I found most of these stories a bit boring. The ones I liked were: Malaria, Horned Men, Encounters with Unexpected Animals, Magic Man, and Philanthropy. That’s only 5 of the 20 stories. ( )

I purchase these "Best American" books every year. The collections focus on specific genres such as, in this case, short stories, science, essays, poetry and others. My usual annual favorite is "Best American Non-required Reading.
The 2013 best short stories was, as always, a good collection of really good short stories. Since the short stories selected are chosen from other publications, they have been read and reviewed to be included in their originally published magazines and then reviewed and selected again to be in this collection. Thus, they really are BEST,
I am sorry to see how many short stories these days are "dark" and some "very dark" and I frequently do not finish such depressing or cynical works. But the writing quality is always top notch and I always look forward each year to the next annual collection. ( )

I purchase these "Best American" books every year. The collections focus on specific genres such as, in this case, short stories, science, essays, poetry and others. My usual annual favorite is "Best American Non-required Reading.
The 2013 best short stories was, as always, a good collection of really good short stories. Since the short stories selected are chosen from other publications, they have been read and reviewed to be included in their originally published magazines and then reviewed and selected again to be in this collection. Thus, they really are BEST,
I am sorry to see how many short stories these days are "dark" and some "very dark" and I frequently do not finish such depressing or cynical works. But the writing quality is always top notch and I always look forward each year to the next annual collection. ( )

It goes the way that most anthologies go: some extraordinary stories and some dull ones. However, even the dull ones are written very well, and honestly there are far more extraordinary ones than dull ones in this anthology.

The Provincials: Not the best, but a very amusing story.

Bravery: Very well-written, but I didn't actually LIKE it.

Malaria: I love this story. So interesting.

Miss Lora: I don't really like Junot Diaz stories because they always trigger my PTSD episodes and in general make me feel very uncomfortable. However, that doesn't mean they're not good stories.

Horned Men: This is just freaky. Didn't really like it.

The Third Dumpster: An interesting story with some interesting parts, but as a whole just rather dull.

Encounters with Unexpected Animals: Also interesting, but not my favorite.

Magic Men: More PTSD. But what do expect from contemporary literature? Even so, I loved this story because of how well written it is. Genuinely scary.

The Chair: A weird, forgettable little story.

A Voice In The Night: Not especially memorable or powerful, but it's still very cool and written in an interesting way.

Referential: I LOVE this story. But what do you expect from Lorrie Moore?

Train: I LOVE this story too, though for completely different reasons. It's just so... COOL.

Chapter Two: Not a huge fan of this story. I just wasn't interested in any of the characters or their lives.

Nemecia: This is a strange story, and I didn't like it because I didn't like Nemecia. At all. Despite this, it's still a very interesting story and I don't regret reading it.

Philanthropy: A very cool story. An honest story, which I appreciated.

The Semplica-Girl Diaries: LOVE THIS STORY.

The World to Come: Dull. Unspeakably so.

The Wilderness: Beautiful. Simple, elegant, relevant.

The Tunnel, or The News from Spain: This story completely drew me in from start to finish. It's just so interesting and painful and sad.

Breatharians: If it weren't for the cats, I might've liked this story. Not sure. ( )

The Tunnel, or the News From Spain Joan Wickersham
Train Alice Munro ( )