Some say you should read like a reader and others say you should read like an editor or a scientist, dissecting what you read to see what works.
Some say read, read, read your genre and then stop reading while you write, so you don't accidentally let whatever you're reading influence your own work too much.
Others say read, read, read all the time, in your genre and others.
I write short stories in a variety of genres, novels (fantasy and sci fi), travel essays, travel guides, and various other types of work. But I have to admit that my reading habits are a bit more narrow. I tend to mostly read novels instead of short stories. I read travel guides to places I plan to travel, but don't read as much other travel writing as I should. Part of this, of course, is due to limited time.
So, to make my reading of short work more efficient, I use the anthology approach.
Benefits of Reading Yearly Anthologies
Long-standing, well-respected anthologies are great because they collect some of the (subjectively) best fiction of the year from various magazines. You don't waste time with mediocre stories. You get a feel for what's current and what editors are throwing their support behind. Go ahead and dissect these stories and learn from them.
Another valuable aspect of an anthology is that you see which magazine first published which story. This is very useful for your own work. You know the old advice about submitting to magazines: read a few issues first to see if your work fits. This is excellent advice. Unfortunately, we don't always have time to read a few issues of every magazine. Luckily, anthologies give you a shortcut. Pick out the stories you like or that could be good matches to yours, then see which magazines they were published in. Start submitting to those magazines.
Some Good Anthologies:
The O. Henry Prize Stories, edited by Laura Furman.
The Pushcart Prize; Best of the Small Presses, edited by Bill Henderson.
The Best American Short Stories, edited by Heidi Pitlor and various yearly editors. Obviously the yearly editor puts a slant on things, so some years may be more "best" than others.
The Best American series has other genre-specific anthologies, such as The Best American Essays, The Best American Travel Writing, The Best American Mystery Short Stories, The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy, etc. Look for your target genre to see if they have one that matches.
The Year's Best Science Fiction and Fantasy, edited by Rich Horton. Also in the series, The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, edited by Paula Guran.
The Best Horror of the Year, edited by Ellen Datlow.
Many of these can be found at your local library as well as at online and brick-and-mortar bookstores.
