July, 2025
Well, hello everyone! June was pretty busy for me, I had houseguests (the awesome Rachel Swirsky and P H Lee), and did a little bit of travel (the train is pretty awesome, even if it takes longer than flying and the freight companies screw Amtrak over on the regular).
And now it’s July! The heat wave here in St Louis has only just broken (for middle-of-summer values of broken). And…we have a new Fitness Coach!
Meet Fitness Coach Shadow. Shadow came to us from Gateway Pet Guardians, and they tell us that Shadow is from a household where he was greatly loved, but they were unable to still care for him. I’m used to cats who have to spend a month or two hiding under the couch before they decide to trust you, but Shadow strolled out of his carrier like he owned the place and knew all of us already. He has settled in well, and particularly likes the widescreen 24-7 presentation of the Bird and Squirrel Show out the back window.
I hope all of you who have access to it are watching Murderbot! As I’ve already stated many times in public, I love Murderbot! And the show is excellent. The cast is great. Yes, it would be nice to have longer episodes, but it is what it is. Yes, there are choices the writers have made, in transferring the story to television, that I maybe wouldn’t have. Eh. I’m enjoying it a lot.
What I’m reading
The Nightbird’s Feather by Jenna Katerin Moran
Read this. Seriously, you should read this. Just…you really ought to read this book. It’s very, very good. Once you’ve read it and are facing cravings for the food that turns up very frequently in the course of the story, you can make yourself some black bread if you want.
I also just got an advance copy of The Subtle Art of Folding Space by John Chu. Sadly, it won’t be generally available until next April, but you can and should pre-order it! If you’re not familiar with John Chu’s work, you really should be. A lot of his short fiction is freely available on the web—check the link above.
I’ve been on a Farm Together 2 streak for a while, though I’ve dabbled a bit in Dinkum, which seems fun so far. Other than that, my life has been super quiet, which I think is a tremendous blessing at the moment.
Anyway. Keep safe, stay cool (or warm, depending which hemisphere you’re in), and I’ll see you next month!
Ann