 Did you think it was still frame hello everybody in here welcome back to top five Friday today We're talking about my top five favorite short stories of all time As of right now. Oh, this can change at any moment like any of my top five lists especially this one because I The whole reason why I'm doing this video this theme this topic is because I came across a short story Here recently they completely not You know about half of my list down a notch Number one and number two are still the same But it knocked one off completely and the one it knocked off is in from the borderlands So this is this is a what's it called honorable honorable honorable honorable mention But Gary a bronze ex Rami Temporalis is that what it's called something like that. It's something like that Yeah, Rami Temporalis by Gary a Bronbeck. Um, I don't even remember this story I need to reread it probably should have before I did the video, but you know how I do I Do remember it's about a man who's collecting the pieces of the faces of the pieces of the face of God Is a story that has stuck with me ever since I read this I bought this book this not this copy My copy was ruined in a hurricane, but I bought this book brand new I was lucky enough to find this copy at the library for quarter. I believe you that it was a thrift shop I can never remember with these books Anyways, but this this one is the one that it knocked off. This is honorable mention This is not actually one of the numbered Entries, but okay at number five, which used to be number four That's the last time I'm gonna mention that it was not bad. I promise So at number five it is the wriggle twins by Gregor Zane can be found in the bad apples anthology, I will Full disclaimer. I am a part of it this anthology But I don't care if you read my story or anybody else's story In fact, I think you can still get this story on its own probably also an audio book So if you want to go check that out, I recommend the collection overall But Gregor Zane story is the highlight of damn near every single one of the bad apples books Especially this one he was able to capture the spirit of Halloween the feeling the nostalgia all that stuff Everything that makes Halloween epic to me is what he captured in his story It is the best Halloween story I've ever read other than the Halloween tree and I put these almost on the same level because I think Gregor managed to encapsulate all of Bradbury's thematic elements into a smaller Story, maybe not as epic in scope, but the thematic elements are there and I was very impressed and it's a modern Horror and it's a modern Halloween story that sticks with me to this day so much fun Definitely check it out. That's number five and Gregor is also a friend of mine But main reason why he's such a good friend of mine is because the dude is a damn fine author I know it sounds like I'm a tooth in his horn, but I have a lot of author friends that I don't say anything about and the reason for that is either I haven't read their work or I Don't enjoy it, but we're still friends with Gregor. He's just a fantastic author period next up We have pop art from Joe Hill That's available in 20th century ghosts I'm not sure I think of all these stories are available on their own over on Amazon and probably most e-book Places that sell e-books But pop art is one of the most original stories and you're gonna you're gonna find that in Two more of the it's gonna be a theme for the three of these Pop art is one of those stories that just drew out the imagination in me It really it made me see everything that Joe Hill was Describing it's one of those things that you just have never seen before and you come across it and you think That's remarkable that it's literally I that it's something that needs to be remarked upon Something that needs to be talked about how fantastic this story is It's about an inflatable boy a boy that is a balloon and that's Really the it's not the theme of the story, but that's what the story is about and his friendship with a real boy That's one of those this the simplicity of it is one of the things that makes it so Fantastic, and I really wish Joe Hill would get back to that form of storytelling Instead of let's be honest instead of writing his dad's coattails just about everything else He has published since Nosferatu and even Nosferatu has elements It even mentions Pennywise he mentions mid-winter Yeah, mid-world almost called it Middle-earth. Sorry Lord of the rereads go Lord of the rereads going on right now but It's the early stuff when he was trying to make a name for himself Before people knew that he was Stephen King's son. It is Some is his best work not some of his best work. It's his best work I've read all the stories in the upcoming full throttle. I'm not really impressed by them Strange weather was let down aside from a loft Which is a fantastic novella, but yeah I want more of that from Joe Hill because that story has stuck with me ever since I first read it years ago at number three The story that has completely blown me away. I read it three times today two times with tears in my eyes I finally got through the last one without I kept on trying to read it without the emotions taking over so I could Absorb all the themes and everything this author is fantastic brand-new author to me Thank you so much to my friend Terry for sending me this book and that is light spitter by Nana Kwame Adjai Brenia. I hope I said that right. I've been practicing. I probably still screwed it up but His book is so fun. This is this is a fantastic collection. I will get to the review I should have been done today because I only have two more stories to read in here But instead I sat here I sat here today and I read this one story three times It is fantastic and all I'm going to tell you about it is About a school shooting college shooting scenario It is topical. It is important and it is highly inventive and imaginative It is a very emotional story. I've never read anything like it There's probably other things out there like it But I've never read anything like it and it is an important piece if you have not read Friday Black Which is the collection by Adjai Brenia if you have not read this you need to go out and get it because I'm only two stories From the end of this book and I have loved not just liked but loved every single collection in here I would tell you My my favorite short short story collections, but that would spoil the next two. So that's number three light spitter by Nana Kwame Adjai Brenia. I'm so sorry if I'm still getting that wrong. I apologize So at number two we have under the black water from Mariana Enriquez You can get this story in things we lost in the fire She is a Spanish author Argentinian. I believe I'm not a hundred percent sure. Let me check She is a writer and editor based in Buenos Aires. There you go But under the black water is one of those stories that I feel Does it's not really Lovecraftian. I don't want to call it that but it's more of a cosmic horror But there are certain Lovecraft vibes to the story But the important part of the story has nothing to do with any of that every single time I've read this story I've read the story multiple times every time I think about it. I pick it up and I read it It's one of those stories that causes an intense feeling of dread There's really not much going on in the story. The writing is It's not simplistic. In fact, it's kind of deceptive in that it feels like it's simple But it's not there's a lot underneath of it underneath the surface Which has a lot to do with you under the black water But the the story is affecting in a way that I rarely ever come across Every time I read it I get this this sense of unease That that is so prevalent in early Stephen King books like Pet Cemetery The Shining St. Helms lot those books you have this deep sense of Disturbia I guess is right. I'm not sure to use that word in context. So if I'm wrong, I apologize but this deep Unsettled disturbed Disconcerted feeling that makes you feel nervous and jittery and even maybe a little bit Dirty and disgusted but not in the fact like no you just saw a pile of shit or something It's one of those stories that affects you deeply that the disgust is deep and in the ending is so So simple One of the only scenes that is stuck with me more is there's a scene in Joe Hill's Heart-shaped box with a dude sitting in a chair in a hallway. That's it. That's that's all I'm gonna tell you But that this the scene at the end of this one is so crystal clear in my mind That's what makes it number two at number three. Unfortunately. I have never owned a physical copy of this book I have the audiobook. I have the e-book. I have never ever once owned this book I'm gonna throw it up right there And that is in the Hills the cities from Clyde Barker's books of blood volume one The audiobook version of this story is fantastic. Sometimes I'll just download it and put that on and listen to that I love reading the story also, but this the reason why it's at number one is I've never read another story like it I'm not gonna gonna tell you anything about the story other than how imaginative it is One of the things that Clyde Barker does well is he he makes He makes visuals clear He he cut he really really drives that home He wants you to see very well, and sometimes he's a bit modeling sometimes. He's a bit. Yes. Yes, wordy I've come to hate that word wordy, but and we'll discuss that at a later time but with With his his stuff That's why I have a problem with his novels because he gets lost in the details And I've never been able to finish one of his novels other than the thief of always and that's a YA book Make it maybe it's even as low as children's book. I'm not sure But in the hills the cities is my favorite because of the imagination of it You see everything so clearly and it is an utterly bonkers story It's one of the stories that once you get in there and you realize what is going on you have to see where this is going And it's it's something that has stuck with me and with all these stories other than light spitter from Adjaye, Brena. I hope I'm saying that right. It's gonna bother me Other than that one all these stories have been in my head for so long It was so easy to make this episode of top five Friday because of that So definitely check out all of these stories I'm not sure that you can get The the Barker the Enrique's the Adjaye, Brena I don't think you can get those on their own you'd have to buy those full collections But I'm positive you can get well almost positive I'm not sure if they've been taken down or not Gregor Zanes the wriggle twins by itself Gregor If you watch this, please leave a link down in the doobly-doo if it goes to spam. I'll get to it eventually And then the Joe Hills pop art I'm pretty sure you can get that one on its own Have you read any of these stories any of these collections? Do you like any of these authors? Do you dislike any of the stories that I chose for this list? Let me know all that down there in the doobly-doo, but until next time I have been a you've been you This has been another episode of top five Friday. I'll talk to you guys later. Bye. Bye