I Love A Good Short Story

Lately I've been into short story collections, I like to keep them at my desk and when I have few minutes read one or two.  Short stories are so different from full length novels and books in they only have a few pages to get a whole point across, they don't have the luxury of setting up long detailed plots, minimal character development, almost no history, and sparse settings.  Yet even with all of these restrictions some of the best, saddest, funniest, intriguing and touching stories I have ever read are short stories.  I guess when I think about it, most fairy tales, myths and legends that we are all so familiar with when written down are in reality just short stories.  One of my other favorite things about short stories is the sheer variety you can get from a single topic.  I am in the middle of reading a collection of short stories that are rewritten classic fairy tales called Happily Ever After. In this book is on of the most AMAZING retelling of Beauty and the Beast that I have ever read called Rose Garden, and believe me I have read countless fairy tell rewrites. This story while still recognizable as Beauty and the Beast takes a different meaning of love, in this case of a child to break the spell. This is a story that would only work in short story form, that if was to be expanded would lose its flavor and conciseness (is that even a word?)  I think it takes immense talent to be able to get across a great story when you are limited to such few pages, it makes you really decide what is important to the story, what cannot be left out, and what may not be needed. What is your favorite type of book/story ?