As in the past, this year I received from family members, among other things, a stack of excellent books. There were a couple action-packed page-turners, several excellent non-fiction books and one that is truly unique.

Of course, I speak of Shorts in a Wad, by none other than our pal Elisson. This morning, while taking a break from cleaning up the post-Christmas celebratory rubble, I sat at the kitchen counter and began to read Shorts in a Wad.

In the book’s introduction, Elisson writes:

You can devour the whole thing at once, popping stories like so many Snacky Peanuts, or you can savor them, reading a story when you have a spare moment.

I went the Snacky Peanuts route and inhaled the whole bowl in one sitting. I couldn’t help myself; the stories were just that good. I did a great deal of LOL-ing, and I’m an inward laugher, not much of an LOL-er, but you simply cannot read these stories and not laugh out loud (a very few are not intended to be funny, and those hit the mark as well). I defy anyone to read the Morty Maggot Story and not burst out laughing.

There is, however, a distinct difference between Elisson’s One Hundred 100-Word Stories and a bowl of Snacky Peanuts. I can’t re-eat Snacky Peanuts, but I can re-read each and every one of the 100-word gems again and again.

And so I shall.