Good heavens, Ms Sakamoto, you’re beautiful!

So! The first day of summer, by way of taking a vacation day on the last full-time day of the year. Go, me.

I celebrated by sleeping late, going for an after-breakfast walk with Steve and catching up, at least, on my business email.

The thunderstorms that came through last night really did the job. Today is fresh and breezy with intermittent clouds and sun. I may go for another walk a little later.

Alert readers will have seen that last night I finished reading a book! The title of that book is/was I Don’t Want to Kill You by Dan Wells, the third novel about John Cleaver (the first two are I Am Not a Serial Killer and Mr. Monster). I. . .enjoyed is the wrong word. I was compelled by these novels, which detail the adventures of a 15/16 year old sociopath who is determined not to give into his darker nature as he simultaneously tries to find a meaningful direction for his life. These are “I” books, and John’s voice never falters; they also read very quickly. The three of them make a good summer read.

As I mentioned the other day, one of the side benefits of converting chapbooks to echapbooks is that I’ve been revisiting the stories, and rediscovering my favorites among them. Yes, writers love some of their children better than others. Shhh

I do particularly like “Changeling,” “The Beggar King,” “A Spell for the Lost,” “Candlelight,” “A Choice of Weapons,” and “Pilot of Korval.”

What are your favorites among the short stories/chapbooks? Which would you recommend to someone who just wanted to sample the Universe before jumping right in?

Originally published at Sharon Lee, Writer. You can comment here or there.