a Bit Off topic, short stories Anyone??

First, I just wanted to say yesterday I finished The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold, and it was really good. It's been around for a while, and theres like over 200 reviews on Amazon so I won't be posting a review since I don't really feel I have anything unique to say apart from agreeing with people who loved it. Yes, I loved it (Rating 9.1) and would definitely recommend it. It's sad, hopeful, unique, and a whole array of other adjectives. I teared up, I got angry, I got frustrated, it was just a great read.

Okay, so for school, we have to create a mandella (basically a project) on 3 different short stories with the same theme. I've read a few different ones, but I haven't really found one I absolutely loved and adored, and definitely wanted to use. I think if I found "the one" I could center my project more around that, and use that theme as a central idea.

I was wondering, of you 7 visitors, do you have any short stories you recommend? I know, some people hate them, or haven't read them in 5+ years, but for those who remember a story they particularly enjoyed, please share! Some stories I liked are:

• 'The Lottery'- Shirley Jackson
• 'The Rocking-horse Winner'- DH Lawrence
• 'The Darling'- Anton Chekhov
• 'Miss Brill'- Katherine Mansfield
• 'Harrison Bergeron'- Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

And maybe a few others. I apologize if I have the author's names wrong, I am writing this from memory and somehow, Short Story authors don't stick with me as easily as novel authors.

Also, feel free to share some ideas for themes (love, death, innocence, society, etc.) that you think could be used in a project in an interesting way. I'm not a huge fan of romance, and I like irony in stories, along with maybe a bit of sadness...

What is your favourite short story?

-AyC