おかいり and welcome back, denizens of the otherworlds. We’ve got another week full of sci fi, fantasy, and horror to tickle your speculative tastebuds. As always we have great guest authors, reviews and rewatches, and this month’s book club discussion to boot! It’s been busy around here so if you’ve missed anything, check out our convenient recap, the Weekly Roundup!
Monday
Our special guest for My Favorite Things is author James Chambers, and we’re celebrating his collection On the Night Border, which just made the preliminary ballot for the Stoker Awards! What can you expect from this week’s offering? How about a drama inspired by a real-life astronomer and ufologist; the power of a green lantern’s light; a boarding house with residents who aren’t what they seem; the lost legacy of the woman behind one of horror’s classic monsters; horror docs and satire, and more! Find it all here.
Tuesday
Our resident librarian Ronya takes us on a tour of her favorite fictional libraries in speculative works. Whether run by turtle princesses or gelflings, Watchers or Randalls, there’s something for everyone here, and knowledge galore — mystical, secretive, scary, and abundant. Open your books and flip to this page!
Wednesday
Kristina (aka me) is knocking through the 2020 Resolution Project by doing a rewatch of one of Netflix and DreamWorks Animation’s greatest hits — Voltron: Legendary Defender. Starting with season one, it’s a deep dive review covering everything from plot and character to the best and worst moments of the season. You know what to do, readers — Form Voltron!
Thursday
J.L. also embarks on her 2020 Resolution — knocking through the goodies available on Disney+ — and starts of with the first season of Runaways, one of Marvel’s many pieces of its MCU. Originally debuting on Hulu before moving to Disney, the show focuses on the children of supervillians who run away from home to atone for their parents’ actions. A neat premise — so does the show satisfy? Suit up and assemble here.
Also on Thursday, we’re excited to announce our next lineup of books in the Speculative Chic Book Club! Nancy is leading the April discussion with her selection, Steel Crow Saga, by Paul Krueger. In May, we’ve got Lane covering Melissa Caruso‘s The Tethered Mage, and finishing off our triad is Kelly‘s choice, Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe, written by Heather Webber. For book descriptions and why our ladies chose each work, read on here.
Friday
The big day is here — we’ve been building up to this moment for months — our inaugural post for the revamped Book Club, This is How You Lose the Time War, by Amal el-Mohtar and Max Gladstone. Shara leads the discussion with an excellent breakdown, recommended reads, and all sorts of ideas for you to consider about the book, so we encourage you to share your perspective. If you’ve read this book, your opinions are welcomed, and you can still comment here!
Book Club
After Thursday’s Book Club reveal and Friday’s discussion, it’s time to gently remind you of our next Book Club selections coming up soon on the horizon. For February, Kristina is leading the discussion of Jeremy C. Shipp‘s The Atrocities, and in March you’ve got Kendra‘s selection, An Illusion of Thieves by Caitlin Glass. We hope you enjoy reading our picks of the month and look forward to seeing your comments!
Today’s February? WHAT? We’re in the second month of a new decade. It sounds waaay more important to phrase it that way than “the second month of the year.” 😊 I’ve been teaching my EFL students the word “decade” and why its concept is important to people, but to my students, it’s not so much the decade as it is the year…of the Olympics in Tokyo! As long as I’ve lived here (since 2016) Japan has been preparing for it. I gave my students a writing prompt that asked them to invent a crazy new sport for the Olympics, and it got me to thinking…what sport from sci fi or fantasy would be a great addition to the Games? I could definitely see Quidditch, and if we actually had the magical abilities, Pro-Bending would be cool. I know I’m leaving other speculative sports out. Any suggestions are welcomed in the comments, and we’ll see you next week!
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