain-Fournier were writing today, the The Lost Estate might just have been titled "Missed Connections." The Nicholas Sparks of an earlier, grander age, Alain-Fournier's evocative and epic tale traces the destiny of soulmates who meet one fateful night only to find themselves struggling towards a happy ending for pages to come. Without giving anything away, let me just say that if grand love affairs playing out over the ages get you into the mood for love, you'll feel right at home and ready for anything with The Lost Estate.
The hippies of yesteryear had nothing on D.H. Lawrence, so if you're looking to embrace a little free love for the upcoming holiday, turn to this candid, inspired, and utterly impassioned tale of two sisters and the mistakes they make in love and life. Lawrence was a true believer in love and a free spirit to boot, so if you find nothing sexier than honesty and integrity, settle in with Women in Love , and you won't be disappointed.
When the sun is setting and you're looking for something dark and strange to bring just the right sort of energy to your romantic rendezvous, turn to Jeanette Winterson's The Passion and I will personally guarantee your satisfaction. From a tempestuous lesbian love affair begun with a glance across a card table to the chance encounter between deserting French soldiers and a mysterious Venetian prostitute with webbed feet, The Passion is exciting as it is exotic — the perfect anecdote to a relationship that has become just a bit too ordinary .
If you find yourself excited by the idea of whips and handcuffs, I beg of you — forgo Fifty Shades of Grey in favor of the superlative story of S&M penned more than a half century ago by Pauline Réage. Although The Story of O is most certainly not for the faint of heart (and I really cannot stress that enough), Réage's daring story of dominance and submission at an elite club catering to a secret society wealthy, erotic adventurers is about as steamy as it gets — although, not exactly a bastion of feminist sentiment, I must say.
Whether or not you've already enjoyed the iconic film adaptation, you're sure to fall hard for Annie Proulx's short story tracing the love of two sheep herders from a slow smolder to a passionate affair over the course of one summer in Wyoming and throughout the decades to come. Both rich and restrained, Proulx's narrative is nothing more than pure and utter pleasure, the perfect material for making your way into the mood for love.
Ann Patchett's unusal story of a world-renowned opera singer taken hostage among a band of ardent admirers at a private party. As lives are threatened, love blossoms almost unbidden among the unique cast of characters trapped together through the vagaries of circumstance. If you like your love stories on the quieter side, slip in some time with Bel Canto before the 14th and you're sure to find yourself alive to the possibility of romance.
Alan Hollinghurst's poignant, passionate novels are at the top of nearly every literature-lover's list of steamiest love stories. With The Folding Star, Hollinghurst follows the life of a disaffected English tutor who finds true love only in beauty but seeks passion wherever he can find it. For some of the most poignangtly penned scenes of lust and love in contemporary fiction, you simply can't do better than Hollinghurst.
For a literary aphrodisiac that hits a little closer to home, why not try John Updike's Couples, the lyrical story of 10 New England (you guessed it) couples trying to make sense of their newfound sexual freedom after the sexual revolution of the 1960s. Updike clearly revels in the descriptive scenes of romantic ecstasy; so, if direct and somewhat contemporary adventures in romance have the ring of atmosphere to them, than Couples is sure to set the right tone for your February 14.


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We invited a few of our favorite love bloggers to come clean about their most salacious summer hookups.
We invited a few of our favorite love bloggers to come clean about their naughtiest summer secrets. WARNING: The following true stories of red-hot hookups might leave you breathless—and ready for a sexy rendezvous of your own!
Twanna Hines, blogger of Funky Brown Chick , talks of how her lustful experience with a stranger made a simple house party feel like a steamy mini vacation.
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While Hines shows us that sex with a perfect stranger can bring a thrill, Latoya Irving of Black and Married With Kids shares how spousal romance can be just as untamed and spontaneous.
Sometimes summer loving comes with a cost, like in Monique Kelly’s story, where the Confessions of a Serial Dater in LA blogger talks of how a seemingly perfect night took a turn for the worse when a surprise guest shows up.
Anslem Samuel Rocque of Naked With Socks On spills how dirty dancing with a familiar-faced cutie quickly turned into an uncomfortable family affair.
Love University’s Abiola Abrams shares how a passionate kiss in the rain capped off an sexy summer date in the city.
Read these steamy tales now in the July 2013 issue of ESSENCE.
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toggle navigation American Literature
A poke at idioms, sci-fi style. If we read everything literally, we'd go mad. You'll be "in stitches" by the time you're done reading Dick's "side-splitting" story!
"'Samuel is a very excellent name.' I saw that trouble was coming. Nothing could prevent it."
A late winter blizzard is just the occasion for Maine (the girl) to step out and save the day!
The familiar story of Narcissus, but from the pool's point of view.
"Give the People what they Think they want" is the clear moral imperative in this story.
As the title implies, O. Henry delivers an unexpected story about a delayed errand in search of cough medicine that requires patients-- two, in fact.
Winnie the Pooh author offers a witty piece on how to handle "Teralbay" -- all 181,440 ways.
SAKI's precursor to what we now call "helicopter parenting."
Here's an account of how a man really lost his balance.
What? All the nutrients you need in one little pill? Leacock's story provides just one scenario for why this invention failed miserably.
Who cares about your family tree. Nothing beats an irish stew, cornbread, and a beer!
A simple request from a stranger is no "match" for what happens next.
This story would make a steam piano go out behind a barn and kick itself in despair.
Twain's humorous rant contrasting how women talk on the telephone compared to men.
Isn't this a story about two knights fighting for the hand of a fair maiden?
"They remind one so of a duck that goes flapping about with forced cheerfulness long after its head's been cut off."
"In writing about Peace the thing is to say what everybody else is saying, only to say it better."
Why don't men just go to a salon where they can make an appointment, instead of this nonsense?
"A dog always looks as if he ought to have a pipe in his mouth and a black bag for his lunch, and then he would go quite happily to office every day."
“Well, of all the horrid, mean, ungrateful creatures I ever saw, those birds are the horridest, and the meanest, and the most ungrateful!"
"We had monkeys, and 'missing links,' and plenty of other kinds of ancestors, but no Adam."
"When I see a beautiful sweet-tempered girl married to an ill-natured brute of a husband, What a pity, say I, that she should pay so much for a whistle!"
Looking forward to a nice quiet evening together, when suddenly...unexpected visitors.
"The night came slowly, softly, as I lay out there under the maple tree."
"I think I shall walk a space through the world with my friend Paul."
This metaphysical story feels almost like a Kafka-esque "Where's Waldo?"
"In the depths of every heart there is a tomb and a dungeon, though the lights, the music and revelry, above may cause us to forget their existence and the buried ones or prisoners whom they hide."
"If I were to preach any doctrine to the world it would be love of change, or at least lack of fear of it."
"It was only common clay, coarse and heavy; but it had high thoughts of its own value, and wonderful dreams..."
"Isn't it beautiful, mother? And it makes me feel so quiet and happy. I wonder why it is?"
This parable originally from India has been adapted by many religions and cultures with the underlying message that collective wisdom leads to the truth.
"It is greater than the stars--that moving procession of human energy."
Rather than being a burden, our elders still have much to teach us.
Wilde's prose poem about four people whose seemingly sinful behavior resulted from God's intervention.
A man is known by the company he keeps.
"Life is a kind of chess, in which we have often points to gain, and competitors to contend with, and in which is a vast variety of good and ill events that are, in some degree, the effects of prudence or the want of it."
"The people who won't do hard things, when they ought to, have the hardest times in the end."
One cannot stick to pure reason while quarreling with bees.
You decide: Fame, Love, Riches, Pleasure, or Death?
Genghis Khan learned a valuable lesson about acting in anger from his loyal hawk.
Let this be a lesson to avoid protracted good-byes, as if your life depends on it!
A father's blessing brought by his son; a gradual transformation towards spiritualism.
A lesson in self-control in which he explains to his student how the teeth and tongue demonstrate that the strongest to resist is the first to decay.
The mayfly's life is fleeting; Franklin reminds us to spend ours wisely.
Scottish King Robert Bruce is inspired not to give up after watching a tenacious spider.
Don't be boastful or you'll end up in a bag of rags!
All he wanted to do was conquer countries and frighten people, which he paid for in the end.
An Indian legend explaining how God tried to incerase man's happiness by introducing work, sickness and suffering. Did it work?
Kindness yields welcome returns, big and small.
A textbook example of a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Twain's clever allegory explaining why your perspective is inevitably a reflection of your work.
Are you willing to believe that love is the strongest thing in the world-- stronger than hate, stronger than evil, stronger than death?
The price of freedom is joy and suffering.
"Chews" your actions carefully and remember never to "sass" old people unless they "sass" you first.
This tale is about a compassionate girl who teaches a mouse the difference between giving and stealing.
At the age of thirteen, George Washington wrote down 110 rules to guide him in act and speech. They served him well, indeed!
Sci-fi with a twist: endless rocket parties and a budding author writing, "Fascism is Communism with a Shave."
"As I looked upon the little gate in the mighty wall, I felt that beyond it lay a dream-country from which, once it was entered, there would be no return."
Did David Duck make it back alive or not?
"Wandering through the house, opening the windows, whispering not to wake us, the ghostly couple seek their joy."
"Central New York is not a region of perils, nor does one remain lost in it," but this man sure was dumbfounded with his experience there.
The woman all in white said what would happen if Minokichi ever disclosed their secret...
A creepy tale about three bad men and one terrible one.
"Sometimes the whole life of this world floats in a human face in my mind."
The story of a man who traveled "out of life on a quest into spaces whither the world's dreams had fled."
Lazy and indifferent, the heron shakes space easily from his wings.
A heartwarming story about an oatmeal parade and "angel-children" who help a family in need.
A story about how an errant kiss is just the thing to prompt a girl to take action.
Who would have thought one small cookie could be the source of such an imaginative celebration?
Hemingway's delightful account of the respite a dance provides during wartime.
Bus passengers are curious about the rider from Charing Cross, a young boy with a stick, bundle and bouquet.
A beautiful Japanese folktale about the Weaving Maiden and the Herd Boy.
An acadian girl's curiousity is piqued after a train breaks down near her farm.
Oh, Gladys, who's love will you accept with these 467 pages?
Over-eager parents eavesdrop on a courtship, it's quite a portrait.
A tender story about the last great white snails, thought to be extinct.
An emerging author tells the story about love and loss in India.
A child's narrative about an interview to determine which of her parents she loves best.
Left on their door-step ten years ago, he's been nothing but trouble ever since.
Who knew Robin Hood stood up for unrequited lovers as well as for the poor!
The poignant tale of a desperate girl who is comforted by warm memories in the end.
Hearing the news of her husband's death, Louise's range of emotions may surprise you.
"Fire, you lobster-backs!" bellowed some. "You dare not fire, you cowardly red-coats," cried others.
A small man and a bear together in a tent? "The hand of heaven sometimes falls heavily upon the righteous."
A dramatic story about a man and a dog confronted by a snake.
Sometimes the silent treatment can get carried to the extreme.
What really happened to Private Bennett Story Greene after his indiscretion striking his officer?
Two medical students get schooled about life after death, or is it vice versa?
A doctor's choice to provide comfort with a lie, rather than reveal the unspeakable reality.
The twists and turns are unexpected, as was O. Henry's own life; he had fled to Honduras after being charged with embezzlement, turned himself in, served five years in federal prison, then published this story.
Is it fate or do the press and law enforcement work hand-in-hand?
The author's treatment for nervous disease was never to touch pen, brush, or pencil. Thankfully, she ignored that advice.
A man returns for an appointment he set up twenty years ago.
"Lost-- Lost-- A little girl, six years old, in a pink frock, white hat, and new, green shoes." She called out, "Why- dat's ME!"
A playful farce about what would happen if women's right to vote became an obligation.
The wheels of corrupt bureaucracy move at an exacting price.
Over-apologizing to a higher-up just might kill you.
Chekhov's commentary on the power of Russia's vertical hierarchy trumping all else.
Had a rough day? Cheer up with 50 Great Feel-Good Stories and a generous helping of comforting Foodie Stories
Looking for more? Check out our Favorite Short Stories Collection . You may also enjoy 100 Great Poems Read about the authors' own stories in American Biographies


June 5, 2021 February 17, 2021 by Md. Jiyaur Rahim

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