Under the Radar: Fiction You May Have Missed in 2019
by Lisa C. 2019 is winding down and that means the season of the “Best-Of” lists is upon us. Of course, we’ll see the usual suspects – The Testaments, The Water Dancer, The Dutch House, Lost Children Archive, Trust Exercise, and other blockbusters and big literary award winners.
Don’t I Know You?
by Marie B. Are you a people watcher like me? While it’s true that I kouldn’t kare less about keeping up with the Kardashians (no judgement here!), I do generally enjoy reading about famous people. Chances are good that I’ll never meet anyone famous in real life, but I can encounter them in a story. […]
Terrifying Children in Books and Movies
by Lisa C. *Please don’t mistake this for a post about books that terrify children – though that’s fun, too. Ah, children. The apples of our eyes, our hope for a better future. So sweet. So innocent. So terrifying!
LGBT History Month 2019
by Lois H. (they/them or she/her) October is LGBT History Month! Started in 1994 by high school teacher Rodney Wilson, this monthly observance is a time to celebrate the diverse and longstanding history of the LGBTQIA+ community. The celebration also coincides with National Coming Out Day on October 11.
Some Like it Hot
by Marie B. Well, the sun has set on another Pacific Northwest summer. Some years we’re lucky to have two weeks of warmish weather all season long, but we had a good run in 2019. While I enjoy the warm days, the mercury can only rise so high before it gets to be too hot […]
Movies That Should Have Won Best Picture
by Craig B. I shouldn’t let petty things get stuck in my craw, but every time I watch Apocalypse Now, I’m somewhat perplexed that it didn’t win Best Picture; It’s one of my favorite flicks. Its primeval mass pulls you down the Nung River and deposits you in the jungle like a fragment of Kurtz’s […]
Crossing Borders
By Kristi S. I’ve written before about the power of fiction to both educate and entertain. Obviously, nonfiction is incredibly important, giving voice to real experiences, but fiction adds extra emotion for me. For that reason, I turn to fiction when I am looking to take a deep dive into current events. I want to be […]
Harvey Awards
By Kaley Nominees for the Harvey Awards have been announced, and it looks like a solid selection to choose from. The Harvey Awards started in 1988 as a way for peers in the comics industry to celebrate exceptional work. This year they’ll award creators for Book of the Year, Digital Book of the Year, Best […]
Infernal Adaptations
by Lois H. Every summer, I look forward to packing a perfect picnic and settling in to enjoy some Shakespeare in the park. Recently, I attended performances of the three plays in the Island Shakespeare Festival’s tenth anniversary season. I cried through The Winter’s Tale. Cried with laughter through A Midsummer Night’s Dream. On the […]
Great Worldbuilding
By Jennifer K. One of the things I love about science fiction and fantasy is the worldbuilding. It’s hard to explain what good worldbuilding is, but you know bad worldbuilding when you read it. What if the world is exactly like our world, except everyone has magic powers? Then it wouldn’t be exactly like our world […]
