About a year ago, I found myself in a rare and precious situation as a college student: an afternoon free — nothing to do and nowhere to be. After speaking to a friend about this, he gave me his collection of Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s short stories. I then spent the afternoon sitting outside reading “White Nights” at his suggestion. Eighty-five pages later, I came back to reality — refreshed yet emotionally unsettled by the story. 

The benefits of reading are well-researched and well-known. If I told you that research consistently shows that reading keeps your memory sharp, helps you sleep better and improves your empathy, creativity and overall well-being, I’m sure you wouldn’t be surprised. Despite all this, the number of Americans who read for pleasure has fallen 40% over the last 20 years and continues to decrease by 3% every year, according to an article by The New York Times. 

College students are in a particularly difficult situation when it comes to reading for fun. They are overworked and overstimulated. After a long day of sitting in class and hours in the library reading textbooks, the last thing most of us want to do is read even more. Yet, many of my peers complain about not having the time or mental space to tackle their ever-growing list of books to read, having lost their childhood love of reading. 

That afternoon, reading “White Nights,” I realized a solution. Short stories could be the perfect compromise for our attention-deficient society. They can typically be read in a single sitting or two, making them an approachable, low-commitment alternative to longer novels. Think of it as watching a movie instead of diving into a multi-season show.  

Short stories are usually simpler stories and lack sequels, often focusing on a single event or a series of related events. Unlike novels, they avoid the complex plotlines and numerous characters, demanding far less mental effort. When time is limited, short stories present instant literary gratification.  

I used to believe short stories were an inferior form of prose, but since experiencing the aching mix of hope and heartbreak in “White Nights,” I now see their value. They show an author’s true skills by testing their ability to both entertain and portray literary truths in a limited format. Reading a short story allows you to test out an author’s writing style before diving into one of their longer works.  

Dostoyevsky’s “White Nights” is a haunting and tragic love story. It was the first short story I read post-high school and remains one of the best I’ve read — true must-read of classic literature. Check out “First Person Singular” by Haruki Murakami, for a more modern perspective. It gives a great introduction to the award-winning author. For anyone with dark, introspective tastes, Edgar Allan Poe’s stories are an obvious choice. Many contemporary writers such as George Saunders, Zadie Smith and Kazuo Ishiguro have written short stories in addition to their well-known novels.  

Low-commitment, time efficient, immediately gratifying, simple and entertaining — short stories could be our solution to the literary barriers of our generation.