A deep and life-changing gift. When I told my aunt I was thinking of taking up writing, she bought me this book to help me learn and to inspire. I fell deeply in love with short stories and Bradbury. One of the greatest writers of all time. This from someone who did not like Fahrenheit 451.

Not a complete collection (there are several glaring omissions, like "The Veldt" and "A Sound of Thunder"), but it's the biggest one I've found so far. A nice mix of his Martian, Irish, sci-fi and childhood stories, ranging from the '40s to the '90s (!).

This is probably the hardest book I've ever reviewed, a book that will mean a whole lot more to me as years pass. There are many reasons to that. And If one were to ask me if Ray Bradbury's "Bradbury Stories" was good, I would reply with a very hesitant yes. As in, yes it has goodness inside of it, lots actually, but there are also lots of short stories that seem included just for the sake of having one hundred stories. Excellent thrillers, interesting sci-fi, heartwarming stories and more all await to lovely, lovely prose in Bradbury Stories, but in an awful rivalry, boring, sluggish tales also tend to await and bog the collection.

There's no better word to describe Bradbury and his writing style other than "timeless". At his best, Ray delivers emotionally gripping fables all set to the tone of his beautiful prose. Seriously. Read any of his works and it will no doubt become clear that he is both a talented writer, as well as a very experienced one. His talent in description, imagery, sentence balance, and general vocabulary is unmatched, creating stories of pure magic. He pulls off literary techniques effortlessly without his prose ever being hard to understand. Truly, it's wondrous. In terms of ideas, Ray's headcanon can really impress, too. His plots can be creative and completely enthralling. There are some tales of his that I know I'll never forget. They'll just grow on me. That's the magic of Ray's works. He places you into his fantastical scenes so delicately, then he can set you a well-considered, unique plot to feast with it.

Ah, yes, Ray. How your words entrance me. If only all of your plots held up to your exquisite prose.

There's a key word ravaging Ray's collection: "Can". He has the potential to tell striking stories, but he doesn't always. That's where my complaints for Bradbury Stories grow; you never know if your getting a masterful plot sung to great wording or if you'll have the misfortune of getting a lackluster short story sung to great wording. Sure, Ray's genius prose is consistent, but the stories that prose tells is not always interesting. Many stories consist of mundane topics that did not hold my interest. Some are just indubitably boring. It's like having a great singer to hum a dull melody. As such, Ray constantly impresses in his writing styles, but not all of his plots will be completely interesting and enthralling.

So, yes, I do see why the book has such praise. From time to time, I can agree with it. I made a list of his ten best stories. If this book only contained the tales from that list, it would be one of the best collections I've ever read. But it doesn't. Unfortunately, it contains a lot more rubbish to go with it. And you won't know what's what until you've already read it. If you're interested, I still recommend giving Bradbury Stories a read, but just know that some of his stories are masterpieces in writing style and plot, while many others are just not particularly special.

Ray Bradbury is one of the finest writers and imaginations of the 20th century, and that immense talent is on full display in this large collection of 100 of his tales.

The stories here range from sci-fi, american literature, literary fiction, horror, thriller and many stories that simply defy any attempt to tuck them neatly into a genre. There is absolute magic in these words and anyone who wants to experience just how purely magical fiction can get should not hesitate to read this.

Short fiction at its apex.

Great collection of short stories ranging everywhere from Mars to a little town in Mexico to Dublin, Galway, and a little town in the heart of the U.S. A story for every mood, horror, or happiness. Favorites were "Any Friend of Nicholas Nickleby's is a Friend of Mine" "The Swan" and "The Pumpernickel"

Will read again.

(Note: I won’t be going deep into reviewing each story. Just a general overview.)

I’ve written else where that I fell in love with Ray Bradbury after reading Fahrenheit 451 (and this collection includes one of the early stories that would later turn into the classic book). It was a defining moment in my life that really made me the book lover that I am today. So, I finally got around many years later to pick up (actually, just download. My how the world changes) Ray Bradbury’s 100 most celebrated short stories. Of course, I wasn’t disappointed.

From the first story (which is the only one with a “sequel” later on in the collection) we find ourselves entranced by the magical powers of the great storyteller that was Bradbury. His relentless skills are on full display from the first until the last.

We are treated to stories all over the map. Horror to funny to Mars to...well, you name it. His imagination was full of everything that one could hope for in an author. I found each story to be its own little universe and when I was done with one, I jumped into the next wanting to see where I was heading to.

Even though I found his science fiction stories to more of my liking, I found the more quieter ones wonderful, too. There were some that obviously came from a nostalgia point of view. But again, we travel everywhere. Even Ireland!

I could go on and on all day about how great this collection is, but I think I’ll wrap things up and leave you a list of my favorite stories. (This may be an incomplete list. These are the ones that I remember the most. The list is from the beginning to the end of the order in which they appear in the book, but they are in no particular order of best.)

1. The Rocket
2. And the rock cried out
3. Lafayette, Farewell
4. Remember Sascha?
5. Junior
6. February 1999: Ylla
7. One for his lordship, and one for the road
8. The Laurel and Hardy love affair
9. Another Fine Mess
10. No news, or what killed the dog
11. A little journey
12. The Garbage Collector
13. The Visitor
14. Bang! You’re dead!
15. I see you never
16. The Exiles
17. The Witch Door
18. The Illustrated Man
19. The Burning Man
20. G.B.S—Mark V
21. A Blade of Grass
22. The Smiling People
23. Downwind from Gettysburg
24. Changeling
25. The Pedestrian
26. Trapdoor
27. June 2003: Way in the Middle of the Air
28. April 2005: Usher II
29. The Square Pegs
30. The Smile
31. The Miracles of Jamie
32. The Machineries of joy
33. Bright Phoenix
34. The Lifework of Juan Diaz
35. Almost the end of the world
36. The Poems
37. April 2026: the long years
38. Death and the Maiden
39. Zero hour
40. The Toynbee convector
41. Forever and the Earth
42. The handler
43. Last Rites
44. All on a Summers Night

I read this awhile back, before I was on Goodreads. Bradbury seems to be more conservative now from what I read...he has some opinions that I don't really think would benefit human kind, which makes me sad. Still, he's really one of the best story tellers that ever walked the Earth.

Some of the best short stories ever written in these pages! Even with a few weaker stories here and there, as in any collection of this size, it's beyond a 5-star read.

Ray Bradbury is a master of short stories. He ranks up there with Arthur C. Clarke and Frederick Brown. The following is a list of stories that I enjoyed.

February 1999 Ylla: Ylla is a wife and a Martian who dreams of earthmen.
Banshee: a playboy named John meets his fate at the hands of a female ghost.
The Laurel and Hardy love affair: It's a story about love won and then lost.
A Little Journey: Mrs. Bellowes is into the occult. She goes to Mars to Mr. Thirkell's Restorium were she wants to take a rocket past pluto to find God.
The Garbageman: A garbage man decides to quit once he hears about what they will pick up.
The Man: Captain Hart lands on a strange planet. The people don't greet him because a messiah has arrived healing the sick. Hart is a sceptic who doesn't believe in miracles. Hart becomes obsessed with this messiah and decides to track him down.
Messiah: A priest comes face to face with a martian that looks like Jesus.
Bang! Your Dead: Johnny is a soldier who thinks war is a game.
The Watchers: Tinsely is a man who is making war on insects because they are spying on him and secretly plots his demies.
The Illustrated Man: Phillip is a tattoo man who's tattoos come to life. This is one of my favorite story.
Moonlight: A group of astronauts land on Mars and discover that the Martians are all dead due to chicken pocks. A crewmember becomes a Martian and starts killing the astronauts.
A Blade of Grass: Ultar is a robot who discovers a blade of grass. He nurtures it and creates a man. Ultar is convicted of heresy and he is condemned to "rust".
The Chaneling: Martha discovers that her boyfriend is a robot.
Trapdoor: Clara discovers a door leading to her attic. There is something in her attic.
Usher II: Mr. Stendahl wants revenge for the destruction of horror books.
The Square Peg: Lisabeth thinks she is Catherine the Great. She is taken to an asteroid were she finds happiness.
The Machinery of Joy: To priest, Brian and Vittroni argue about space travel.
The Poems: A writer has the magic touch to make beautiful poems. His girlfriend, Lisa is both captivated and afraid.
April 2026 The Long Years: It's a story about a man named Hathaway and his family which are marooned on Mars. A rocket lands and the captain meets Hathaway and his family. The captain discovers that the wife and kids are dead, so did he interact with a ghost?
Icarus, Montlolfier Wright: A mythological story of flight.
Death and the Maiden: Mam's is a old women fearing "mr. death". A strange man comes to her giving her youth once again.
Zero Hour: A seven year old girl named Mink leads a Martian invasion with other childern. This story reminds me of the Twilight Zone. This is my favorite story in the book.
The Toynbee Convector: A time traveler tries to change the world.

This is a small sampling of the stories in the Bradbury reader, its a good book worth five stars.

Great navigation and no errors noted. Will make notes and highlights here but review short stories over the title book page.

Starting 2020 with finishing this book for the second time.
It was an even more rewarding read. Full with twists and turns, melancholia and lessons learned.
Even though it was the second time I read it, I had forgotten the twists, or at least they always managed to surprised me. I was thirsty in reading it, but slowed my self down so I could savoir the taste of the summer wine, as one of the readers says bellow.

Bradbury is a master. This collection, while notably deep, is not as strong as The Modern Library collection I had earlier read. Though, by nature of their not being included in that group, it would stand to reason that these stories were, in their totality, the lesser.

Still, well worth your time, and a strong collection. As I have done with other large collections I have reviewed this as I read it in my own notes off site.