Welcome back to your favorite recap! How did this week fare for you? I don’t know about you, but I get exceptionally lazy this time of year, and it worsens as I get older. So, I had a small victory: I finally put up my Christmas tree. Christmas is a whole different thing in Japan, and while it’s starting to get more popular, it’s mostly a date night and you get to eat fried chicken and Christmas cake! I thought finding a tree once I moved here would be nigh impossible, but yes! They have them — though a bit on the small side. And they sell tons of Christmas ornaments at the ¥100 shops, so doing Christmas is pretty affordable! But…it takes so much energy to get into the spirit of it. Nonetheless, I did it. Yay! And now for an awkward (read: nonexistent) transition between topics — let’s get ready to Roundup!!!
Monday
Our special guest for this week’s My Favorite Things is author Liz Strange, and we’re happy to celebrate her latest short story collection, Strange Tales. What gets her heart racing? How about some fava beans and a nice chianti; an 80s throwback to slasher films featuring a murderous clown; Clive Barker’s followup to one of his most beloved characters; and cold case mysteries in France! If you’re looking for a taste of the macabre, your search is over — check it out!
Tuesday
Merrin reviews Adria Laycraft’s Jumpship Hope, a science fiction novel set in aftermath of a ravaged Earth, where colonists have established bases offworld for survival. Full of unexpected dangers, bold and risky plots, untested technologies, and characters desperate to save each other, how did this debut novel fare? The answers are here.
Wednesday
Andrea journeys to the realm of tabletop RPGs with a new offering from Wizards of the Coast: Eberron: Rising from the Last War. Eberron has been a longtime favorite setting for D&D players, filled with magical technologies and a country ravaged by war — all blended together in a genre mashup of of pulpy mystery and swashbuckling adventure. This new volume provides a detailed guide to the world and campaigns for players. Was this everything Andrea hoped it would be? Find out here!
Thursday
Venessa takes a ride down a river of zombies with her review of Hulu’s latest offering, Zomboat! A madcap sort of concept where the only escape from the horde is through the canals, it’s full of geeky references and British humor à la Shaun of the Dead. Is this show bingeworthy or bust? Take a look!
Friday
Sherry’s coming along nicely with her 2019 Resolution Project — a rewatch of the Star Wars franchise of films! She’s up to 2018’s release, Solo: A Star Wars Story, which serves as a side dish to the trilogies, as well as an origin story for everyone’s favorite space smuggler , Han Solo. (Re)introducing classic characters such as Lando Calrissian and Chewbacca as well as throwing new faces into the mix, does this film enrich the Star Wars Universe? The droid you’re looking for is here.
Book Club
We edge further and further toward the Book Club revamp, launching in January! We’ve got our first triad of books and hosts chosen. Wanna get started? First up is This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone and hosted by Shara. Second, for February, we’ve got Jeremy C. Shipp’s The Atrocities, hosted by Kristina. And March comes in like a lion with Kendra hosting Cate Glass’s An Illusion of Thieves. We’re looking forward to seeing you for the Book Club soon!
One of the things I love about being a geek is how it continues to pervade the mainstream, and that means nerd goods are EVERYWHERE! And that means themed Christmas trees are becoming more common, too. We’re talking Harry Potter trees, Pokémon trees, Nintendo trees, Star Trek trees, and more. Honestly, I’ve acquired so much anime swag since moving to Japan (tbh, I’m pretty embarassed about this) that I could probably fill up three different nerd trees. But I’m a sucker for old-school glittery decorations and lights, so I’ll keep going traditional. It’s fun to entertain the thought of a geek tree, though. If you celebrate or put up a tree, did you nerd out this year? If you could, what would your franchise be? Let me know in the comments, and we’ll see you next week.
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