Book Review: The Big Book of Quickies: 69 Erotic Stories

Short, sweet, and sizzling with smutty heat!

Hey Fleshbot fans! Cleis Press has released yet another super fun erotica anthology, this time with our busy lifestyles in mind! The Big Book Of Quickies: 69 Erotic Stories is exactly what it says-- 69 (nice!) pieces of smutty super short fiction, averaging about six trade paperback-sized pages per story. This is fun for a quick wank on your own, or to read with your lover as inspiration. Maybe you’ve only got a few minutes before you have to meet the bus. Or you’re working at home and the urge strikes right before you have to hop on a call. Crack this baby open! Let’s get into it!

Rachel Kramer Bussel, veteran writer and editor of erotica, knows how to choose stories that maximize the use of a lean word count and get right to the “good stuff” in this sort of format. She’s also stated in a social media post that two of the stories in this anthology are actually by her and published under pseudonyms, in addition to the one that carries her byline.

Big Book of Quickies, by Rachel Kramer Bussel

The stories are written about a diverse variety of people as far as genders, orientations, and dynamics. Suitability for a diverse audience is one of the things I look for when reviewing erotica. Right off the bat, the first story isn’t what you’d expect at all, but I really liked it. It details a cishet couple, both of whom come from very repressed religious backgrounds who don’t, like, really know how to have sex, other than the very basic mechanics and the fact that this is how babies are made. They are encouraged by their sex therapist (woohoo for therapy!) to experiment and think about their fantasies and discuss them and yes, even act some of them out.

One of my partners and I really enjoyed reading these stories aloud to each other, just opening to a random story and finding each one that we picked enjoyable in its own way. There was everything from sci-fi, voyeurism, chance encounters, and all types of couples keeping things spicy. Literally, one story was a threesome between two women and a hot pepper-- with the appropriate disclaimer to not put hot peppers on your junk for real. This book is just a big barrel of little spicy treats, and like anything delicious, you can’t usually limit yourself to just one, but if you’re not someone who has long stretches of time to read, this is made for you!

The Big Book of Quickies: 69 Erotic Stories is available from Cleis Press, or wherever books are sold.