I have always run cold and own lots of sweaters
Hello.
It’s me.
(Okay, I’ll stop.)
This newsletter almost didn’t get written, because sometimes I am very sad and things like getting dressed or leaving the house or writing newsletters become all but impossible. During these times (and throughout most of the winter), I take a lot of bubble baths. I’m something of an expert.
Here is my simple list of rules to ensure a perfect bubble bath:
1. Make it as hot as you can stand. Stay in it until the water has gone cold or the bubbles are all gone, whichever happens first.
2. Be as high- or low-brow with your bubbles as you want. I’m addicted to LUSH bubble bars, but have been known to utilize the last of a bottle of body wash, too.
3. If you want to light candles, light candles. It’s a cliche, but a calming one. Find a scent you like (all lemon, all the time over here).
4. Keep a glass of water close by. The heat can be dehydrating.
5. No washing, only soaking. Reading and relaxing tv are allowed, though. Think of it like sitting under a Japanese heated table, only instead of a blanket it’s bubbles.
Go forth, and be sane during the sad winter times.
Dog Thing
The best thing about Thanksgiving is when friends visit and they bring their dogs. This is Clementine, and she is queen.
Mixed Media
Another thing keeping me sane is other people’s houses. I’m not breaking into them, but I am admiring them from afar.
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I’ve long been a fan of Design Sponge, not least because of the house tours they post. Reading architectural Digest can be fun, but it’s hard to believe that people really live in some of those houses. These houses, as pretty or odd or pristine as they may be, are all believably people’s homes. I love it.
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I especially love seeing how people store/display their books and plants, two grand passions of mine.
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I don’t know what it is, but something about losing myself in other people’s well-loved homes is extremely relaxing. I highly recommend it.
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Also: I’ve been listening to Adele’s new album (as you might have noticed), and it is excellent. “Send My Love” is my favourite track. I finished Lightless by C.A. Higgins, and it was quite good. Definitely earned its spot on my list of excellent women-driven sci-fi I’ve read this year. I saw Brookyln, about an Irish woman who immigrates to America. It was about love, and belonging, and what it means to find a home. I loved it.
I Read Comics for a Living
I’ve been eagerly awaiting the first issue of Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur since it was announced, and I couldn’t be happier with it. Lunella Layfayette is sharp and impatient and curious as heck, and Devil Dino is…well, he’s Devil Dino. I love how this issue devoted its time equally between introducing us to Lunella and connecting the new Moon Girl with the previous character of Moon Boy.
Also good:
Saga #31 It’s back! Oh, how I missed you, Saga. This comic continues to be the best at following multiple characters and never losing the thread of any of their stories.
Kaptara #5 It’s been a while since the last Kaptara issue, and I think I sort of forgot how much I love it. This reminded me: it’s so much. I love it so. much.
Silk #1 This is another Marvel #1 that picks up where we left the book pre-Secret Wars and continues on with the same team making it. But this issue is an extremely satisfying ride, catching us up on what Cindy Moon’s been up to.
Black Magick #2 This comic feels both film noir and old Vertigo, in the best possible ways. Crime and witchcraft combining to tell a fascinating story.
Anxiety Pyjamas
Madewell Flannel Bedtime Top & Bottom
Fics I Shouted About
Skyclad by cupidsbow & Ionaonie Teen Wolf, Sterek, AU. I have a soft spot for gender swap fics, and this is a great one. Stiles and Derek have been friends forever, and Derek has just returned from his grand European tour of running away from his family.
say it’s been a long six months by biblionerd07 Check Please!, Jack/Bitty, future AU. Jack gets what he wants, loses it, and then has to figure out how to have Bitty, hockey, and his friends all at the same time. LOVED this.
The One Where They Adopt a Selkie by mikkimouse Teen Wolf, Sterek, future AU. What it says on the tin, except 1,000 times cuter.
the sheer lack of professionalism by scioscribe Skyfall, Bond/Q. I’ve fallen into this well of James Bond fic since seeing Spectre, and it’s been rather nice. This one is hilarious, and absolutely nails their voices.
Lastly
I’ve read some good nonfiction pieces recently. Here are a few of my faves:
Marvel Comics’ secret weapon is a woman named Sana Amanat by Alex Abad-Santos About the editor behind Ms. Marvel and other great things happening at Marvel right now.
Translating Gender: Ancillary Justice in Five Languages by Alex Dally Macfarlane About translating Ann Leckie’s Ancillary Justice, with its specific use of gender pronouns, into other languages without losing the important context.
Unfollow by Adrian Chen I never thought I’d be recommending an article about a member of the Westboro Baptist Church, but this one–about how Megan Phelps-Roper’s use of twitter lead her to question her beliefs and eventually leave the church–was excellent. Long, but worth it.
That’s all! Thanks for sticking with me, folks.
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