Somewhere beyond, outside, or underneath the cosmos you know lies the Akashic Library, its infinite shelves stretching out alongside fizzing cerulean shores. What mind-melting tomes shall we pull from the shelves? Read on, scholar, and see . . .

And just like that, it’s December. As is our custom, my family and I celebrated a winter holiday known as “Christmas,” which involves bringing a tree into your house and decorating it. We also exchanged gifts.

Christmas is over and New Year’s Day is just around the corner. As hard as it is to believe, 2025 is almost over. I guess it’s time to reflect on the year? Look back and take stock of what I’ve done? Yeah, that sounds like a good idea!

This year I . . .
-Turned 50 (Yow!).
-Published The Adventures of Lightning Man volume 1.
-Went on an awesome bookstore tour across three cities!
-Wrote and sent out 12 monthly newsletters (including this one).
-Ran a successful Kickstarter for Beowulf Vs. Grendel.
-Went to Gary Con, Gen Con, Game Con, Archon, and U-Con, where I ran and played a bunch of games.
-Published Beowulf Vs. Grendel.
-Watched all the Coen Brothers movies.
-Sold drawings from my Etsy shop to raise money for charity.
-Ran a successful Kickstarter for The Prison Pits of Larubia.

Speaking of which . . .

THE PRISON PITS OF LARUBIA UPDATE
It seems like longer, but the Kickstarter campaign for The Prison Pits of Larubia was just last month. Things have moved quickly! I revised and expanded the text—the second draft is about 20% longer than the first!—and my editors edited it. I commissioned two more interior illustrations. Josh designed the logo and put together the front cover, and it looks like this:

Sexxy! Once I get the two illustrations from Bryan, we’ll be able to begin layout. The book should be coming your way soon. And it will be rad!

COEN BROTHERS UPDATE
I have now seen every Coen Brothers movie, including the solo ones! Here’s an overview of the final five . . .

An anthology of six stories, all Westerns, ranging from comedy to tragedy.

Some of these are funny, some of them are sad—so very, very sad. They’re all beautifully made. If you like Westerns at all, you should see this movie.

To date, this is the last movie co-directed by the Coen Brothers. And if they never collaborate on another, this is a strong note to end on.

In Minnesota, a police officer tries to solve a series of murders committed by incompetent criminals for dumb reasons.

I watched this one out of order—it should come after The Hudsucker Proxy and before The Big Lebowski. When I was in college I saw it in the theater when it first came out. I worked at the movie theater then, so I would’ve seen it for free. It’s the first Coen Brothers movie I saw, I loved it, and I will always love it. A comedy noir is hard to pull off, but they did it. Francis McDormand is wonderful and Marge Gunderson is maybe the greatest police officer in fiction. Six thumbs up.

In 11th century Scotland, the king’s trusted ally Macbeth receives prophecies from some witches and proceeds to make a series of bad choices.

This is the first solo Coen Brother movie, directed by Joel, with his wife Francis McDormand as Lady Macbeth.

In my secret identity as a high school English teacher I’ve been teaching Macbeth for years. I’ve tried showing different Macbeth movies—it’s surprisingly hard to find a straightforward adaptation that’s actually set in 11th century Scotland. For a few years I went with the 2015 Justin Kurzel film, with Michael Fassbender as Macbeth. It’s good but it cuts a lot of lines and scenes from the play so it can focus on mood and atmosphere. And it changes some pretty big details, like the prophecy about Birnam Wood, and adds in a whole thing about the Macbeths losing a child . . . Obviously it’s okay for people to put their own spin on Shakespeare but if you’re showing students a movie to help them understand the play, you want it to follow the play as much as possible.

A couple of years ago I switched over to the Joel Coen Macbeth. It’s all shot on soundstages and looks more like a play. It keeps most of the lines from the play and is faithful to the story, with some flourishes. Ross is a forgettable character in the play but he does so much in the movie. It’s visually stylish, Denzel Washington is Macbeth, it’s got a good sword fight at the end, you should check it out.

But I’m still waiting for a completely faithful movie adaptation, that includes the witches’ musical number . . .

A couple of lesbians on a road trip are pursued by criminals.

This one’s by Ethan, and was co-written and apparently co-directed by his wife Tricia Cooke. It’s set in the 90s, and it absolutely feels like a forgotten low-budget indie movie from the 90s, except that you wouldn’t have gotten this much lesbian content. I know that because Ethan and Tricia tried to get this made back then and the studios wouldn’t go for it, due to all the lesbian content. Anyway, this movie is dumb. Really dumb. I’m glad I watched it.

Honey O’Donahue is a lesbian private detective who investigates a murder in California.

This is the second trashy lesbian B-movie from Ethan and Tricia. I’d heard it was bad, and when I started it I was surprised by how much I liked it. Halfway through, I still liked it. And then it sort of fell apart. But I really like how Charlie Day always says “Honey O’Donahue!” every time she walks in.

NEW YEAR’S SALE ON ART!
In honor of the new year, every drawing in my Etsy shop is on sale from now until Sunday. All but one of them are 25% off! The giant robot is $10 off! Deals deals deals!

When I say “giant robot” I’m referring to that handsome fellow up there. The drawing is 12.5 × 17 inches. That’s pretty big! Here’s me holding the drawing to give you a sense of scale:

Wow, look at the size of that thing! Wouldn’t it look nice on your office wall?

Including the giant robot, I’ve added 7 new drawings to the Etsy shop since last newsletter. Here’s a little overview:

So many options. Treat yourself! That sale only goes until Sunday, and then everything’s back to the original price. As always, all money I make from selling art is donated to help Palestinian children. It’s a good cause, and I’d appreciate your support.

BOOKS I'VE READ SINCE LAST TIME
Riders of the Purple Sage, Zane Grey
Who Killed Nessie?, Paul Cornell and Rachael Smith

I’ve been reading a lot, so it’s crazy that I only have two books listed here. For one thing I read a lot of comic books, which I don’t list when they’re periodicals, and for another I’m partway through a bunch of books. I need to buckle down and finish some.

Anyway, Riders of the Purple Sage was published in 1912. It’s one of the novels that defined the Western genre, so I figured I should read it.

The first thing you should know is that the book is really biased against Mormons. Worse, according to the introduction, Grey himself didn’t have a problem with Mormons, but anti-Mormon sentiment was popular at the time, and Grey figured it would sell. And he was right! It was a massive hit, the best-selling book he ever wrote. Americans love prejudice!

The problem with Mormons, in the public imagination around 1912, was that they were associated with polygamy. This book stands up for the wholesome virtue of monogamy. Which is hilarious, because (according to Wikipedia) when Zane Grey was dating his future wife Dolly he warned her, “But I love to be free. I cannot change my spots. The ordinary man is satisfied with a moderate income, a home, wife, children, and all that. ... But I am a million miles from being that kind of man and no amount of trying will ever do any good ... I shall never lose the spirit of my interest in women.” And he continued to see other women throughout their marriage. Zane Grey, champion of monogamy!

All that aside, the book was engaging. Early on I got more interested in the story than I expected. Grey’s vivid descriptions of the land make it clear that he spent a lot of time in the West and genuinely loved it. He excels at writing about nature, though I could’ve used several thousand fewer words about the wonders of the hidden valley. There’s traditional gender roles, evil Mormons, all that sort of stuff you’d expect, but because this is a formative text in the genre the genre traditions aren’t established yet, so there is way more emphasis on romance and way fewer gunfights than you’d expect. The ending did not quite satisfy me, probably because of my genre expectations.

NOT A DREAM, NOT A HOAX, NOT AN IMAGINARY STORY
If you act now, you can subscribe to this newsletter ABSOLUTELY FREE, and get an update from me every month. There’s no set-up fee, no additional charges. You can’t afford to pass up a deal like this! Act now!

TV SHOWS I’VE WATCHED
Leverage: Redemption season 1
Fiona and Cake season 2
Death Note
Nobody Wants This season 2
Plur1bus season 1
The Chair Company season 1
Fallout season 2
Percy Jackson season 2

I’ve now seen all of Nobody Wants This, Pluribus, Fionna and Cake, and The Chair Company, and I really enjoyed all four, but . . . you probably wouldn’t? There’s some acquired tastes in there, is all I’m saying.

MOVIES I’VE WATCHED
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Wicked: For Good
Fargo
Drive-Away Dolls
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
Eddington
Honey, Don’t!
White Christmas

I loved Wake Up Dead Man, but I don’t have anything fresh or interesting to say about it. No, let other people on the internet comment on that—I’m here to write about outdoorsy anti-polygamy novels from 1912.

Okay, let’s wrap this thing up. And by “this thing,” I mean 2025. See you next year!

Your Pal,
Leighton