I adore Joyce's short stories. They remind me a bit of Raymond Carver in their ordinary-ness, in their attempt to capture a certain ordinary moment. I endeavor to make ordinary moment extraordinary in my own writing, so I love reading stories like that.

I also love Joyce for setting. I will probably have to re-read this collection because I don't know Dublin well and probably missed bits, but he is so good at weaving in setting. He makes the mention of neighborhoods or streets meaningful, for what they reflect about the character and society.

I also love his language, his use of repetition. I could read "The Dead" everyday.