Gaming Update
Jan. 28th, 2026 01:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cyphomandraI dropped the difficulty on Alan Wake II (just in time to get attacked by some exceedingly fast-moving wolves that I would have totally failed to deal with otherwise) and played for a bit more, long enough to switch POV character to Alan himself. This meant a shift from small rural town to big grimy city, and also brings into play the writing mechanic, where once you discover a piece of information you can rewrite an earlier scene and open up new possibilities. It had some neat moments, but it still wasn’t enough to keep me interested. It doesn’t help that I don’t like having to use a gun as my sole weapon (I do now have a crossbow, but with only three bolts and only in Saga’s POV) and I’m not thrilled by playing as an FBI agent, which is Saga’s job. I have therefore abandoned it for now.
As per last update I had started playing LEGO Horizons with my son, and I’m sure it will come as no surprise that after playing through two levels of that (Cauldrons! Thunderjaws! Varl!) I loaded Horizon Forbidden West back on to the Playstation. Originally I’d intended to only play the DLC, Burning Shores, but my only save was right before the final mission arc (on the beach at Singularity, where you’re about to call everyone in) and it felt wrong to start there, plus I would be completely out of practice with all the weapons. So obviously the only logical answer was to replay all of HFW, which, ahem, I have now done. I am now on to Burning Shores, and zipping round the half-drowned and occasionally erupting remnants of Los Angeles.
I think as a game in and of itself HZD still has the edge, but there’s a lot I love about HFW as well, including some amazing new characters, expanded weapons (I have finally gotten the hang of the shredder gauntlet, woo hoo), and new mounts. And I do like what they do with the story - the Far Zeniths, and especially Tilda, are good antagonists. I do not like Machine Strike (I have played the tutorial and the two games required to get the trophy, and no more) and I never bother with the face paint, although I do like that they’ve stuck a Pride option in to annoy all those gamer gate types complaining about having to play as a queer woman.
As per last update I had started playing LEGO Horizons with my son, and I’m sure it will come as no surprise that after playing through two levels of that (Cauldrons! Thunderjaws! Varl!) I loaded Horizon Forbidden West back on to the Playstation. Originally I’d intended to only play the DLC, Burning Shores, but my only save was right before the final mission arc (on the beach at Singularity, where you’re about to call everyone in) and it felt wrong to start there, plus I would be completely out of practice with all the weapons. So obviously the only logical answer was to replay all of HFW, which, ahem, I have now done. I am now on to Burning Shores, and zipping round the half-drowned and occasionally erupting remnants of Los Angeles.
I think as a game in and of itself HZD still has the edge, but there’s a lot I love about HFW as well, including some amazing new characters, expanded weapons (I have finally gotten the hang of the shredder gauntlet, woo hoo), and new mounts. And I do like what they do with the story - the Far Zeniths, and especially Tilda, are good antagonists. I do not like Machine Strike (I have played the tutorial and the two games required to get the trophy, and no more) and I never bother with the face paint, although I do like that they’ve stuck a Pride option in to annoy all those gamer gate types complaining about having to play as a queer woman.
Is this a Canadian thing?
Jan. 27th, 2026 04:13 pmmuccamukkI want to try making this Melt the ICE hat, which of course knits in the round. I haven't done that, so I looked up a couple tutorials on how to knit with double pointed needles. They both said, "these will come in sets of five." The pattern says, "divide evenly on 4 DPNs" (which I assume implies the existence of a fifth needle to work with).
Every single one of the many sets of DPNs I got from Mom comes in a set of four.
Why?
Every single one of the many sets of DPNs I got from Mom comes in a set of four.
Why?
Meta: High Potential
Jan. 27th, 2026 05:07 pmysabetwordsmith posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
shes_awesomeI wrote a promo introduction for "High Potential" for snowflake_challenge and I'm copying it here so more folks can see it. This show has a good set of awesome female characters. \o/
High Potential
Overview
"High Potential" is a crime dramedy based around Morgan Gillory. She is highly gifted with an IQ of 160, and like many gifted people, most folks refuse to put up with her -- hence "high potential" being a mockery. Average adults don't like smart adults any better than average children like smart children, with predictably bad results. Thus she has wound up working as a cleaning lady at a police station. This leads her to pointing out an error in an investigation, which eventually brings her to work for the police as a civilian consultant.
( Read more... )
snowflake_challenge and I'm copying it here so more folks can see it. This show has a good set of awesome female characters. \o/High Potential
Overview
"High Potential" is a crime dramedy based around Morgan Gillory. She is highly gifted with an IQ of 160, and like many gifted people, most folks refuse to put up with her -- hence "high potential" being a mockery. Average adults don't like smart adults any better than average children like smart children, with predictably bad results. Thus she has wound up working as a cleaning lady at a police station. This leads her to pointing out an error in an investigation, which eventually brings her to work for the police as a civilian consultant.
( Read more... )
now i spend my time following him whenever he's with you
Jan. 27th, 2026 06:15 pmmusesfoolToday was super annoying because I had a very weird internet outage. Spectrum acknowledged that there was an outage in my area even! But it was only partial? Or intermittent? Just fucking weird. I could get to my work-related sites fairly frequently (outlook, sharepoint), but literally nothing else would load except for some reason gmail. Like, no news sites. No bank. No shopping sites. Bitwarden timed out trying to log into my password vault. I couldn't get anything at all to load on my personal laptop until I plugged in my phone to use it as a hotspot, which was greyed out and not allowed on my work laptop. Finally, around 4 pm when Spectrum said the outage was over but I still didn't have full service, I chatted with them and somehow their reboot of everything worked (even though I rebooted the modem and router several times on my own without any luck), so I was able to get full access to the internet on both laptops and on my TV. *hands*
In other news, I found that a stint overnight in the fridge greatly improved those cupcakes. I wasn't impressed by them at room temp (texture was super spongy), but they're really good with the extra time in the cold! So if you need vegan cupcakes, the KAB recipe is recommended, especially if you make them ahead of time.
Meanwhile, it looks like we might get a nor'easter this coming weekend? A big storm potentially, though with less snow and more wind. No warming of temperatures anyway. Oy.
*
In other news, I found that a stint overnight in the fridge greatly improved those cupcakes. I wasn't impressed by them at room temp (texture was super spongy), but they're really good with the extra time in the cold! So if you need vegan cupcakes, the KAB recipe is recommended, especially if you make them ahead of time.
Meanwhile, it looks like we might get a nor'easter this coming weekend? A big storm potentially, though with less snow and more wind. No warming of temperatures anyway. Oy.
*
Dept. of Cold and COVID
Jan. 27th, 2026 02:33 pmkaffy_rYep, I Tested Positive
I thought I was coming down with the same bad cold that Bob was slowly recovering from. I don't get colds all that often, and I'd thought this one would pass me by, but nope, it appeared eager to settle in my head. Well, dang ... I headed for bed, hoping it wouldn't be too bad in the morning.
Around 3 a.m. Saturday I woke up with aches that signaled a potential temperature. And indeed I had one; 100.7, significantly higher than the 97.9 I usually run. I knew that colds don't feature fevers so I tested myself for COVID.
I didn't even have to wait the requisite 15 minutes, both lines were there in bright red within 30 seconds.
Welp.
I've felt like I've been hit by a truck ever since. I keep telling myself it's a smaller truck than it might have been, thanks to the booster shot I got last year (of course, I can't recall exactly when I got it, but I think it was in mid-summer.) but it's still a truck. I ran a lower temp on Sunday, and Monday and Tuesday, today, I haven't had a temperature since then and today I retook a test. At first, the only reaction was the control line. Huzzah! I was certain I'd gotten the first of the two negative tests I'd need to declare myself COVID free. As I said, Huzzah--
--except at the end of the 15 minute wait time, there it was, a faint but definite second line.
Welp. Again.
And it's still like being hit by a small truck.
Ah well, I'm getting some work done on my NTBP* novel, escaping a corner I'd painted myself into. And I'm also making some bread. That always comforts me.
And here, have something I wrote about cold decades ago. Since we're still in single digit temperatures with subzero windchills, it feels the same to me, although this was written after a relatively rare ice storm during a cold snap.
.
March, 1995
* not to be published
I thought I was coming down with the same bad cold that Bob was slowly recovering from. I don't get colds all that often, and I'd thought this one would pass me by, but nope, it appeared eager to settle in my head. Well, dang ... I headed for bed, hoping it wouldn't be too bad in the morning.
Around 3 a.m. Saturday I woke up with aches that signaled a potential temperature. And indeed I had one; 100.7, significantly higher than the 97.9 I usually run. I knew that colds don't feature fevers so I tested myself for COVID.
I didn't even have to wait the requisite 15 minutes, both lines were there in bright red within 30 seconds.
Welp.
I've felt like I've been hit by a truck ever since. I keep telling myself it's a smaller truck than it might have been, thanks to the booster shot I got last year (of course, I can't recall exactly when I got it, but I think it was in mid-summer.) but it's still a truck. I ran a lower temp on Sunday, and Monday and Tuesday, today, I haven't had a temperature since then and today I retook a test. At first, the only reaction was the control line. Huzzah! I was certain I'd gotten the first of the two negative tests I'd need to declare myself COVID free. As I said, Huzzah--
--except at the end of the 15 minute wait time, there it was, a faint but definite second line.
Welp. Again.
And it's still like being hit by a small truck.
Ah well, I'm getting some work done on my NTBP* novel, escaping a corner I'd painted myself into. And I'm also making some bread. That always comforts me.
And here, have something I wrote about cold decades ago. Since we're still in single digit temperatures with subzero windchills, it feels the same to me, although this was written after a relatively rare ice storm during a cold snap.
.
Glass City
The city is glass and I am cold.
When cold aches out of bone
into fingertips,
and back again;
into the back of my throat and under the sleeves of my coat
and back again;
why then I can't see the glass.
My own breath blocks my sight. Painfully.
Cold holds my body for ransom.
It slaps my face and makes my toes snap,
it steps on my feet and punches the small of my back.
Traitor body, to let it in.
Did it really start in the bone?
I am so tired of my bones doing that.
All about me, the glass trees rustle.
Splinters of blue light and silver at the top,
in the middle a puzzle and madness of glitter in the bright, faded sky.
Winter sun does that.
It's almost worth
the cold.
March, 1995
Write Every day 2026: January, Day 27
Jan. 27th, 2026 10:19 pmtrobadoraWe're nearing the end of the month, and I don't believe we have a host for February yet. Who's up for hosting?
Today's writing
Mostly structural work on an exchange fic, trying to wrangle it into a viable shape.
Tally
( Days 1-25 )
Day 26:badly_knitted, brithistorian, carenejeans, china_shop, cornerofmadness, goddess47, luzula, sanguinity, shadaras, sylvanwitch, trobadora
Day 27:china_shop, trobadora
Let me know if I missed anyone! And remember you can drop in or out at any time. :)
Today's writing
Mostly structural work on an exchange fic, trying to wrangle it into a viable shape.
Tally
( Days 1-25 )
Day 26:
badly_knitted, brithistorian, carenejeans, china_shop, cornerofmadness, goddess47, luzula, sanguinity, shadaras, sylvanwitch, trobadoraDay 27:
china_shop, trobadoraLet me know if I missed anyone! And remember you can drop in or out at any time. :)
Open Doors celebrates the completion of 9 (and one more) archive imports in 2025!
Jan. 27th, 2026 07:13 pm![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
otw_news_feedOpen Doors is pleased to announce the completion of 9 archive import projects in 2025, plus an additional 5 subcollections, a total of over 34,000 works! We hope that you will find old and new favorites in the collections listed below.
Remembering Tiger Lily Roar
Completed: February 2025
Remembering Tiger Lily Roar is a memorial account for fanfiction written by Tiger Lily Roar, who was active in many fandoms, especially Young Justice. This memorial account was set up with the assistance of Open Doors with permission from Tiger Lily Roar’s family and is maintained by Eva.
Find works at the Remembering Tiger Lily Roar AO3 account.
For more information about the archive and its move to the AO3, see the Remembering Tiger Lily Roar import announcement post. To learn the history of the archive or to share some stories of your own, check out the Tiger Lily Roar Fanlore page.
due South Seekrit Santa
Completed: March 2025
due South Seekrit Santa (dSSS) is an annual gift exchange challenge for fans of due South. The dSSS archive was originally on http://dsss.crocolanthus.com/. After many attempts to communicate with the server admin/owner went unanswered, the crocolanthus dSSS archive went offline, and the domain name was lost. To preserve the archive, the works from the 2004-2009 exchanges were imported to AO3 by Open Doors and dSSS.
Find works at the due South Seekrit Santa AO3 collection.
For more information about the archive and its move to the AO3, see the due South Seekrit Santa import announcement post. To learn the history of the archive or to share some stories of your own, check out the due South Seekrit Santa Fanlore page.
Snow Lands
Completed: April 2025
Snow Lands was a fanfiction and fan comic archive for The Lion King (1994 animated movie) online until June 2023 and was run by Athari. The website hosted works in English and Russian and preserved some of the fandom’s masterpieces.
Find works at the Snow Lands AO3 collection.
For more information about the archive and its move to the AO3, see the Snow Lands’ import announcement post. To learn the history of the archive or to share some stories of your own, check out the Snow Lands Fanlore page.
Slash Advent Calendar
Completed: May 2025
The Slash Advent Calendar was a multifandom slash challenge that ran every December from 2002 to 2005. Founded by kira-nerys at Lady Kardasi Productions, it included works from fandoms such as Star Trek, Harry Potter, The Sentinel, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The archive went offline in 2010.
Find works at the Slash Advent Calendar AO3 collection.
For more information about the archive and its move to the AO3, see the Slash Advent Calendar import announcement post. To learn the history of the archive or to share some stories of your own, check out the Slash Advent Calendar Fanlore page.
My Mongoose Ezines
Completed: August 2025
My Mongoose is a Sentinel fanfiction and fanart ezine collection archive. In an effort to consolidate all My Mongoose Ezines, including all stories, art and miscellaneous, the creator and moderators decided to house the works at Archive of our Own.
Find works at the My Mongoose AO3 collection.
For more information about the archive and its move to the AO3, see the My Mongoose import announcement post. To learn the history of the archive or to share some stories of your own, check out the My Mongoose Fanlore page.
Stayka’s Saint Seiya Archive
Completed: September 2025
Stayka’s Saint Seiya Archive was a Saint Seiya fansite that started in 1998. It was an important early contributor to the Saint Seiya fandom, as one of the first sites on the internet to use English, unifying the uniquely global and diverse fan following. The site went offline in 2019, after which Tracy began contacting individual creators and collecting permission to ensure permanent preservation.
Find works at the Stayka’s Saint Seiya Archive collection.
For more information about the archive and its move to the AO3, see the Stayka’s Saint Seiya Archive import announcement post. To learn the history of the archive or to share some stories of your own, check out the Stayka’s Saint Seiya Archive Fanlore page.
Oz Magi
Completed: November 2025
Oz Magi is an annual gift exchange for the HBO Oz fandom that has been active since 2004 on LiveJournal and Dreamwidth. The moderator created an AO3 collection for Oz Magi in 2012, but wanted to also archive the earlier fanworks. This will be an ongoing import, with each year’s fanworks being transferred across to AO3 on behalf of the creators.
The related imports of HBO Oz archives Unit B and Twisted Sisterhood are still in progress.
Find works at the Oz Magi AO3 collection.
For more information about the archive and its move to the AO3, see the Unit B, Twisted Sisterhood and Oz Magi import announcement post. To learn the history of the archive or to share some stories of your own, check out the Oz Magi Fanlore page.
InDeath.net Fan Fiction
Completed: November 2025
InDeath.net Fan Fiction is a fanfiction archive for the In Death book series by Nora Roberts, writing as J.D. Robb. It was a sub-section of the InDeath.net forum community, and the forum had sections for discussing fanfiction posted to the InDeath.net Fan Fiction archive.
Find works at the InDeath.net Fan Fiction AO3 collection.
For more information about the archive and its move to the AO3, see the InDeath.net import announcement post. To learn the history of the archive or to share some stories of your own, check out the InDeath.net Fanlore page.
Absolution – The Inugrrrl Memorial
Completed: December 2025
Inugrrrl was a longtime fan and fanfiction writer of InuYasha and the InuYasha/Kagome pairing. In her own words, she was known for “writing characterization-breaking, smut-filled, angst-riddled, alternate universe pulp fiction without a hint of shame, regret, or apology.” She was active in the fanbase from 2005-2024. Inugrrrl tragically passed away in June of 2024 and her daughter wished for her mother’s fanworks to remain online for the fanbase to enjoy.
Find works written by Inugrrrl at the Absolution – The Inugrrrl Memorial AO3 account, and works gifted to Inugrrrl at the Inugrrrl’s Gifted Fics collection.
For more information about the archive and its move to the AO3, see the Absolution – The Inugrrrl Memorial import announcement post. To learn the history of Inugrrrl or to share some stories of your own, check out the Inugrrrl Fanlore page.
And one more…
In June 2025, Open Doors imported the following subcollections from FictionAlley: AstronomyTower, HPInkPot, Riddikulus, Schnoogle, and TheDarkArts.
Find works at the FictionAlley AO3 collection.
ArtisticAlley is yet to be imported, which means the import of FictionAlley is still ongoing.
For more information about the archive and its move to the AO3, see the FictionAlley import announcement post. To learn the history of the archive or to share some stories of your own, check out the FictionAlley Fanlore page.
We want to give a huge THANK YOU to all of the archivists and volunteers who made these imports possible, as well as all the creators who have transferred or claimed their works! We look forward to importing more archives in 2026.
Commenting on this post will be disabled in 14 days. If you have any questions, concerns, or comments regarding these imports after that date, please contact Open Doors.
Making progress?
Jan. 27th, 2026 05:43 pmheleninwalesThe problem with doing long-term projects is that I often feel like I'm on a treadmill, working at lots of things but not getting anywhere. There's occasionally a fleeting moment of triumph as something is finally completed -- like I posted about the video yesterday -- then it's back on the treadmill again.
Anyway, today I wrestled with the budget for our local Quaker group. Considering how small the amounts of money are, it shouldn't have taken as long as it did, but all the money is now held centrally so it took some time to ferret out the figures I needed.
Otherwise I'm still managing to do something to progress the WIP each day. Today I read over a scene from the end of Book 1 of the trilogy to refresh my memory about who knew who and when they'd met. I'd forgotten some things, but now I'll be able to write the next scenes with that information in mind.
Anyway, today I wrestled with the budget for our local Quaker group. Considering how small the amounts of money are, it shouldn't have taken as long as it did, but all the money is now held centrally so it took some time to ferret out the figures I needed.
Otherwise I'm still managing to do something to progress the WIP each day. Today I read over a scene from the end of Book 1 of the trilogy to refresh my memory about who knew who and when they'd met. I'd forgotten some things, but now I'll be able to write the next scenes with that information in mind.
Media Roundup: Bits and bobs
Jan. 27th, 2026 08:47 amforestofgloryWell I haven’t gotten very far with my pile of graphic novels from the library, and in fact I’ve put holds on even more of them so the pile is only getting bigger. But did finish enough things that it feels worth posting another media roundup.
Goat Magic by Kate Wheeler—Another graphic novel, this one with very cute goats. The art for this one was so cute and charming. I did feel a little bit frustrated with the politics, where there was some confusion about bad people vs bad systems. Also the romance kinda came out of nowhere (It didn’t help that I thought one of the main characters was like 12) Still a pretty fun book overall.
The Two Towers—Watched this with the kid and R, who as mentioned have recently finished reading the books. It’s fun to discuss the changes between the book and the movie with the kiddo! Also I forgot how good the armor details are in this! However a three hour movie with some chatting is a lot for me – at the end I was hitting sensory overload and needed to go sit somewhere quiet by myself for a while.
The Legend of the Demon Cat (2017)—I watched this movie with my group watch. It’s about a cat demon but also features Tang dynasty poet Bai Juyi and various other historical figures. It was really good, though I’m having a hard time explaining why. It has a really big emotional range – some bits are creepy (and there is a bit of gore), some bits are sad, but some bits are really fun. And Bai Juyi’s character in this is great!
Unboxing Libby by Steph Cherrywell—My kid’s school is doing an optional book club, and this was the most recent book. I’ve been reading the books along with the kid and this is the third book this year. It’s about robots made to be kids toys who end up being used to simulate a human community on Mars. I really liked it! the friendship stuff was complicated and good!
Remember how I was all like “I guess I don’t read much original fiction anymore but I’m at peace with it” in my post about my 2025 media? Yet somehow I have read 10 books this month? They are mostly graphic novels which are quicker and easier for me, but still books are books. I don’t really expect to keep this up but it's nice for now.
Goat Magic by Kate Wheeler—Another graphic novel, this one with very cute goats. The art for this one was so cute and charming. I did feel a little bit frustrated with the politics, where there was some confusion about bad people vs bad systems. Also the romance kinda came out of nowhere (It didn’t help that I thought one of the main characters was like 12) Still a pretty fun book overall.
The Two Towers—Watched this with the kid and R, who as mentioned have recently finished reading the books. It’s fun to discuss the changes between the book and the movie with the kiddo! Also I forgot how good the armor details are in this! However a three hour movie with some chatting is a lot for me – at the end I was hitting sensory overload and needed to go sit somewhere quiet by myself for a while.
The Legend of the Demon Cat (2017)—I watched this movie with my group watch. It’s about a cat demon but also features Tang dynasty poet Bai Juyi and various other historical figures. It was really good, though I’m having a hard time explaining why. It has a really big emotional range – some bits are creepy (and there is a bit of gore), some bits are sad, but some bits are really fun. And Bai Juyi’s character in this is great!
Unboxing Libby by Steph Cherrywell—My kid’s school is doing an optional book club, and this was the most recent book. I’ve been reading the books along with the kid and this is the third book this year. It’s about robots made to be kids toys who end up being used to simulate a human community on Mars. I really liked it! the friendship stuff was complicated and good!
Remember how I was all like “I guess I don’t read much original fiction anymore but I’m at peace with it” in my post about my 2025 media? Yet somehow I have read 10 books this month? They are mostly graphic novels which are quicker and easier for me, but still books are books. I don’t really expect to keep this up but it's nice for now.
Fandom Snowflake Challenge #14
Jan. 27th, 2026 10:02 amreeby10 posting in snowflake_challengeIntroduction Post *
Meet the Mods Post *
Challenge #1 *
Challenge #2 *
Challenge #3 *
Challenge #4 * Challenge #5 * Challenge #6 * Challenge #7 * Challenge #8 * Challenge #9 * Challenge #10 * Challenge #11 * Challenge #12
Remember that there is no official deadline, so feel free to join in at any time, or go back and do challenges you've missed.
( Fandom Snowflake Challenge #14 )
And please do check out the comments for all the awesome participants of the challenge and visit their journals/challenge responses to comment on their posts and cheer them on. You might just find your newest obsession!
And just as a reminder: this is a low pressure, fun challenge. If you aren't comfortable doing a particular challenge, then don't. We aren't keeping track of who does what.
Remember that there is no official deadline, so feel free to join in at any time, or go back and do challenges you've missed.
( Fandom Snowflake Challenge #14 )
And please do check out the comments for all the awesome participants of the challenge and visit their journals/challenge responses to comment on their posts and cheer them on. You might just find your newest obsession!
And just as a reminder: this is a low pressure, fun challenge. If you aren't comfortable doing a particular challenge, then don't. We aren't keeping track of who does what.
larryhammerI’ve had this quote in my scratch file for a few years, waiting for me to find something to say about it. Except, I’ve got nothing that it doesn’t say itself, and better:
---L.
Subject quote from Rocket Man, Elton John.
“Imaginative fiction trains people to be aware that there are other ways to do things, other ways to be; that there is not just one civilization, and it is good, and it is the way we have to be.” —Ursula K. Le Guin
---L.
Subject quote from Rocket Man, Elton John.
Return of the Newbery Project
Jan. 27th, 2026 09:26 amosprey_archerThe Newbery Project is BACK, baby! Yesterday, the American Library Association announced the 2026 Newbery winners, which means I’ve got five hot fresh Newbery books to read.
After winning a Newbery Honor in 2018 for Piecing Me Together, Renee Watson went for gold this year with All the Blues in the Sky. I quite liked Piecing Me Together, so I’m hopeful I’ll enjoy this new one as well.
Daniel Nayeri is also a familiar Newbery name: he got an honor in 2024 for The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams, which I thought was pretty mediocre to be honest. But perhaps I’ll be more impressed by The Teacher of Nomad Land: A World War II Story.
Although this is Karina Yan Glaser’s first Newbery, I’m familiar with her Vanderbeekers series, which is a sort of modern-day version of the Melendys. I read the first book and thought it was okay, but not so okay that I wanted to read on… so we’ll see how I feel about The Nine Moons of Han Yu and Luli.
Finally, two books by new-to-me authors: Aubrey Hartman’s The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest, and María Dolores Águila’s A Sea of Lemon Trees: The Corrido of Roberto Alvarez. The title of the first is giving me flashbacks to Scary Stories for Young Foxes, which was perhaps the Newbery’s first foray into horror. Fox horror possibly its own genre now? Will report back as I learn more.
After winning a Newbery Honor in 2018 for Piecing Me Together, Renee Watson went for gold this year with All the Blues in the Sky. I quite liked Piecing Me Together, so I’m hopeful I’ll enjoy this new one as well.
Daniel Nayeri is also a familiar Newbery name: he got an honor in 2024 for The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams, which I thought was pretty mediocre to be honest. But perhaps I’ll be more impressed by The Teacher of Nomad Land: A World War II Story.
Although this is Karina Yan Glaser’s first Newbery, I’m familiar with her Vanderbeekers series, which is a sort of modern-day version of the Melendys. I read the first book and thought it was okay, but not so okay that I wanted to read on… so we’ll see how I feel about The Nine Moons of Han Yu and Luli.
Finally, two books by new-to-me authors: Aubrey Hartman’s The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest, and María Dolores Águila’s A Sea of Lemon Trees: The Corrido of Roberto Alvarez. The title of the first is giving me flashbacks to Scary Stories for Young Foxes, which was perhaps the Newbery’s first foray into horror. Fox horror possibly its own genre now? Will report back as I learn more.
City on Fire (Metropolitan, volume 2) by Walter Jon Williams
Jan. 27th, 2026 08:45 amjames_davis_nicoll
Having successfully fled her home city with the proceeds of a spectacular heist, Aiah must now build a new life on that foundation.
City on Fire (Metropolitan, volume 2) by Walter Jon Williams
