December 6, 2019
Wow, we’ve already made it through the first week of December! How’s your month coming along? To a good start, I hope! Right now, I’m trying to muster the energy to put up my Christmas tree. Traditionally it’s up on December 1st and down by January 2nd…but every day I look at my pretty ornaments and just sigh. Why clean…
November 9, 2019
Hello, friends! Happy to see you again, and much thanks to Shara for covering for me while I was out and about chasing down the myths of Japan! I headed off to Shimane Prefecture to visit the stomping grounds of the kami: Susanoo, the trickster god of storms and sea; Amaterasu, one of Shinto’s most important kami and the renowned…
August 30, 2019
Hello friends, welcome to your last book club discussion before the relaunch (details coming soon). It’s me, your host, Merrin. Following this short review of my impressions of the book, feel free to discuss your takes in the comments! The Magicians (2009) Written by: Lev Grossman Genre: Fantasy Pages: 416 (Hardcover) Publisher: Viking Premise: In a secret world of forbidden…
August 3, 2019
Welcome back, denizens of geek! We’ve got another Roundup in store for you, with all the best of spec this week! I’m quivering with antici… …pation, so let’s cut the usual goofy intro and jump right in!
August 1, 2019
The Magicians (2009) Written by: Lev Grossman Theme: Magical Schools! Discussion Date: Friday, August 30th The Premise: The New York Times bestselling novel about a young man practicing magic in the real world, now an original series on SYFY: “The Magicians is to Harry Potter as a shot of Irish whiskey is to a glass of weak tea…. Hogwarts was never…
July 26, 2019
Greetings, Book Clubbers! Your Editor-in-Chic is stepping in for the month of July with an important announcement. Do you remember, when we voted on July’s Book Club selection, that we picked the book based on helping Merrin clear out her TBR pile, because July is her birthday month? Well, because Merrin has been working so hard for this blog, I…
July 11, 2019
Hello friends. First of all, thank you to everyone who has participated in book club, whether it’s just reading along or reading along and commenting, or voting in the polls hoping your book would win. I appreciate all of you. There are some changes coming to book club in the future, but I hope you’ll stick with us. There’s no…
June 29, 2019
Hats off to all you magical people out there! I mentioned in last week’s roundup about us not getting rain in my corner of Japan, then wished for your help in securing said rain through whimsical, unscientific means, and voilà! It rained! Not all week, but in long-enough spurts to actually mean something to the poor, dried-out land around here.…
June 22, 2019
Hello, denizens of geek! How are things in your corner of the world? In a previous roundup I rambled about the rainy season in Japan, and since posting, a strange phenomenon has taken place in my area: almost no rain. As much as I dislike the rainy season, this isn’t a good thing. I live in the Kikuchi Valley region of…
June 7, 2019
Happy birthday to me and my fellow July babies!! This month I made you pick from my to-be-read stack and I’m so pleased with your choice . . . A Darker Shade of Magic (2015) Written by: V.E. Schwab Discussion date: 7/26/19 Premise: Kell is one of the last Antari — magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel…