Theme Week, Day Three

Jeremy’s Sametime Status Proudly Presents
Rejected Vacation Theme Week Ideas Week!  Day 3:  Top 5 Stories in the Book “This Is How You Die” That Were Better Than Mine

Yeah, this one's going to require some explanation.

A little backstory, then...

So, back in 2010, a collection of short stories called "Machine of Death" was published, based on an episode of the whimsical webcomic Dinosaur Comics.  It features stories of a world in which a machine was created that will tell you the cause of your death based on a blood test, but with no other information.  The machine also had a sense of irony and humor occasionally, so the predictions could be vague and misconstrued, but were always accurate.  The book was such a hit that it was lambasted by Glenn Beck himself...as sure a sign as any that something is good. 

Last year, the editors of "Machine of Death" put out a call for submissions for a sequel book.  Among the 1,958 short story submissions was one written by a popular amateur writer you've come to know and love while reading this blag.

There was also one that Jeremy wrote.  

Unfortunately for me (and the rest of the world, if you ask me), my story was not selected for inclusion in the book.  Not too long ago, the book "This Is How You Die" was unleashed on the world.  To show my support, and acknowledge the fact that I'm not bitter over my story not being picked, I purchased a copy, intending to take it on vacation and read it while sitting on the beach.  The plan worked well, and I got over half-way through the book in between naps, sunnings, and swimming sessions.  

While coming up with vacation-themed Theme Week ideas, I thought of putting my pride even further on the back of the shelf and sharing with you the Top 5 stories from the book that I thought were better than mine.  There are like 30 stories or so...surely narrowing down the list to 5 should be easy, right?  

Well, the problem is, I haven't come across any of the stories that were better than mine, so I had to scrap the whole idea for a Theme Week.  Of course...maybe I'm biased.  Incidentally, Jeremy-Exclusion aside, the book is fantastic, and you should all go right now and buy your own copy...right now.