I’ve been in love with the short story since I was a child, discovering renewed passion for it when the form allowed for the limited time I had to read when my children were small. I am a collector of short stories, particularly those found in the annual collection, The Best American Short Stories. I have nearly every volume published since the year I was born. Imagine my surprise when, upon visiting the home of a new friend two years ago, saw a bookshelf filled with the collections — it was like seeing my own bookshelf in someone else’s home. I also like the O. Henry Prize Stories and occasionally will pick up that anthology as well. For a time, I volunteered with Delmar magazine, the St. Louis literary publication, find writers, promote readings and publish its annual volume.

The 2007 edition of Best American Short Stories, (which I ordered and read hungrily, an annual tradition of mine since 1993), was edited by Stephen King. You may have heard of him. My favorite story within is Wait by Roy Kesey, originally published in The Kenyon Review. Any traveler who has had to wait will enjoy this story.

I recently added the Books application to my Facebook profile. You can follow what I’m reading there, and what I thought of it, in case you’re interested. As friends and family know, I read a ridculous amount. I read fiction, nonfiction and business books — and that’s just what I read on paper. Online, I read much more.

Some of the best gifts I recieved in 2007 were books — both boxes full and complete surprises. Danielle sent me every book in the Sweet Potato Queen’s collection and Amanda sent me a Book Box — a kind of traveling book club full of delightful novels that kept me in pages for months. I have just paid it forward, and sent the Book Box to another book-loving friend, as a surprise to her. I can’t wait to send another Book Box to an unsuspecting reader!

While I’m waiting for Dwight’s book to be available via Amazon, I’m looking for any recommendations from you. My book well is about to run dry, and I have some travel in my future. My Mistress’s Sparrow is Dead is on deck (a collection of love stories, just in time for Valentine’s Day). Any ideas?

Finally, while I await your recommendations, I share this story, written by my former writing teacher and friend, Bob Earleywine. The Lone Ranger (Abandoned Episode) was originally printed in Natural Bridge, the literary journal produced by the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Enjoy!

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 20th, 2008 at 8:45 pm and is filed under . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.