Goodbye, November, and hello December. How is it already the last month of the year? Where has the time gone? Nevertheless, here we are, and I hope that you had a great week, as always. We’ve had a lot of fun here at Spec Chic, and I am your humble guide to what we’ve been doing. Take a moment from your weekend fun and games to check out what you may have missed in all of the hustle and bustle!
Monday
As always, Monday brought us a love letter to someone’s favorite things. This week, we checked in with contributor Kelly McCarty to see what she loves. Among other, wildly varying things, Kelly loves to bake, and she tantalized all of us by revealing her passion for cakes. Also, “the variation of life (after life after life), a modern take on a classic fairy tale, [and] smart but stupid science fiction cartoons.” Take a look here!
Tuesday
On Tuesday, Carey Ballard gave us the newest Chain Reaction. This month’s theme? Holiday Horror! To quote Carey:
What better time to scare people than when they are supposed to be merry? Or maybe you’re already fed up with the holidays before they’ve even started. No judgment. Grab a hot beverage to keep you warm and a blanket to hide your eyes as you settle in for some holiday screams. That said, since this genre of holiday horror is esoteric, that alone limited my choices for this post. I intentionally did not include slasher flicks like Jack Frost (and no, I don’t mean the Michael Keaton version). Slasher flicks are not on my radar because women never seem to fair well in them.
Amen to that. Read the post and if you’re a horror aficionado, add some titles to your to-watch list. Or geek out with Carey over the things you’ve already watched from her list.
Our second Tuesday post was this week’s Sound Off! Our subject this week is Disney/Pixar’s newest, Coco. I was already planning to try and catch this one on the big screen, but reading our contributors’ thoughts just increased that desire tenfold.
Wednesday
On Wednesday, Erin Bales reviewed the upcoming novel, Persepolis Rising by James S.A. Corey. That’s right, the gift-giving season is coming just a little early for fans of The Expanse! This newest edition to the beloved series will be released on December 5, and Erin was fortunate enough to get her hands on a review copy. If you’re a fan of the series, beware of minor spoilers.
Thursday
Nancy O’Toole Meservier returned with a review of the latest season of Bookburners. Have you ever read anything from Serial Box? It’s an intriguing concept, one that I myself would like to explore. This particular series sounds especially great, and Nancy’s review of Season Three is spoiler free, so read without fear!
Friday
Sherry Peters, our resident Life Coach, graced us with a rare book review. Sherry reviewed The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison. This was her 2017 Spec Chic resolution. Did she succeed? What did she think of Addison’s novel? Read her spoiler-free review to find out more!
Our final post of the week was Book Club President Merrin’s announcement that our January selection is Dawn by Octavia Butler! If you use any kind of e-reader, be sure and look around, because Amazon and Barnes and Noble had the entire Lilith’s Brood omnibus (Dawn is the first book) for only $1.99, and those deals may still be active! Be sure and check the announcement post, because the February poll is already up and ready to go (just scroll to the bottom). Go forth and make your voices heard!
Book Club
The Night Circus was our November pick, and that conversation is still up and ready for your thoughts! If you’ve been there and read that, join us in reading Terry Pratchett’s Hogfather. I must step out of my role as semi-neutral tour guide to plug this book. I love Hogfather beyond all reason (I even reviewed it last year — spoiler free!), and one of my great missions in life is to spread the good word of Pratchett. I am thrilled to have a good reason to revisit it this year! So please join us, and if this is your first Pratchett, I hope you enjoy! If you’ve already read THAT, go ahead and dive into Dawn so that you’ll be all ready to go when our discussion goes live at the end of January.
And that was our week! We had a blast, and hope that you enjoyed reading as much as we enjoyed writing. Have a great weekend! Go watch Coco or rent Krampus (or any of Carey’s other recommendations). Go for extra credit and hunt down the adaptation of Hogfather! Or, go ahead and decorate your home for the coming of the Hogfather and his jolly assistant. It isn’t Hogswatch without a proper grotto.
A screencap from Hogfather, Genius Products (TVN)/Mill Creek Entertainment (2008)
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