Today at lunch I re-read "Music Lessons" by Doug Lain. I have no idea what slipstream is, really, but that story makes me feel very strange. I like it a lot, even as it makes me uncomfortable, and it's my favorite of his stories; at least, it's the one that sticks with me the most. Reading it is a little like remembering a vivid nightmare. His collection Last Week's Apocalypse is really quite fine, as I was reminded upon seeing it at the Night Shade booth in the dealer's room at Worldcon. (I finally acquired my own copy there, having previously only read the copy at work, but it's a book I wanted very much to own.) Jeremy Lassen was kind enough to give me a Night Shade t-shirt, too. I've been coveting those for ages.

I couldn't find my copy of Swordspoint last night. Woe! I don't know where it is. Will have to buy a new one. I decided to slake my desire for more Kushner by reading "The Death of the Duke" but, argh, I don't have the volume of Year's Best Fantasy and Horror that reprints it! I don't know where my copy of that volume went, either. I'm also missing the first and tenth volumes, which is mystifying, because I know I once owned a complete run. Fortunately, the magic of Amazon.com's marketplace means I can buy used copies of all three for under $20 (and that includes shipping). I'm not a big collector, but it will be comforting to have all those beautiful volumes lined up on a shelf, without any gaps. That anthology series has given me more pleasure over the years than any other.