Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher

This doesn't really need much in the way of a summary. Basically, this book is a compilation of six short stories, five of which deal with characters in Crutcher's earlier novels and the other an entirely new character. Some of them are sad, some of them are funny, and others fall somewhere in between. They give a little extra information about the characters from his earlier books--Lion (Stotan! and Ironman); Johnny, Petey, and Telephone Man (The Crazy Horse Electric Game); and Louie (Running Loose). It's a fairly quick read and I think they add to the stories. Particularly the one about Lion because he was somewhat skimmed over in Stotan!. Even though Running Loose is (so far) my least favorite Chris Crutcher book, the story featuring Louie actually ended up being my favorite out of the six stories in Athletic Shorts. Athletic Shorts is definitely worth a read, even if you haven't read the books the characters come from.