Giving short stories a second chance

I've never been a big fan of short stories. I think I was traumatized by them in my late teens. I got a book, I believe it was Hemingway, (there was a bull and a matador in one story). The book was a collection of short stories, but I didn't realize it. About halfway through I was getting very confused. How could all these characters meet up? What plot line could possibly pull them all together?

Then I took a good look at the cover. I felt betrayed. It wasn't a story, it was many stories. Damn.

Lately, I have been following the trends in epublishing. New authors are putting out short stories for free as a sample. A wonderful idea, like having a taste of cheese before you buy it. It never occurred to me to troll for new authors in short story collections. Brilliant! I have so many new (to me) authors on my to-read list that I'm going to need a better way of sorting them.

So, I guess I'm giving short fiction a second chance.