A renewed appreciation for short stories

Blasphemy, by Sherman Alexie

A collection of new and previously published stories by one of my very favorite authors.

Favorite "new to me" story:  "The Search Engine," about a college student who loves books and her quest to find a poet

Favorite "old friend" story:  "The Approximate Size of my Favorite Tumor" about a man and woman struggling to come to terms with a medical diagnosis

Quotes that stood out to me:
I felt pale and lost, like an American explorer in the wilderness.

Corliss had never once considered the fate of library books.  She'd never wondered how many books go unread.  She loved books.  How could she not worry about the unread?  She felt like a disorganized scholar, an inconsiderate lover, an abusive mother, and a cowardly soldier.

Her mother was the unofficial historian of the urban Spokane Indians.  Corliss figured "historian" and "pathological liar" meant the same thing in all cultures and countries.

My father could sing beautifully.  I wondered if it was proper for a man to sing a healing song for himself.  I wondered if my father needed help with the song.  I hadn't sung for many years, not like that, but I joined him.  I knew this song would not bring back my father's feet.  This song would not repair my father's bladder, kidneys, longs, and heart.  This song would not prevent my father from drinking a bottle of vodka as soon as he could sit up in bed.  This song would not defeat death.  No, I thought, this song is temporary, bu right now, temporary is good enough.

This book reminded me of:
The Smashing Pumpkins' Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness.  There is so much heartache and love and sweet sadness and hurts so good-ness and fighting in the face of futility and the inevitable in these stories.

Also, this:

Not this: