Status Updates From The Best of Margaret St Clair

17. The Invested Libido, 2 stars. Depressed man takes drug cocktail, self-identifies with a turd.
18. The Nuse Man, 3 stars. Salesman finds too much automation makes people of any time cranky.
19. An Old-Fashioned Bird Christmas, 2 stars. Anti-electricity preacher makes powerful enemies, gets old time religion.
20. Wryneck, Draw Me, 2 stars. Supercomputer goes insane with unrequited love, tries to seduce itself.

13. Brenda, 3 stars. Girl discovers she has a sadistic streak, finds a smelly man exciting.
14. Short In The Chest, 3 stars. Robot therapist urges a woman to solve her libido problem with extreme violence.
15. Horrer Howce, 4 stars. Inventor tries to sell his scares to a skeptical horror huckster.
16. The Wines Of Earth, 3 stars. Wine tasting aliens take pity on a passionate vinter, let him try the good stuff.

09. The Causes, 4 stars. Drunk man listens to various theories about why the world has gone to hell lately.
10. An Egg A Month From All Over, 4 stars. Creepy loner hatches eggs for fun, receives an unusual misidentified bird instead of a lizard.
11. Prott, 3 stars. Man establishes contact with alien lifeforms, can't make them shut up.
12. New Ritual, 3 stars. Wife is disappointed with her older disinterested husband.

05. The Pillows, 3 stars. People are being used to by cute little alien rocks for nefarious purposes.
06. The Listening Child, 2 stars. Deaf/mute boy can sense pain ahead of time, man uses him as a heart watchdog.
07. Brightness Falls From The Air, 3 stars. Humans steal planets from the alien natives, force them to fight to the death for our entertainment.
08. The Man Who Sold Rope To The Gnoles, 4 stars. [2018]

01. Idris' Pig, 3 stars. Man gets roped into making two unexpected deliveries, both fraught with complications.
02. The Gardener, 4 stars. Pushy bureaucrat cuts down a sacred tree for funsies, faces homicidal arboreal consequences
03. Child Of Void, 2 stars. Hostile alien egg makes country life uncomfortable for a family.
04. Hathor's Pets, 3 stars. Family resents their new owner's obedience training practices.

...whelp, the punchline of the story about the 1918 pandemic has aged like dairy 😂