Jessica Day George's Blog

In other words, ‘Sup?

I realize that I haven’t blogged in 6 months or so, but I’ve been busy, okay? I was a judge for this year’s World Fantasy Award, and I also, you know, am working on my own books! Being a judge was really interesting, and it introduced me to a lot of authors I had never heard of, some that I had heard of but hadn’t tried yet, and also greatly tested my speed reading skills! Amazing stuff! Little off the cuff recommendation: THE SILVERBLOOD PROMISE. Adventure, fantasy, lil’ bit of humor, but also: a murder mystery! I feel like Sanderson fans will really go for it!

Here’s some other stuff I’m doing: I will be at CrossingsCon in Philadelphia next week (August 15-17) if you’re in the area. I’m really looking forward to it! The last time I was involved it was 2020, and so, virtual! Check crossingscon.com for more info.

But also, I’m very excited to announce that I am in an upcoming Kickstarter anthology called UNBROKEN, edited by Peter Orullian and Shawn Speakman. Peter is just one of the most talented, but also just all around great guys that I have had the pleasure to meet through my love of fantasy books, and I was honored to be asked to contribute. This anthology is to raise money to help him and his family pay down medical costs incurred from his wife’s cancer treatment. I wish our country’s healthcare system wasn’t this horrible, but it is, and so we’re doing this for them! The Kickstarter will go live on September 23rd, but I wanted to give everybody a head’s up. The lineup is fantabulous, I’ll post pics so you can see how fantabulous!

Also, keep an eye on the events page, I’ve got CrossingsCon and World Fantasy (in Brighton, UK) on there, as well as something local in a couple of weeks at Barnes & Noble Jordan Landing. But as we get into the autumn, there’s always booksignings that crop up! And of course, if you need something signed and personalized, you can always call in an order at The King’s English in Salt Lake City.

Also, if you’re on the Instagram, I’ll soon be posting some pictures that aren’t just badly framed pics of books I’ve read recently. And of course, on YouTube, I’ve got my JessicaRecommends videos!

Hello there!

I’m at Life, the Universe, and Everything 43 this weekend, and in addition to yakking way too much on panels about everything from clothing production to the Best Kind of Dragon (cough all dragons are best cough), I’ve also given two presentation. One on the history/evolution of children’s books, and the other on reading diverse fantasy and sci fi, the benefits thereof, and my person recommendations! And I promised that I would post my recommendations here on the ol’ blog, and so I am! The evolution of kid lit really just needs a couple of titles, because it’s mostly about how’d we get from Improving Tales for Young Ladies to Too Young To Die!, so I’ll just recommend the books ABOUT writing for children/teens.

So here’s that:

The Magic Words - Cheryl B. Klein

Paperback Crush - Gabrielle Moss

The Way to Write for Children - Joan Aiken

And now for the books by not white authors that I personally recommend:

Elatsoe - Darcie Little Badger

Where the Mountains Meet the Moon – Grace Lin

Shadows Over Sherwood, The Lost Library - Kekla Magoon

The First State of Being – Erin Entrada Kelly

A Wish in the Dark – Christina Soontornvat

The City of Fire, The City of Ice, Dragonwings – Laurence Yep

Daydreamer- Rob Cameron

Rick Riordan Presents:

All of them, but especially:

Serwa Boateng’s Guide to Vampire Hunting- Roseanne Brown

Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky - Kwame Mbalia

Dragon Pearl - Yoon Ha Lee

Sal & Gabi Break the Universe - Carlos Hernandez

Young Adult

Flight – Sherman Alexie

I Was a Teenage Slasher! – Stephen Graham Jones

Legendborn/Bloodmarked/Oathbound – Tracy Deonn

Blood at the Root – LaDarrion Williams

A Tempest of Tea – Hafsah Faizal

The Gilded Wolves- Roshani Chokshi

Kingdom of Souls – Rena Barron

A Song of Wraiths and Ruin – Roseanne A. Brown

Six Crimson Cranes – Elizabeth Lim

Dread Nation – Justina Ireland

The Vampire’s Beautiful Daughter – S. P. Somtow

Lunar New Year Love Story – Gene Luen Yang/LeUyen Pham

American Born Chinese – Gene Luen Yang

Artie and the Wolf Moon – Olivia Stephens

Werewolf by Night: New Wolf Rising – Taboo

Vampires of El Norte – Isabel Cañas

Vampires Never Get Old – ed. Zoraida Cordova

Mexican Gothic – Silvia Moreno Garcia

Like Water for Chocolate – Laura Esquivel

Yellowface, The Poppy War, Babel - R. F. Kuang

The Grace of Kings, the Paper Menagerie – Ken Liu

Black Sun, Tread of Angels - Rebecca Roanhorse

My Heart is a Chainsaw/Don’t Fear the Reaper/The Angel of Indian Lake

The Only Good Indians – Stephen Graham Jones

Star Wars: The High Republic – Justina Ireland, Lydia Kang, Zoraida Cordova, Daniel Jose Older

The Fox Wife - Yangsze Choo

The Monstrous Misses Mai - Van Hoang

Dead Cat Tail Assassins - P. Djélì Clarke

Read them. Do it for ME.

Please be good, 2025!

Because 2024 . . . it was not. I was excited that it was a Dragon Year, because I was born in the year of the Dragon, and so was Baby Roo. Of course, that year, 2012, was terrible. Roo and I nearly died after he was born, and then in October, my little Pippin dog died. This year our dog had already died (RIP, my dear Elder Dog Sunny), and under the advisement of a friend that your zodiac year can cause “uneven luck” I took to wearing two red string bracelets: one with the blue evil eye charm on it and another with jade beads and a dragon.

My dad died in November. And the election was a couple of days later.

I hate you, 2024.

But I did read some good books, so there’s that. I guess. I’ve also run through these on my BookTube, but here is the list if you need to study it with your peepers.

Picture Books

Stickler Loves the World – Lane Smith

A Stickler Christmas – Lane Smith

Santa’s First Christmas – Mac Barnett, Sydney Smith

Just Like Beverly- Vicki Conrad, David Hohn

Pretty Ugly- David Sedaris, Ian Falconer

The Longest Letsgoboy- Derick Wilder, Cátia

My Big Dumb Invisible Dragon- Angie Lucas, Birgitta Sif

Drawn Together- Dan Santat, Minh Lé

Knight Owl and the Early Bird- Christopher Denise

Christmas Comes to Moominvalley – Tove Janssen

Middle Grade

Everything Sad is Untrue – Daniel Nayeri

Impossible Creatures – Katherine Rundell

The Reel Wish – Yamile Saied Mendez

I Am Half-Sick of Shadows – Alan Bradley

Not Quite a Ghost- Anne Ursu

Let It Glow – Marissa Meyer, Joanne Levy

Tree. Table. Book. – Lois Lowry

The Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels – Beth Lincoln

Majestica – Sarah Tolcser

Wrecker- Carl Hiaasen

The Eyes & the Impossible – Dave Eggers

Graphic Novels

The Mighty Bite/The Mighty Bite: Walrus Brawl at the Mall – Nathan Hale

Squire & Knight: Wayward Travelers – Scott Chantler

Lunar New Year Love Story – Gene Luen Yang, LeUyen Pham

Taxi Ghost- Sophie Escobasse

Illegal – Eoin Colfer, Andrew Donkin

Lore Olympus Vols. 5-7 – Rachel Smythe

Klaus, the Origin of Santa Claus – Grant Morrison

Young Adult

Accountable- Dashka Slater

Children of Ragnarok- Cinda Williams Chima

The Chalice of the Gods- Rick Riordan

The Merciful Crow- Margaret Owens

The Prisoner’s Throne- Holly Black

Royal Scandal- Aimee Carter

The Thirteenth Child – Erin A. Craig

I Was a Teenage Slasher – Stephen Graham Jones

The Forest Grimm – Katherine Purdie

Fate Be Changed – Farrah Rochon

Nonfiction

The Small and the Mighty – Sharon McMahon

If You Can’t Take the Heat – Geraldine de Ruiter

What in the World? – Leanne Morgan

The Danish Secret to Happy Kids – Helen Russell

Write Fearless. Edit Smart. Get Published – Lisa Mangum

A Fever in the Heartland – Timothy Egan

The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs – Steve Brusatte

Made in America – Bill Bryson

The Pioneers – David McCullough

The Wager – David Grann

Cookbooks

Does This Taste Funny? – Stephen Colbert, Evie Colbert

A Few of My Favorite Things – Veeda Bybee

Kneaders Bakery & Café – Colleen Worthington

Baking Yesteryear – Dylan Hollis

Adult Literature - Serious

I Cheerfully Refuse – Leif Enger

The Berry Pickers- Amanda Peters

The End of Drum Time- Anna Pylvainen

The Lincoln Highway – Amor Towles

The Marriage Portrait- Maggie O’Farrell

Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books – Kirsten Miller

Small Things Like These – Claire Keegan

The Paper Daughters of Chinatown – Heather B. Moore

The Book of Lost Friends – Lisa Wingate

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek – Kim Michele Richardson

Adult Literature – Light

Laughing Gas – P. G. Wodehouse

Yours Cheerfully – A. J. Pearce

The Luck of the Bodkins – P. G. Wodehouse

Bath Tangle – Georgette Heyer

The Christmas Wish – Lindsey Kelk

April Lady – Georgette Heyer

Funny Story – Emily Henry

Lies and Weddings – Kevin Kwan

The 12 Days of Christmas – Poppy Alexander

A Redbird Christmas – Fannie Flagg

Mysteries

We Solve Murders – Richard Osman

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year- Ally Carter

Murder Your Employer – Rupert Holmes

The Heiress – Rachel Hawkins

The Unwedding – Ally Condie

Dorothy L. Sayers’ Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries

Magpie Murders – Anthony Horowitz

Killing Moon – Jo Nesbø

The Blonde Identity – Ally Carter

Razor Girl – Carl Hiaasen

Science Fiction

Sea of Tranquility – Emily St. John Mandel

Polostan – Neal Stephenson

The Murderbot Diaries – Martha Wells

The Ministry of Time- Kaliane Bradley

Crimston Climb – E. K. Johnston

Fantasy

The Navigator’s Children – Tad Williams

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries/Map of the Otherlands – Heather Fawcett

The Spellshop- Sarah Beth Durst

A Sorceress Comes to Call – T. Kingfisher

I’m Afraid You’ve Got Dragons – Peter S. Beagle

The Warm Hands of Ghosts – Katherine Arden

The Angel of Indian Lake – Stephen Graham Jones

In the Labyrinth of Drakes/Within the Sanctuary of Wings – Marie Brennan

The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch – Melinda Taub

Empire of the Damned – Jay Kristoff

Special Mentions –

The Wood at Midwinter, a novella – Susanna Clarke

The Frame Up – Gwenda Bond (romcom with magic)

A Novel Love Story – Ashley Poston (romcom with magic)

A Sudden Wild Magic – Diana Wynne Jones (science fiction AND fantasy AND romcom)

I’m mostly over on the YouTube these days, telling you in glorious Technicolor (TM) what I think you need to read on my Jessica Recommends channel. But I thought I’d better stop back at the ol’ blog to let you know about some upcoming events.

First of all: This Friday (November 21st) I will be signing at the brand new Barnes & Noble Fashion Place (just south of Fashion Place Mall) and this PLEASES ME GREATLY. Why, you ask? Well, because when we first moved to Utah from New Jersey I worked in this EXACT SAME LOCATION, but it was a Borders Books! That’s right: I’m going home! So happy! I’ll be there from 5-7 pm, please come and wave and look around at the fabulous new store! These new Barnes & Noble stores are uh-MAZE-ing, if you haven’t seen one, you have to stop by! They’re so HUGE and they have the coolest bookish stuff!

Then, the very next day (November 22nd) I’m going to be at the new Park City Barnes & Noble! The first one they’ve ever had! WHAT?! So cool! I’ll be there at 10 am!

Also, I’m very aware that I have some orders to sign at my beloved King’s English in Salt Lake, so if you want to hurry and call in an order there to get personalized and signed, I’ll be stopping by in the next few days. They ship anywhere in the US.

That’s all for now! Happy Thanksgiving!

Yee Haw! Time to talk about what I read between Memorial Day and Labor Day, in this here year of 2024!

I had a lot of fun this summer, went some fun places, ate some great ice cream, and read some amazing books. I even got to do one of my favorite things: reading a good book on a beautiful beach! The beach was in the Bahamas, and the book was Children of Ragnarok, by Cinda Williams Chima. I have also talked about it on my recent BookTube. By the way, if you haven’t checked out my YouTube channel, please do! I’m having so much fun there! I’ve posted a video every week, usually on Wednesday, and covered all kinds of great topics: Favorite Dragon Books, Fifteen Books to Get to Know Me, soon we shall be seeing some seasonal posts, like Best Halloween Books, and my favorite: Best Christmas Books!

But I wasn’t able to do a list of all the books I read this summer in the video, so I said I would do it here! I read 48 books this summer, counting audiobooks, read alouds to the kids, and physical books read to myself. Not an all time best, but not too shabby!

Here they are, in alphabetical order:

The Angel of Indian Lake - Stephen Graham Jones

As Old As Time - Liz Braswell

The Book of Lost Friends - Lisa Wingate

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek- Kim Michele Richardson

The Children of Ragnarok - Cinda Williams Chima

The Clicking of Cuthbert - P. G. Wodehouse

The Danish Secret to Happy Kids - Helen Russell

Daughter of the Pirate King - Tricia Levenseller

Dear Mr. Henshaw - Beverly Cleary

Death of a Spy - M. C. Beaton

The End of Drum-Time - Hannah Pylväinen

Funny Story - Emily Henry

The Grey King - Susan Cooper

Hamnet - Maggie O’Farrell

I Cheerfully Refuse - Leif Enger

In the Labyrinth of Drakes - Marie Brennen

Klaus - Grand Morrison

Klaus: The Life and Times of Santa Claus - Grant Morrison

Klaus: The New Adventures of Santa Claus - Grant Morrison

Laughing Gas - P. G. Wodehouse

Lies and Weddings - Kevin Kwan

Lore Olympus: Volume Six - Rachel Smythe

The Luck of the Bodkins - P. G. Wodehouse

Made in America - Bill Bryson

The Magic Order: Volume One - Mark Millar

Majestica - Sarah Tolcser

The Merciful Crow - Margaret Owen

The Mighty Bite - Nathan Hale

The Might Bite: Walrus Brawl at the Mall - Nathan Hale

Murder Your Employer - Rupert Holmes

My Lord John - Georgette Heyer

Network Effect - Martha Wells

A Novel Love Story - Ashley Poston

The Paper Daughters of Chinatown - Heather B. Moore

The Prisoner’s Throne - Holly Black

The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs - Steve Brusatte

School Trip - Jerry Craft

Silver on the Tree - Susan Cooper

The Spellshop - Sarah Beth Durst

Strider - Beverly Cleary

A Sudden Wild Magic - Diana Wynne Jones

The Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels - Beth Lincoln

Tree. Table. Book. - Lois Lowry

Tristan Strong Destroys the World - Kwame Mbalia

Tristan Strong Keeps Punching - Kwame Mbalia

Vampires of El Norte - Isabela Cañas

The Warm Hands of Ghosts - Katherine Arden

Within the Sanctuary of Wings - Marie Brennen

The audiobooks of Dear Mr. Henshaw and Strider are delightfully narrated by Pedro Pascal, and I always ADORE audiobooks of Wodehouse. Laughing Gas was fantastic!

Banned Books week is coming up at the end of September, and in addition to doing a video highlighting some of my favorite books that have been banned or challenged, and why I am strongly against banning books, I encourage you to join Let Utah Read! if you’re in Utah, and to write to your local legislators to let them know that everyone, especially children, should have access to libraries and books.

Welp. I decided to become a BookTuber . . . ? Wait. Is that . . . a potato with words printed on it? That can’t be a thing? Is that what they’re called? I mean, there are lots of people out there on these here internets who are recording videos of themselves talking about books, and I would like to be one of them! But on the YouTube, because the Tiktoks alarm me. So I will be. Starting . . . tomorrow.

I love to see reading lists, I love to see BookToks and YouTube videos about books, especially if they’re just nice little lists like, Five Books to Get to Know Me, Best Books of 2024 So Far, I Read That Book Everyone’s Talking About. But I have a couple of pet peeves. Maybe three. One: Booktoks that cut off before they even tell you all the titles, so that you’ll try and find Part Two. Two: YouTube videos that are over 30 minutes long. ESPECIALLY when they only talk about like, 5 books. There is a very sweet young man whose BookTubes I watch, but I have never watched one without skipping ahead because GOOD NIGHT but they are always so long! Like an hour! And in the end he has only ever talked about five books! FIVE BOOKS AN HOUR?! My goodman, I can talk about five books in thirty seconds! What are you DOING?! Also, and I say this with love but also as my Pet Peeve Number Three: Talk. About. Other. Books. The last three videos from that sweet young man have featured the same books, despite the different categories! And I literally can’t tell most Booktoks apart, because they’re all the same books! All. The. Same.

Also, I used to love doing my newsletter, Jessica Recommends . . . But it was more like I loved the IDEA of my newsletter. I hated writing it. I always felt like I needed to write some totally introspective thing, and lead in for several paragraphs about, “here’s why I need to give you a list of favorite dragon books.” And I tried to make it a Top Ten List in every category (picture books, middle grade, YA, adult) and for every theme. It was exhausting. But I would go into it all bright eyed. I’d have a handful of my favorite dragon/witch/Christmas books right there at hand. But then it would just sort of balloon when I sat down to write the darn thing! And I hated plugging it in to the template for the newsletter. Most of the time I made my husband do it, and he hated it as much as I did.

So I thought, What if I just . . . talked about a handful of books I wanted to talk about? What if I just turned a camera on record and just talked for a few minutes? More than five, less than thirty? Held up my top titles, no matter how many, in a category? I don’t want fancy title cards. I don’t want to edit. I don’t want to dress up . . . I mean, yeah, I’ll wear make up because I do every day. I’m not a monster. But most of the time, in my office, I’m wearing my office clothes, which consist almost entirely of book themed t-shirts. So why not? Why not let y’all see my many Out of Print tees?

So here we are. I’ve had a YouTube channel for years. Did you even know?! I posted some videos of Pandemic Q&As I did. I posted clips from times I was on the news. And now I’m going to be posting videos of my talking about books! I’m going to bring back some favorite topics from the newsletters of yore. I’m going to talk about What I’m Reading Right Now at the beginning. And I solemnly swear that I will always keep it short. Fairly. My first one is ready to go, and it’s about 26 minutes long. But I do also explain what I’m doing, and sort of get a little distracted there at the beginning. It’s fun! It’s unscripted! It’s off the cuff! I might show off my office a bit, talk about what books I keep around me while I work! Endless possibilities!

So that’s the haps, peeps! Please Like and Subscribe and all those things! I’m pretty sure you can find me if you just look for Jessica Day George, but my handle is officially Jessicadaygeorge1668

Come and find me on YouTube! We’ll have fun! I’ll take topic suggestions! I’ll take book recommendations! I’ll answer questions!

Well, that was quite a year! There were some great things: fun trips with family, I went to my first writing retreat (Golden Grove Retreats) and I still think about it constantly. I found a doctor who got me a correct diagnosis for . . . everything I’ve got going on. Boy graduated from HS, and now he’s at college. The Barbie movie. The Dungeons and Dragons movie. I read Lessons in Chemistry and Yellowface. But then some bad things: my little old lady dog died. My thyroid still doesn’t feel like working correctly. We went with my whole family (except one brother) on a Disney cruise over Christmas, and my 80yo parents got COVID.

 So, I’m not superstitious, and I don’t usually get into astrology and things like that, but . . . I may have just ordered both an evil eye string bracelet and a red string bracelet with a small Chinese dragon charm. I was born in the year of the Dragon (fall of 1976), and I’ve always been excited with it’s “my” year. The whole “you’re a Libra, you’re like this” astrology does not work for me. There has never been a thing connected with that that has ever fit. No Buzzfeed quiz has ever even placed me as an air sign, let alone a Libra specifically. But any time I see characteristics about Dragons, it fits me. So I was excited for this upcoming Year of the Dragon, even though 2012 happened.

 What happened?

 Well, my youngest, precious Baby Roo, was born on the Lunar New Year, the first day of the Year of the Dragon 2012. And he was born so full of an infection that they didn’t even know what to do at first. He was so tiny (almost three pounds smaller than his sister) and so very not breathing. And then they realized that I, too, was full of infection. Specifically, Strep A. And as my doctor said: A is for Angry! We were in the hospital for several not very fun days. We came out of it, we did our best. There was job upheaval with my husband’s work. I had to scrap an entire manuscript because it was so bad. And then my tiny baby dog, my Pippin of Dragon Slippers fame, died suddenly. To be blunt: 2012 can absolutely kiss my . . . foot.

 After recent events I was very excited to tell 2023 goodbye, and thinking 2024 would totally be my year, once the Lunar New Year hit. It’s gonna be all dragon all the time! But then a friend posted on social media about the Lunar New Year and mentioned that Dragons need to watch out! I was confused, so I asked her she told me, At best, in the year of your zodiac, you have up and down luck. But you can also have very, very bad luck.

 Friends, I can’t handle very, very bad luck. Baby Roo is turning 12, he needs some luck. I haven’t published a book since 2020. I need some luck. I want a working thyroid. I want a completed manuscript that I’m happy with. And so I’m going to be that one weird white lady wearing a red string bracelet all the time. Because this, dammit, is going to be my year!

 And now, let’s talk about what I liked about last year!

 I mean, there was an absolute WEALTH of great books! Not all of them published last year, but many of them did, and there were movies! Such fun movies! I was going to do them separately, but what the heck, have a movie list, too! But honestly, I could hold up a book and go, this is my favorite book this year. And this one is my favorite book this year, too! Lessons in Chemistry! I sobbed! Kat Hats and Two Dogs! I laughed so hard! How Does Santa Get Down the Chimney? Marvelous! Warrior Girl Unearthed! Are you kidding me? Two masterpieces in a row? Elf Dog & Owl Head! It’s giving Diana Wynne Jones, as the kids say!

 Now, let’s get to it!

 Just don’t forget, if you make it through these lists and aren’t just done with me already, that you check out the Events page as well, as I’m just putting up some new and exciting events!

Picture Books

 Kat Hats – Daniel Pinkwater & Aaron Renier

How Does Santa Get Down the Chimney? – Jon Klassen & Mac Barnett

Hippos Remain Calm – Sandra Boynton

Woo Hoo You’re Doing Great! – Sandra Boynton

100 Mighty Dragons All Named Broccoli – David LaRochelle & Lian Cho

Two Dogs – Ian Falconer

Harold Loves His Woolly Hat – Vern Kousky

The Shortest Day – Susan Cooper & Carson Ellis

Mel Fell – Corey R. Tabor

Llama Rocks the Cradle of Chaos- Jonathan Stutzman & Heather Fox

The Haunted Lake – P. J. Lynch

Middle Grade

 Maizy Chen’s Last Chance – Lisa Yee

The Witch of Woodland – Laurel K. Snyder

Serwa Boateng’s Guide to Hunting Vampires – Roseanne A. Brown

Elatsoe – Darcie Little Badger

Juniper’s Christmas – Eoin Colfer

The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street- Karina Yan Glaser

Royal Wedding Disaster – Meg Cabot

Pages & Co: the Book Smugglers – Anna James

Kiki’s Delivery Service- Eiko Kadono

Elf Dog & Owl Head- M. T. Anderson, illus. by Junyi Wu

Stuntboy, in the Meantime- Jason Reynolds, illus. by Raúl the Third

Graphic Novels/Comics – Youth Edition

 Sunshine – Jarrett J. Krosoczka

A First Time for Everything – Dan Santat

Squire & Knight- Scott Chantler

Squire- Nadia Shammas & Sara Alfageeh

Frizzy- Claribel A. Ortega & Rose Bousamra

Things in the Basement – Ben Hatke

Artie and the Wolf Moon- Olivia Stephens

Can You Smell Me Now?- Mike Peters

Illustrated Novels- Youth Edition

 The Skull – Jon Klassen

Elatsoe – Darcie Little Badger, illus. Rovina Cai

Elf Dog & Owl Head- M. T. Anderson, illus. Junyi Wu

The Saga of Erik the Viking – Terry Jones, illus. Michael Foreman

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: No Brainer – Jeff Kinney

Graphic Novels & Comics – Adult Edition

 Ducks: Two Years in the Oils Sands – Kate Beaton

Dune the Graphic Novel, Book 2: Muad’dib- Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson, Frank Herbert, Raul Allen, Patricia Martín

Once & Future, Vol. 1-6- Kieron Gillen, Dan Mora, Tamra Bonvillain

Lore Olympus Vol. 3 & 4- Rachel Smythe

The Heartless Troll- Øyvind Torseter, Kari Dickson (translator)

Cryptid Club- Sarah Anderson

Saga Vol. 10- Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples

Young Adult- Science Fiction & Fantasy

 The Stolen Heir- Holly Black

Bloodsong/Bloodtide- Melvin Burgess

Bloodmarked- Tracey Deonn

How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories- Holly Black

Star Splitter- Matthew J. Kirby

The Darkest Part of the Forest- Holly Black

Aurora’s End- Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

Lirael/Abhorsen/Clariel- Garth Nix

The Sinister Booksellers of Bath- Garth Nix

Game Changer- Neal Shusterman

Six Crimson Cranes- Elizabeth Lim

Young Adult

 Warrior Girl Unearthed – Angeline Boulley

All My Rage – Sabaa Tahir

Royal Blood – Aimée Carter

Reign – Katharine McGee

The Only Girl in Town – Ally Condie

Nine Liars – Maureen Johnson

Promise Boys- Nick Brooks

One of Us is Lying- Karen M. McManus

Nonfiction

 Queer Ducks (and Other Animals) – Eliot Shrefer

Knitting Bag of Tricks – Patty Lyons

Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War- Nathanial Philbrick

The Ravenmaster: My Life with the Ravens at the Tower of London– Christopher Skaife

The World Record Book of Racist Stories- Amber Ruffin & Lacey Lamar

Adult Literature

 Lessons in Chemistry- Bonnie Garmus

The Winners – Fredrik Bachman

Yellowface – R. F. Kuang

The Dictionary of Lost Words – Pip Williams

Remarkably Bright Creatures – Shelby van Pelt

Nothing to See Here – Kevin Wilson

Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand- Helen Simonson

The Night Watchman – Louise Erdrich

The Making of Another Motion Picture Masterpiece- Tom Hanks

The Quarantine Princess Diaries- Meg Cabot

Whalefall- Daniel Kraus

Mysteries

 The Last Devil to Die – Richard Osman

The Running Grave – Robert Galbraith

The Villa – Rachel Hawkins

The Redeemer/The Leopard/Phantom/Police/The Thirst/Knife – Jo Nesbø

The Spy Who Came In From the Cold – John leCarré

Flight Risk – Cherie Priest

Adult Science Fiction & Fantasy

 Lightbringer – Pierce Brown

The Road to Roswell- Connie Willis

Starter Villain – John Scalzi

Fairy Tale – Stephen King

Nettle & Bone – T. Kingfisher

Babel – R. F. Kuang

A House With Good Bones – T. Kingfisher

Starling House – Alix E. Harrow

Don’t Fear the Reaper- Stephen Graham Jones

The Silo Trilogy – Hugh Howey

 Adult Romance

 Kiss the Girl – Zoraida Cordoba

The Seven Year Slip – Ashley Poston

Mr. & Mrs. Witch – Gwenda Bond

Enchanted to Meet You – Meg Cabot

People We Meet on Vacation- Emily Henry

No Words – Meg Cabot

Outshine – Nichole Van

Happy Place  - Emily Henry

Short Story Collections

 The Best of Connie Willis – Connie Willis

The People in the Castle – Joan Aiken

The Last Slice of Rainbow – Joan Aiken

Nordic Tales – Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, Parker Fillmore, Jón Árnason, Ulla Thynell (illus.)

Novellas

 The Crane Husband – Kelly Barnhill

Tread of Angels- Rebecca Roanhorse

A Spindle Splintered – Alix E. Harrow

Classics Read for the First Time

 The House of the Spirits – Isabel Allende

As I Lay Dying – William Faulkner

Midnight’s Children – Salman Rushdie

The Mystery of the Blue Train – Agatha Christie

Carmilla- J. Sheridan Le Fanu

The Sun Also Rises – Ernest Hemingway

The Gabriel Hounds – Mary Stewart

Remember: these are only roughly in order. To say that I liked Lightbringer more than The Road to Roswell is like saying that I prefer Yukon gold potatoes to Russets . . . They are both delicious! And good to read . . . or eat!

As for the movies, well! I’m already getting upset about America Ferrara not even being nominated for a Golden Globe, because her performance in Barbie (and not just her rant/monologue about being a woman) MADE that film! I won’t upset myself, I’ll just present you with my lists!

 Adult Movies

 Barbie

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

Polite Society

The Marvels

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Bullet Train*

John Wick Chapter 4*

Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning: Part One

Love at First Sight

 *I would totally let (and totally HAVE let) my kids watch all of these except those marked.

Kids/Family

 Spider- Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Blue Beetle

Haunted Mansion

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2023)

Elemental

The Portable Door

The Little Mermaid (2023)

Disenchanted

Wish

Netflix has been doing a series of short films based on

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar & Six More by Roald Dahl, and they are FABULOUS:

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar

The Swan

Poison

New to Me

 Blackkklansman

Nope

Just Mercy

Last Holiday*

Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar

 *I would only allow my kids to watch this one.

That’s it for me! Don’t forget to check out the events!

You all know by now that I love Christmas! It’s my favorite time of year, it’s my favorite holiday, it has produced some of my favorite books, movies, stories, music, foods, clothing, LEGOs . . . everything is just better at Christmas! I know that I’m very blessed and lucky to be able to say that, and I’m grateful every day.

This year has has lots of wild highs and lows, but mostly highs! Boy graduated from high school and started college, Baby Girl was in a musical (Newsies) something really out of her comfort zone! Baby Roo has become an expert on dinosaurs! A doctor was able to give me a correct diagnosis, and I have been slowly getting my health back! I went to Golden Grove Retreats and spent an amazing four days in the most nurturing environment I’ve ever experienced!

And. . . my dog died. That was a real low.

But you know what won’t let me down? Christmas books! So let’s talk about those! This past year has brought some of the most charming Christmas books ever. I know I say that every year, but it’s TRUUUUE. Now, some of these are older, and just perennially on my lists, but some are new, or maybe just new to you! And then of course we’ve got the movies and the music and all the good things! So raise a mug of peppermint hot chocolate, and get your plate of gingerbread, and let’s have some Christmas up in here!

Picture Books:

How Does Santa Go Down the Chimney? - Jon Klassen & Mac Barnett

Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Sleigh! - Mo Willems

Moo, Baa, Fa La La La La! - Sandra Boynton

Last Stop on the Reindeer Express – Maudie Powell-Tuck, Karl James Mountford

The Day Santa Stopped Believing in Harold- Maureen Fergus, Cale Atkinson

Refuge- Anne Booth

The Yule Tomte and the Little Rabbits- Ulf Stark, Eva Eriksson

The Christmas Magic- Lauren Thompson

The First Christmas- Jan Pienkowski

Merry Christmas, Mr. Mouse- Mark & Caralyn Buehner

 Best Read Alouds:

A Child’s Christmas in Wales – Dylan Thomas, illus. by Chris Raschka

A Christmas Carol- Charles Dickens, illus. by PJ Lynch

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever – Barbara Robinson

The Story of Holly & Ivy- Rumer Godden, Barbara Cooney

 Middle Grade:

Juniper’s Christmas - Eoin Colfer

Winterfrost – Michelle Hout

A Boy Called Christmas, The Girl Who Saved Christmas, A Mouse Named Miika - Matt Haig

Whispering to Witches - Anna Dale

Nancy and Plum- Betty MacDonald

Millions- Frank Cottrell Boyce

Sammy Keyes and the Runaway Elf- Wendelin van Draanen

Wishes and Wellingtons- Julie Berry

Tinsel: The Girls Who Invented Christmas- Sibéal Pounder

 Young Adult:

Talk Santa To Me - Linda Urban

My True Love Gave To Me- ed. by Stephanie Perkins

Let It Snow – John Green, Maureen Johnson, Lauren Myracle

So, This Is Christmas- Tracy Andreen

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before – Jenny Han

The Legend of Holly Claus- Brittney Ryan

Princess in Love- Meg Cabot

Adult :

The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding - Agatha Christie

The Secret History of Christmas- Bill Bryson

The Deal of a Lifetime- Fredrik Backman

A Lot Like Christmas- Connie Willis

The Last Devil to Die - Richard Osman

The Great Christmas Knit-Off- Alexandra Brown

Skipping Christmas- John Grisham

Miss Davenport’s Christmas- Marion Chesney

A Highland Christmas- MC Beaton

Miracle Creek Christmas- Krista Jensen

All Ages:

Knitivity: Knit Your Own Christmas Scene- Fiona Goble

 Letters From Father Chrismtas - J. R. R. Tolkien

A Literary Christmas: An Anthology- The British Library

Hard to Find Literary Gems:

The House Without A Christmas Tree- Gail Rock

The Unlikely Romance of Kate Bjorkman- Louise Plummer

Don’t Bite Me, I’m Santa Claus!- Tom Plummer

  Music :

A Christmas Cornucopia- Annie Lennox

Barenaked for the Holidays- Bare Naked Ladies

A Very She & Him Christmas– She & Him

On This Winter’s Night– Lady A

Happy Holidays- Billy Idol

Wintersong- Sarah McLachlan 

Other listening:

Christmas stories from the Vinyl Café – Stuart McLean

Movies:

The Muppet Christmas Carol (The best. I will die on this hill with a sprig of holly in my heart.)

Noelle

Klaus

A Boy Called Christmas

Shazam (Yes, it’s a Christmas movie. Yes, it’s wonderful.)

The Man Who Invented Christmas

Arthur Christmas

Mystery Science Theater 3000: Santa Claus Conquers the Martians

Mystery Science Theater 3000: Santa Claus (1959)

Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

Elf

A Christmas Story/A Christmas Story Christmas

Okay, sure, I said I was going to start blogging regularly, but then of course, life happened.

Alan Rickman as Marvin the Paranoid Android: Life! Don’t talk to me about LIFE.

And now it’s almost Christmas, and here we are. I was planning a lovely blog post about witch books . . . for . . . reasons. And I do have that list handy and I’m sure I will blog about it soon, but not right now.

Right now I’d like to give you a sneak peak of my best of 2023, as a way of telling you what you should definitely buy for yourself and your loved ones this Christmas!

Picture Books for all ages:

How Does Santa Go Down the Chimney? Jon Klassen & Mac Barnett

Woo Hoo! You’re Doing Great! Sandra Boynton (PS- It’s not out yet, but I’ve already pre-ordered Hippos Remain Calm. I still have Hippos Go Berserk memorized!)

Two Dogs - Ian Falconer

Kat Hats - Daniel Pinkwater

And for the adult who loves a gorgeous picture book: The Haunted Lake - P. J. Lynch

For the middle grade reader:

The Witch of Woodland - Laurel Snyder

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: No Brainer - Jeff Kinney (Listen, this series will probably outlive us all, and I will admit that a few of the books have run together in my brain into one big pile of Greg being awful, but this one is frankly HILARIOUS as it deals with all the crap happening to schools right now: book bans, underfunding, etc.)

Maizy Chen’s Last Chance - Lisa Yee

Serwa Boateng’s Guide to Vampire Hunting - Roseanne A. Brown

Excellent Ongoing Series: Pages & Co. - Anna James

Teens:

Bloodmarked - Tracey Deonn (Assuming they’ve already read Legendborn, of course!)

Warrior Girl Unearthed - Angeline Boulley

Royal Blood - Aimée Carter

Adult Books Mature Teens Will Adore:

The Road to Roswell - Connie Willis

Kiss the Girl - Zoraida Córdova

To Say Nothing of the Dog- Connie Willis

Dune - Frank Herbert (There’s a million gorgeous covers around, and an excellent graphic novel broken up into parts.)

Adult:

Lessons in Chemistry - Bonnie Garmus (I. Am. Obsessed.)

Yellowface - R. F. Kuang

Babel - R. F. Kuang

Beartown/Us Against You/The Winners - Fredrik Backman sobs in Swedish

The Dictionary of Lost Words - Pip Williams

For Grownups Who Like Murder: The Harry Hole mysteries - Jo Nesbø

For Grownups Who Like Magic AND Murder: The Dresden Files - Jim Butcher

For Grownups Who Prefer Wink Wink Nudge Nudge:

Mr. and Mrs. Witch - Gwenda Bond

The Little Bridge Island series - Meg Cabot

Graphic Novels:

Things in the Basement - Ben Hatke

Squire & Knight - Scott Chantler

Fangs - Sarah Anderson (a bit adult, and more a collection of comics, but I love them!)

Lore Olympus - Rachel Smythe (very adult, but I loooove them.)

Suitable for all ages, assuming you don’t already give these out as gifts:

The Dark Lord of Derkholm, The Year of the Griffin - Diana Wynne Jones

Miracle and Other Christmas Stories, A Lot Like Christmas - Connie Willis

A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens (My favorite is fully illustrated by P. J. Lynch)

Letters From Father Christmas - J. R. R. Tolkien

Things That Are Not Books, Which I Am Not Paid To Endorse:

Jellycat stuffed toys, specifically their fine line of dragons.

Maileg, a Danish company that makes old timey stuffed animals, from nearly life-sized fawns to adorable mouse families who come in matchbox beds and have numerous outfits and furniture pieces.

Pura Vida earrings, I have a pair that close like safety pins that are comfortable to keep in for days!

Lion Brand Schitt’s Creek yarn - fun colors, knits up beautifully.

Lion Brand Heartland yarn - so many colors! Also knits up beautifully.

Target’s Good & Gather hot chocolate - the Double Chocolate flavor is AMAZING.

Swedish dishcloths - brand is irrelevant. They’re super absorbent, feel like a triple thick paper towel, and machine washable, dahling, that’s a new feature . . .

Cath Kidston foldaway shopping bags - Fold up to the size of a deck of cards, can carry enormous loads, washable, adorable patterns. Every time I use them, the clerk, other customers, ask about them!

So there you have it! Some things to purchase for your loved ones, or just to treat yourself to! Pretty sure all these books are available in several formats from your local library!

And if you’re looking for a signed book by me, remember you can order through The King’s English Bookshop in SLC!

BUT ALSO! December 2nd (this Saturday), I will be at the Barnes & Noble @ Jordan Landing from 10-12, and at the Fort Union store from 3-5!

Happy birthday to me! Happy birthday to me! I just turned forty-sev-VEN, happy birthday to me!

I had a lovely day: High Tea with my sister, daughter, and youngest son, finished reading a great book (Whalefall, so weird! I loved it!), started listening to the audiobook of a favorite (Dark Lord of Derkholm) and had grilled cheese sandwiches (with green apple slices on sourdough!) and soup for dinner, along with a rich chocolatey cake! An excellent day! And I got such nice presents that I decided that I had better get presents for you, too, dear readers!

So, at midnight tonight, a giveaway goes live! And the prize is signed books! It’s free to enter!

Happy unbirthday, everyone!

Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/disp...?