My rainy, damp Sunday afternoon was vastly improved by spending an hour listening to Ed Harris narrate Don Winslow's short story about Billy, a thirty-seven-year-old San Diego surf dog who is passionately committed to living his life for free, paying for nothing except gas for the classic Westphalia van he lives in.

Living for free takes a lot of effort, planning and discipline and an absolute belief in his right to mooch. Billy's efforts are regarded with a mixture of affection and disbelief by the Dawn Patrol group of surfers he hangs out with. But even Billy knows that he can't live like this forever. So he's searching for his personal 'Unicorn' - a Sugar Momma who will keep him in luxury.

Billy's Unicorn hunt and its consequences are told with a degree of affectionate whimsey that reminded me of O'Henry's stories.

'Free Billy' is available for free to Audible members in the UK and the US so, if you're a member and you want a feel-good hour that's easy on the ears, get yourself a copy of this story. ( )

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader as a part of a Quick Takes Catch-up post, emphasizing pithiness, not thoroughness.
---
This is a silly, fun, and sweet story in the world of The Dawn Patrol (one of my top 5 All-Time books), all our favorites get a quick appearance and we're introduced to a couple of new characters.

Despite being in the same world as the crime novels that introduced Winslow to me, there's no crime to be found here.

Which is fine—it's not needed in this short story. It's just a fun story about one of Boone's friends. I laughed audibly more than once, and just enjoyed the story as a whole—I just wish it was longer so I could spend more time in this world. The story didn't require it.

Ed Harris gives exactly what you'd expect from him in an audiobook narration—near perfection. I thought his stuff was great. ( )