Monthly Archives: May 2021
Sakuraco May Box Review
Posted on May 31, 2021 24 Comments
I absolutely had to get this one in before the end of May, so welcome to another installment of me reviewing Sakuraco’s monthly snack boxes! This month, they focused on the fact that it’s the end of Spring, and mentioned a really neat holiday called Children’s Day! Also with the end of Spring comes the […]
Memorial Day 2021
Posted on May 31, 2021 6 Comments
May it be a happy and contemplative one for you. Congratulations, we made it to summer. — JS
Here, My Deer
Posted on May 29, 2021 10 Comments
Or, when you think it’s the neighbor dog in the yard, but it’s not. — JS
I Was Gonna Write Something About Politics But Then Remembered It Was a Saturday, and Also I Kinda Didn’t Want To, So Here’s a Rain-Dappled Bearded Iris Instead
Posted on May 29, 2021 9 Comments
I think it’s the right decision, don’t you? Mind you, I did snark about politics in my Twitter feed this morning, so if you really need a hit, you can go there. In the meantime, however: raindrops on flowers. Hard to beat that. — JS
Fancy Toast
Posted on May 28, 2021 14 Comments
If there’s one thing I love, it’s fancy toast. Or rather, I love any food that is simple that you can elevate to make into something bougie (or boujee). Because I’m a bougie bitch. In today’s segment of “making something that actually turned out right” we have Half Baked Harvest’s “Whipped Ricotta Toast with Marinated […]
New Books and ARCs, 5/28/21
Posted on May 28, 2021 18 Comments
We’re heading into the traditional “start of summer” this weekend (at least in the US), and what better way to start a long, lazy season than with a double stack of new books and ARCs? What here is calling to be your favorite read of the summer? Tell us in the comments.
The Big Idea: Ryk E. Spoor
Posted on May 28, 2021 7 Comments
Actions, as they say, have consequences. For Shadows of Hyperion, author Ryk E. Spoor gives us evidence of how true this saying really is, both for authors in their work, and for the characters and universes they create. RYK E. SPOOR: One of the major background events in the Arenaverse series, going all the way […]
A Friday Morning Musical Interlude
Posted on May 28, 2021 6 Comments
“Lodestar,” from Sarah Harmer, one of my two favorite Canadian musicians whose first name is Sarah. Enjoy. — JS
The Big Idea: Christian Klaver
Posted on May 27, 2021 6 Comments
In today’s Big Idea, author Christian Klaver invites us to take a look into the magical world he created for his book-loving daughter. Come along as he explains the inspiration behind Shadows Over London. CHRISTIAN KLAVER: The Big Idea: We needed more Narnia. Shadows Over London was born out of reading to my daughter before bedtime. […]
A Review And A Celebration
Posted on May 26, 2021 46 Comments
When I was younger, I read books like I would keel over and die if I ever stopped. When I say I was an avid reader, I mean I was back to back reading series after series, novel after novel, cranking ’em out like nobody’s business. And then, when I was sixteen, I got a […]
The Unmasking Proceeds Apace
Posted on May 26, 2021 67 Comments
Here in Bradford, the local IGA, the Dollar General and the Rich gas station have taken down their “mask required” signs, and the staff in each have likewise demasked. At the Dollar General, there is a new sign saying that vaccinated people could come in unmasked but than non-vaccinated people should still be masked up […]
The Big Idea: David Ebenbach
Posted on May 26, 2021 1 Comment
Blast off as author David Ebenbach embarks on his Big Idea by stressing one concept that helped him write How to Mars — It involves characters, and ideas, and the relative importance of each. DAVID EBENBACH: Can I admit that ideas make me nervous? Especially big ones? This isn’t to say that my fiction avoids ideas—my […]
Smudge and Charlie, 5/25/21
Posted on May 25, 2021 8 Comments
Just in case you were wondering what was up with them. There, now you’re all caught up. — JS
The Big Idea: Sammy H. K. Smith
Posted on May 25, 2021
There’s some heavy stuff going on in Sammy H.K. Smith’s Big Idea for her novel Anna, and while it’s a lot to take in, Smith explains how this particular journey is critical for her novel, and the characters within. (Content warning for issues of sexual and mental abuse) SAMMY H. K. SMITH: It was another […]
Meanwhile, Cows
Posted on May 24, 2021 22 Comments
I’m easing back into the habit of walking regularly in the early evening, and one of the things I enjoy as I go for my walks is passing by these neighbors. They are often curious about me, which makes sense as statistically speaking, where I live it’s far more likely to see a cow walking […]
A Baked Good Of Mine Actually Turned Out!
Posted on May 23, 2021 26 Comments
One of my favorite food bloggers posted a recipe for cookies recently, and they looked so incredibly delicious I was persuaded to click on it. It was a recipe for ginger sandwich cookies. As someone who likes gingersnaps, I was intrigued. It was even more intriguing, though, to find out that these were soft ginger […]
From the Archives: My Review of Cabin Boy
Posted on May 21, 2021 33 Comments
For reasons passing understanding, my 1994 film review of Cabin Boy has come up a number of times on the Internet recently (in no small part thanks to this Cabin Boy-related podcast). I thought the review was lost to the sands of time, but it turns out I had it in my archives all along, […]
Sorting Through Ten Years Of Stuff
Posted on May 20, 2021 83 Comments
For pretty much most of my life, my room has been a mess. I’ve always considered myself someone who is a bit disorganized and a little messy, but it’s never really been noticeable because I’ve lived with my parents my whole life, and my mom always picked up after me before I’d even start to […]
Excuse Me, Have You Been Judged By a Cat Today?
Posted on May 19, 2021 22 Comments
If the answer is “no,” then you’re in luck, Sugar is here to judge you. Harshly. You’re welcome. I nearly forgot to update today but then remembered I didn’t update last Wednesday either, and that was because my daughter had an unexpected medical complication that ended up with her staying overnight in a hospital. I […]
A Week Without Tonsils
Posted on May 18, 2021 57 Comments
So, I got my tonsils out last week. A procedure which many of you know went a little sideways, but everything turned out okay in the end! Anyways, now that it’s been several days of relaxing and healing, I’m here to report on how recovery is going. Before we get into it, I am someone […]
Whatever Everyone Else is Saying