I haven’t read Kate Larson’s earlier stuff, but her new zine Stories is a ninety-eight-minute cassette tape with stories told by twelve friends from around the country. I’m not sure if this childhood experience is universal, but do you know those read-along kid’s books that have tapes with a voice that reads the story to you? Asking, “Would you please turn this tape to the other side?” Having musical tones and all that kind of thing? Kate mastered that style, and has used it to get her weirdo friends to share some of their anecdotes and accounts: a story of a Russian ballerina and cocker spaniels; of a dad lost in the wood; of saying “hi” to people in the dressing room and regretting it; of getting rabies shots; of being in a bed bug warehouse; of dancing, of… Grateful Dead miracles.... Stories about walking in the woods and seeing a skinwalker, hitting your head while tubing, getting caught in a storm in the badlands, that weird show you played, ways to hard boil an egg. There’s a little bit here for everybody—although maybe you hit a few snags with twelve stories. I couldn’t help enjoying the charm of one storyteller and then having a good ol’ time hating on another. For both reasons, this is a cool and successful zine experiment. Might be a fun tape to punch in on a long drive or to throw on in the background while cleaning the place. Comes with a short ‘lil zine that includes the faces of the authors. –Jim Joyce (Kate Larson, PO Box 1250, New Paltz, NY 12561-7250)