Recommended college-based stories

[acassimaty]

I've kinda gotten a bit sick of high school stories. I've read so many that I kinda get bored by them, so I've turned to reading college-set ones. Plus having moved from high school into university its understandable that I'd be more interested in those sort of stories.

 

So, I thought I'd recommend some with the aim of getting some more suggestions from you fine folk out there!

 

Educating Alex by Ardveche - sweet, romantic, well-written 'Jock becomes gay' story.

Reclaiming Austin by Billy TK - ditto. (Not yet finished)

The Human Condition by JFinn - again, ditto.

Working It Out by GA's Don Hanratty - an epic tale of romance, religion and family.

Similar Differences by Rob - superbly well written tale of one's battle with romance.

 

Hope you get joy out of these stories like I did.

 

Please add any you have found!

Thanks muchly

 

PS I think I've posted this in the right forum, yes?

[Graeme]

I don't have any to add to the list at the moment, but based on the fact that I've loved Educating Alex, Reclaiming Austin and Working It Out, I'll have to say you have great taste. I haven't read the other two, but if you put them in the same category as the other three, I'd say they have to be fantastic.

[mEis]

There are a few ongoing stories on nifty that I find interesting, all of them are well written, realistic -as in nobody become all of a sudden a billionaire because his parents graciously decide to die-, and moving. The links are:

 

Turn of events

 

Connections

 

Jumping over my mountain

 

"Connections" is a very good piece of story, the author is posting every three weeks due to his profession but it's well worth the wait.

[acassimaty]

I don't have any to add to the list at the moment, but based on the fact that I've loved Educating Alex, Reclaiming Austin and Working It Out, I'll have to say you have great taste. I haven't read the other two, but if you put them in the same category as the other three, I'd say they have to be fantastic.

 

OMG, Graeme thinks I have great taste! I'm honoured. That means a lot coming from someone I respect so much, so, ah, thanks

 

Human Condition is definitely one of my favourite stories ever and really worth the read, even though it flirts with plausibility, or lack of rather, at one stage. Similar Differences (which I only started (and finished) yesterday), I found compelling not necessarily because of the story, which isn't bad by any means, but the author's ability to create such beautiful imagery.

 

(PS Loved the latest chapter of Heart of the Tree. Damn Matt for being so stubborn!! Here's hoping Shane or the Mourton gang can get through to him. )

 

There are a few ongoing stories on nifty that I find interesting, all of them are well written, realistic -as in nobody become all of a sudden a billionaire because his parents graciously decide to die-, and moving.

 

LMAO. There was still a lot to like about that story! lol

 

Thanks for the recommendations. Will check them out.

[Matthew]

I don't have any to add to the list at the moment, but based on the fact that I've loved Educating Alex, Reclaiming Austin and Working It Out, I'll have to say you have great taste. I haven't read the other two, but if you put them in the same category as the other three, I'd say they have to be fantastic.

Like Graeme, I don't have any to add at the moment except some non-serials, below, but the initial list displays awesome taste. Ardveche is my absolute favorite author of any genre or time.

 

As contrived as it may at times, I love stuff by "Artistic_bi_guy"

• Unexpected Reunion's first chapter is a story about adults, but the second one is college, and I think it can stand alone fairly easily.
  
• I Hate You is a two POV story told one per chapter.
  

There are a few ongoing stories on nifty that I find interesting, all of them are well written, realistic -as in nobody become all of a sudden a billionaire because his parents graciously decide to die-, and moving.

 

That rememinds me of a site a Nifty author had a few years ago that had people nominate and vote for stories. The catch was that categories were things like:

 

"Most contrived way to get a celebrity to have a conversation with the protagonist"

"Most contrived method of a college student becoming a self-sufficient millionaire"

[mEis]

That rememinds me of a site a Nifty author had a few years ago that had people nominate and vote for stories. The catch was that categories were things like:

 

"Most contrived way to get a celebrity to have a conversation with the protagonist"

"Most contrived method of a college student becoming a self-sufficient millionaire"

 

ROTFLASC! Do you remember the url? Would love to visit. And vote

 

 

BTW Graeme: liked the last chapter of HOTT, even if it is not so clear why Matt is acting the way he is.

[Matthew]

ROTFLASC! Do you remember the url? Would love to visit. And vote

 

Sorry, but I looked, and it has long since lapsed. Not suprising since it was somewhere around 6 years ago when I last looked at it.

 

BTW, what does that acronym stand for?

[mEis]

btw stands for By The Way

rotflastc stands for running on the floor laughing and scaring the cat. That is a 20-years-old Fidonet slang, before the 'net came

[Rabble_Rouser]

A few more suggestions for college level stories that I've enjoyed:

 

Towards The Decent Inn by Mike Arram: The first in a series of inter-related stories that use different genres & mystery plots (fails the get rich quick test in some parts but it's not portrayed in a positive light) All Stories Complete

 

Welcome to the Family by Jacob Adams: College & Coming Out story with a hunky marine Story complete with Part II in progress

 

One Life by Ryan Keith: A great story by a talented young Canadian author Story Complete

 

Games at Deauville by David MacMillan: Adventure literature about new love in Depression era England (on www.awesomedude.com website) Story complete with Part II Complete

 

Billy & Danny by Mickey S: A college romance that challenges social norms of the 1960's Story Complete

 

Steve

[sparrow]

Well it's only a short story, but I really like Ten Weird Things by Matthew Haldeman-Time. For some reason, I keep rereading that story over and over and I never get tired of it. I really like the author's sense of humor. Some of his other short stories are just as good and they're all about adult / college age characters pretty much. I'd also highly recommend The List and I Dare You.

 

Oh, and I third the recs for Educating Alex, Reclaiming Austin, and Human Condition. Now I have to go check out the others mentioned here.

Edited November 7, 2006 by sparrow

[sat8997]

Well it's only a short story, but I really like Ten Weird Things by Matthew Haldeman-Time.

 

This is my favorite of his also. Great story and I find myself re-reading it also.

 

Sharon

[jalaki]

Jumping over my mountain

 

This would have been my suggestion, especially since Tiffani is now hosted here (Hiya, Tiffani!). Defintely a story worth checking out!

[acassimaty]

Hey guys! Thanks for all your suggestions! So glad uni finishes in a week, looks like I have plenty to do

 

One Life by Ryan Keith: A great story by a talented young Canadian author Story Complete

 

OMG, can't believe I forgot about this one. Would have added it to my list above had I remembered it. Definitely a great read. Even its ending.

[Rigel]

Another story I could recommend is partially set in college: Grasshopper's "Just Hit Send."

http://www.iomfats.org/storyshelf/hosted/grasshopper/

 

The beginning section "The High School years" is set in high school (duh!).

The second part "The College Years" is set at Florida State in Tallahassee.

The third part "The Interim Years" has at least some of the characters pursuing advanced degrees (at UCSD and in Portland, Oregon).

The fourth part "The Happy Years" is set post-college.

 

A good read; keep tissues handy.

 

--Rigel

[Ieshwar]

I've kinda gotten a bit sick of high school stories. I've read so many that I kinda get bored by them, so I've turned to reading college-set ones. Plus having moved from high school into university its understandable that I'd be more interested in those sort of stories.

 

So, I thought I'd recommend some with the aim of getting some more suggestions from you fine folk out there!

 

Educating Alex by Ardveche - sweet, romantic, well-written 'Jock becomes gay' story.

Reclaiming Austin by Billy TK - ditto. (Not yet finished)

The Human Condition by JFinn - again, ditto.

Working It Out by GA's Don Hanratty - an epic tale of romance, religion and family.

Similar Differences by Rob - superbly well written tale of one's battle with romance.

 

Hope you get joy out of these stories like I did.

 

Please add any you have found!

Thanks muchly

PS I think I've posted this in the right forum, yes?

 

 

 

 

can you believe that I have not read any?

 

But then, I'm more into highschool than college. i read and appreciated the below ones though like Jumping over my mountain, Turns of events and of course my favorite, One Life.

 

I read and liked another story. Its title is 'this is a bad idea'. It's a light and entertaining story. It's very sweet and romantic. Here is the link, if you want to read:

 

http://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/college/this-is-a-bad-idea/

 

Ieshwar

[TheZot]

I'd have to throw Never Study Without Wine to the list 'o short stories. You find the nicest things trawling through the old stuff at Nifty...

[Cynical Romantic]

I'd like to add more obnoxious praise for Jayne Finn's "The Human Condition". Of everything I've read, it's one of those stories that just gets under your skin and you feel like the characters are real and you can't stop thinking about them. Yes, when you strip it down to its basic plotline, it's a walking cliche, but it manages to transcend the genre. I've read it dozens of times and I never seem to get tired of it.

 

I also really enjoyed "Educating Alex". Very sweet in its own way.

 

I wasn't really able to get into "Working it out"... too many bad cliches too early on. Didn't much enjoy "Reclaiming Austin" past the first few chapters either; it's a story that should've ended long ago, IMHO, though it started off promising.

 

Anyway, this thread has a few good recommendations for other stories, so thanks to everyone for pointing them out to me.

[GaryK]

I'm shocked that nobody mentioned "Everybody's Wounded" by Duncan Ryder.

 

Duncan writes stories about complex relationships and always, always, the characters have such depth that they are totally believable.

 

His use of kisses as a way to express varying types and levels of emotions is second to none. It's what stands out most in his stories. His attention to every little detail is superb.

[colinian]

I'm shocked that nobody mentioned "Everybody's Wounded" by Duncan Ryder.

 

Duncan writes stories about complex relationships and always, always, the characters have such depth that they are totally believable.

 

His use of kisses as a way to express varying types and levels of emotions is second to none. It's what stands out most in his stories. His attention to every little detail is superb.

I agree. This story has some of the most amazing chapters I've ever read, anywhere. For those who've already read Everybody's Wounded, Duncan has started posting the sequel How the Light Gets In read it here on GA where he's a Shared Hosted Author. This promises to be a riveting story.

 

I also recommend Rick Beck's Outside the Foul Lines series. It starts in high school but quickly moves on to college.

 

Colin

[BeaStKid]

I have read quite a few of the stories mentioned here and I must say that they are worth every bit of the recommendation that they are getting.

 

 

BeaStKid

[acassimaty]

Oh thanks for resurrecting this thread! Funnily enough after nearly 18 months I'm still looking for the same types of stories.

 

Would like to add Grasshopper's Just One Starfish to the mix. Here he uses two characters we've met in previous stories of his and places them in college. 13 chapters now posted. More of Grasshoppper magic (though I'm highly biased when it comes to his work ).

 

I wasn't really able to get into "Working it out"... too many bad cliches too early on. Didn't much enjoy "Reclaiming Austin" past the first few chapters either; it's a story that should've ended long ago, IMHO, though it started off promising.

 

I haven't read Working it Out for a few years and I'm scared to go back cause I don't want ruin the memories I have of this story as I think my ability to extend my disbelief has dramatically changed.

 

As for Reclaiming Austin, yeah its complete trash, but was fun for the first part of the story and that's what I remember best about it. Having said that I have completely stopped reading any recent chapters because it got so absolutely dreadful.

 

I'm shocked that nobody mentioned "Everybody's Wounded" by Duncan Ryder.

 

Excellent recommendation Gary! Had this been out when I originally put the list together I would have surely added it. Haven't got round to the sequel yet, but definitely looking forward to it.

 

I also recommend Rick Beck's Outside the Foul Lines series. It starts in high school but quickly moves on to college.

 

Thanks for the recommendation Colin. Will def check it out.

[BeaStKid]

As for Reclaiming Austin, yeah its complete trash, but was fun for the first part of the story and that's what I remember best about it. Having said that I have completely stopped reading any recent chapters because it got so absolutely dreadful.

I agree as well. I mean, the first few chapters were so good. They portrayed the emotions of the protagonists so well. And I mean, I really liked that story....It is only one of the very few stories that had me disappointed in the end with the way it was going. The first part was totally awesome...

[acassimaty]

Another one I forgot: Comicality's Between the Lines.

 

Not generally a fan of Comicality's writing style, but here he's hit the nail on the head in terms of character and conflict. Only four chapters so far.

[Tiff]

Another one I forgot: Comicality's Between the Lines.

 

Not generally a fan of Comicality's writing style, but here he's hit the nail on the head in terms of character and conflict. Only four chapters so far.

His stories are ok. I liked a few of them, but he takes very long to update each chapter. By the time he does, I had already forgotten everything.

 

My favorite is Grasshopper. It was mentioned already, but not only are his stories great quality, but he also updates regularly AND very quickly. Great for impatient readers like myself.

[Daisy]

This is one of the best stories I've read. Its called cross-currents and is about bisexuality. It follows the main character Andy as he grows up (so the 1st half is highschool) and then progresses onto college. The writer had a break but is back to it again and says it should be finished within the year, but its almost a full-story even though its not finished.

 

http://www.freegaysex.com/nifty/gay/relati...cross-currents/

 

The author has been editing/ghost-writing the last few chapters of It started with Brian which is being posted here in the e-fiction bit. (which is another good story that follows a character into college and beyond).

 

Enjoy

Celia