‘Allo! Welcome to December! Is it just me or has 2018 been the longest year ever? I normally reach the twelfth month and wonder just where the time went. Not the case this year. Anyway, it’s December, and that means that soon I’ll be reading Terry Pratchett’s Hogfather for the fifteenth or so time, because some traditions are too good to quit. But first, let’s step through the portal and go back into time.
Monday
Miscellaneous Editor Kristina Elyse Butke started our week off with her turn on My Favorite Things. To quote the post, as usual: “What does she love when she’s not stalking our contributors with a metaphorical red pen? Spoiler alert: a manga that extends well beyond its source material, a must-have for cosplayers, a handy-dandy tool for writers, getting out of the uncanny valley, and reading familiar stories from a different point of view. Aren’t you curious? Read on for more!”
On Monday afternoon, we were pleased as can be to announce that Kendra Merritt‘s newest book, By Wingéd Chair, has been unleashed upon the world! Go read our short interview with Kendra, and check out the book, too!
Tuesday
Carey M. Ballard returned this week with November’s Chain Reaction column. This month’s topic? Stories featuring nonbinary and trans characters. Check it out!
Tuesday afternoon saw our Sound Off! for Ralph Breaks the Internet magically appear! Not really, a lot of time and effort goes into these posts, and Film Editor J.L. Gribble is a trooper for organizing these things. Go read the post to find out what she and I thought about the Wreck-it Ralph sequel!
Wednesday
Kendra’s still hard at work on her Delayed Reactions series! This month she read Katherine Kurtz’s Deryni Rising! I’m a little bit embarrassed to admit this, but I hadn’t even heard of this series before Kendra’s review popped up. Now it looks like I have something to look forward to! Read her review and if you’re familiar with this novel, feel free to have a chat with Kendra!
Thursday
Nancy O’Toole Meservier reviewed City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty, and I’m intrigued. Nancy says: “As someone who grew up loving the story of ‘Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp,’ this djinn-focused story hit a lot of the right nostalgia notes for me.” Same. Sign me up. And read Nancy’s review (no spoilers!).
Friday
It’s time to discuss Cinder by Marissa Meyer! Discuss! Bring your friends! And, of course, there are spoilers here. Thanks always to Merrin for keeping this train rolling! PS: if you’re done with Cinder and you want more, there are several more books in the series. Hooray! Finished with that? Go ahead and start December’s book, The Sunlight Pilgrims.
To finish out the week and the month, Kelly McCarty busted out of the speculative box to write a mouth-watering taste on her love of baking for our newest feature. Check this out, and if you’re anything like me, go bake something delicious. Or seek out your nearest bakery. I’m betting that you’re going to want a sweet when you’re finished.
And that was our week! How was yours? Got any big plans for the weekend? I’m heading out later for a basic grocery run and that’s it. It’s cold here, and I can’t seem to shake the last bit of the head cold that I’ve been fighting off all month. I’d love to stay in bed and just read. Alas that I cannot. Even if I was 100% healthy, I wouldn’t want to venture anywhere that I didn’t absolutely have to go. The winter holiday season is upon is in earnest now, and way too many people are going to be out hunting for the perfect gift for the loved ones in their lives. Fun fact: my city is a sort of hub for a lot of outlying, small, rural towns that don’t always have a lot of shopping opportunities, so we always get an influx of day-trippers around this time of year. If you work in any sort of retail capacity, bless you and the hard work that you’re undoubtedly doing right now. Holiday shoppers aren’t the nicest people sometimes, which seems counter intuitive to somebody who’s never been on the other side of the counter. Just know that somewhere out there, your buddy Casey has her fingers crossed for you. And if you’re out shopping, be nice. It doesn’t cost anything. Remember that the Hogfather is watching…
from Hogfather (2006) © The Mob Film Company, RHI Entertainment, BSkyB, and MPC among others. RIP Mr. Pratchett; we miss you.
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