Categories
Kissing Books

The Bestselling Book of the 2010s Was A Romance Novel (Ish)

Well folks, it’s the last Kissing Books of 2019. Can you believe it? We’ve had such a journey this year. Ups, downs, highs, lows. Hair-pulling controversies and absolute and utter delights. What’s been your favorite romance moment of 2019?

Since we won’t chat for a couple weeks (Book Riot is closed from December 25-January 1), you get all the KB components this good Monday morning. Think of it as a blast from the past from back when we were only doing this once a week.

News and Useful Links

We learned yesterday that OG romance novelist Johanna Lindsey died several weeks ago. She was 67.

Is anyone surprised that the bestselling book of the 2010s was Fifty Shades of Grey? Considering how many I see on shelves every time I go into a used book store, I’m surprised that people are surprised. As someone who DNF’d the first book and only saw the first move, I am very much aware of how much of an impact that book had on bookstores and booksellers, and how much the wave in the earlier part of the decade affected a large component of adults with money to spend.

Have you seen the trailer for Netflix’s adaptation of PS I Still Love You? Lara Jean is back!

Check out this Romance Humble Bundle! It’s hella white, but at least the money goes towards the ACLU.

If you missed what RWA had to say about The Hallmark Channel (which has a publishing arm and also partners with other romance publishers) removing advertisements featuring a lesbian kiss and then putting them back again, here’s there complete statement.

(And the reminder that RWA Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient Suzanne Brockmann acted as producer and writer for The Perfect Wedding, a pretty cute gay romcom.)

And if you’re still looking for holiday romances to read, check out this list from Autostraddle.

Over on Book Riot

I got to thinking about the whiteness of sports romance, especially after reading a few that didn’t live up to that stereotype.

And Sil matched a bunch of romance couples with their Hogwarts house pairings. (Because we can be disappointed in a creator and still use key cultural components of their intellectual property to have our own kind of fun.)

Do you like comics? I want to read about all of these people.

Deals

cover of White Whiskey Bargain by Jodie SlaughterHave you read the book half of Twitter still can’t shut up about? White Whiskey Bargain by Jodie Slaughter has all the things: moonshine, marriage of convenience, an Appalachia that isn’t just white. And did I mention family rivalry? It’s 2.99 right now (and you can also read it on Kindle Unlimited if someone happens to give you the gift that keeps on giving).

Upcoming Releases!

Since it’s the last KB of the year, I figured I should make sure the last few books of 2019 are on your radar! The books that are released after Christmas always get the short end of the stick, and often fall through the cracks. But I’ve heard a lot from early readers about some of these books, and I am looking forward to getting the time to read them.

Sweet Talkin’ Lover
Tracey Livesay

The first book in a new series about a group of friends, this one gives us a new take on a favorite trope: the workaholic and the civil servant. In this case, a marketing manager who needs to shut down a low-producing factory and Mayor McHottie, who will do whatever it takes to get her on his side.

The Prince of Broadway
Joanna Shupe

The second book in Shupe’s new series set in early Gilded Age New York City, this one is definitely set to be full of fireworks. He’s the owner of New York’s most exclusive casino, and she wants to open one of her own—just for women. He wants to ruin her family, and she knows but doesn’t care; with the knowledge she can gain from him, she has all she needs.

Cover of Love Lettering by Kate ClaybornLove Lettering
Kate Clayborn

Do you like calligraphy? Stationery? Planners? You’ll love Meg, who creates custom journals and all kinds of things for New York’s wealthy folks. She hints at the collapse of Reid’s approaching wedding with a hidden word in their wedding program, and when they meet again, Reid wants to know how. Too bad she’s too busy searching for her lost creativity.

There’s also a couple more that I know less about but am also looking forward to picking up:

Second-Chance Sweet Shop by Rochelle Alers

Forever My Duke by Olivia Drake

The Secret She Keeps by HelenKay Dimon

Every New Year by Katrina Jackson

So, That Got Weird by Amelia Klingston

And since tonight is the second night of Hannukah, it’s not a bad time to check out Xan West’s Eight Kinky Nights

What books are you finishing out the year with?

Enjoy your holidays as best you can, and I hope you manage to spend some time taking in the HEAs.

As usual, catch me on Twitter @jessisreading or Instagram @jess_is_reading, or send me an email at wheninromance@bookriot.com if you’ve got feedback, bookrecs, or just want to say hi!

Categories
Today In Books

“He Liked Having His Head Blown” Says Eliot Estate: Today In Books

Tiny Ladies

Have a listen to NPR’s Weekend Edition short segment on Little Women and books vs. movies when it comes to children and literature.

Garfield Going Once, Going Twice, Sold!

Garfield cartoonist Jim Davis is selling over 11,000 daily strips at auction, a couple of strips at a time. You can get one for yourself if you’ve got $500 or so (the strips featuring lasagna are valued higher, naturally).

“He Liked Having His Head Blown” Says Eliot Estate

The estate of Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats author T.S. Eliot has weighed in on the wild reviews for the Cats film, stating that Eliot “was an unusual person and this is such an unusual thing.”

Categories
Today In Books

Watch Megan Abbott’s DARE ME Now!: Today In Books

Watch Megan Abbott’s Dare Me Now!

Ahead of its December 29th TV premiere USA Network has streamed the first episode of Megan Abbott’s Dare Me Adaptation. The novel, and show, center around a group of high school cheerleaders, their new coach, and a murder–and it’s deliciously perfect like all of Abbott’s work. Watch the full first episode, Coup D’État!

Nerding Over Data

Clearly because The New York Public Library loves me, they’ve released the data on their top 10 most checked out books for the year. It’s separated by system-wide and then by branches: Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island.

Oh Look: More Nerding Over Data

Take the above NYPL most checked out books list and compare it to the D.C. Public Library’s list of most checked out books of the year. This list got separated by fiction, nonfiction, print, ebook, and magazines.

Categories
Book Radar

The First Trailer for TO ALL THE BOYS: P.S. I STILL LOVE YOU and More Book Radar!

It’s the last Book Radar of 2019! WHAT A YEAR. Despite everything going on out there in the world, there was no shortage of amazing book adaptation news, beautiful cover reveals, and exciting book deals. It has been so much fun to see all the new ideas coming to life and headed our way in the future.

By the time you read this, I will be in my jammies, hanging with my cats, and eating book after book, while BR takes a week off. I wish you all the best rest of the year, and whatever it is you’re doing this week, I hope you have something good to read. Thank you so much for visiting with me each week. I’ll see you again in 2020! – xoxo, Liberty

Here’s Monday’s trivia question: This famous author grew up in Los Angeles, after being born in Jerusalem, Israel? (Scroll to the bottom for the answer.)

Deals, Reels, and Squeals! 

Seven more actors have been added to the Netflix adaptation of Shadow And Bone. (Including The Cleaner from Black Books!)

Stephen Graham Jones has two books coming in 2020: Here’s the cover reveal for Night of the Mannequins.

Here’s the first trailer for The Woman in the Window adaptation starring Amy Adams and Julianne Moore. (Related: Did I already show you this?

And here’s the trailer for To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You, coming in February.

Tor.com has the cover reveal of Alexis Henderson’s The Year of the Witching.

You can watch the first episode of Megan Abbott’s Dare Me online now!

Here’s the cover reveal for Michael Ian Black’s new book, A Better Man.

Book Riot Recommends 

At Book Riot, I work on the New Books! email, the All the Books! podcast about new releases, and the Book Riot Insiders New Release Index. I am very fortunate to get to read a lot of upcoming titles, and learn about a lot of upcoming titles, and I’m delighted to share a couple with you each week so you can add them to your TBR!

Loved, loved, loved:

the unsuitableThe Unsuitable by Molly Pohlig (Henry Holt and Co., April 14, 2020)

(CW: Self-harm) Iseult (think ‘insult’ without the ‘n’) Wince is a young woman on the verge of being branded a spinster. Iseult’s mother died giving birth to her, but she hasn’t left Iseult’s life completely: she lives in a scar on Iseult’s neck and talks to her. Iseult has always found her mother’s presence a comfort, but now Iseult wants to be independent, of both her parents. Her father wants her out of the house, but his attempts to marry her off have been unsuccessful, partly because Iseult likes to tell guests about her neck-mother. (Neck-Mother is the name of my new band, I called it first.) So her father is down to the last eligible bachelor for Iseult. He’s a man with silver skin, and Iseult wonders if he might be the answer she’s been waiting for. The Unsuitable is a fiercely feminist Gothic novel of manners and body horror, that portrays spinsterhood, self-image, and mental illness in Victorian times in fresh light.

What I’m reading this week:

the vanishing halfThe Vanishing Half: A Novel by Brit Bennett

Drifts: A Novel by Kate Zambreno

Administrations of Lunacy: Racism and the Haunting of American Psychiatry at the Milledgeville Asylum by Mab Segrest

Follow Me to Ground: A Novel by Sue Rainsford

Resistance: A Songwriter’s Story of Hope, Change, and Courage by Tori Amos

Pun of the week: 

I was hoping to steal some leftovers from the party but I guess my plans were foiled.

Here’s a cat picture:

upside down zevon

sᴉɥʇ ǝpᴉs dn.

And this is funny.

Poor dinosaurs.

Trivia answer: Leigh Bardugo.

You made it to the bottom! Thanks for reading! – xo, L

Categories
The Kids Are All Right

Wonderful Board Books!

Hey, Kid Lit Friends!

I hope you’re reading this email from a comfy reading spot, with your feet up and a warm cookie next to you. The holiday season can be so hectic, so I’m hoping these last days of 2019 bring you rest and rejuvenation!

My kids are ages ten and eleven now, but I’ve had the opportunity to hold some babies in the last month and it has been wonderful! It brought me back to the days of reading board book after board book, so I thought I would round up some of my favorite board books here. Some are classics and some are new, but they are all books that I don’t mind reading over and over (and over!) again. Please note that all descriptions come from the publisher.

Goodnight, Rainbow Cat by Barbara Castro Urio

The youngest of readers will delight as each cat enters the house with the turn of a page, and one by one, the die-cut windows are infused with color. With reassuring warmth, charm, and an early-concept “colors” hook, this bedtime-themed novelty board book and its endearing cast of cozy cats offers a memorable and soothing way for little readers and their loved ones to say goodnight.

Peekaboo Morning by Rachel Isadora

A toddler plays a game of peekaboo, and you’re invited to play too. First there’s Mommy to find, with Daddy not far behind. Then Puppy comes peeking around the corner, and a favorite toy train brings the toddler to Grandma and Grandpa. Isadora’s brilliant, joyful pastel illustrations capture the familiar and cozy people, toys and animals that will delight babies.

Dream Big, Little One by Vashti Harrison

Featuring 18 trailblazing black women in American history, Dream Big, Little One is the irresistible board book adaptation of Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History. Among these women, you’ll find heroes, role models, and everyday women who did extraordinary things – bold women whose actions and beliefs contributed to making the world better for generations of girls and women to come. Whether they were putting pen to paper, soaring through the air or speaking up for the rights of others, the women profiled in these pages were all taking a stand against a world that didn’t always accept them.

A to Z Menagerie by Suzy Ullman

Each page is filled with diverse and colorfully illustrated first words to find and identify. It eeaches young readers hand-eye coordination, prediction skills, and rich vocabulary with providing an interactive experience of pulling tabs helps reinforce your little one’s journey to learning the ABCs

 

Do Cats Meow? by Salina Yoon

Do cows sing? Do cows cuckoo? All I know is cows go . . . MOO! Simple, rhythmic, and lots of fun, this big, brightly illustrated board book will have kids happily imitating all kinds of animal “talk.” For each creature–including a sheep, duck, frog, and cat—a giant “mouth” flap lifts up to reveal a new animal sound that will surely inspire a symphony of baa-ing, ribbiting, and meowing. And, at the end, children can open two barnyard gates to see and say all the animal sounds again.

Llamaphones by Janik Coat

Llamaphones, Janik Coat’s much-anticipated follow-up to Hippopposites and Rhymoceros, features witty words that sound the same but are spelled differently—and have different meanings. Like the other books in the series, this one features surprising novelties, including a touch-and-feel element, making homophones an easy and fun concept to learn.

Mr. Boddington’s Studio: NYC ABCs by Mr. Boddington’s Studio

This board book teaches the letters of the alphabet with illustrations of people, places, and things unique to the greatest city in the world. It is the perfect gift for anyone who loves New York!

 

Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell

Rod Campbell’s classic lift-the-flap book Dear Zoo has been a firm favorite with toddlers and parents alike ever since it was first published in 1982. Young readers love lifting the flaps to discover the animals the zoo has sent-a monkey, a lion, and even an elephant! But will they ever find the perfect pet?

Every Little Thing by Bob Marley and Cedella Marley, illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton

Every family will relate to this universal story of a boy who won’t let anything get him down, as long as he has the help of three special little birds. This cheerful book will bring a smile to faces of all ages—because every little thing’s gonna be all right!

Whose Toes Are Those? by Jabari Asim, illustrated by LeUyen Pham

Snuggle with a child on your lap with this cheerful rhyme inspired by the classic giggle-inspiring game of This Little Piggy. With lush, adorable pictures from New York Times bestselling illustrator LeUyen Pham, reminiscent of the beloved work of Ezra Jack Keats, this interactive board book full of toddler appeal is a perfect baby gift for parent-child playtime.

What are you reading these days? I want to know! Find me on Twitter at @KarinaYanGlaser, on Instagram at @KarinaIsReadingAndWriting, or email me at KarinaBookRiot@gmail.com.

Until next time!
Karina

*If this e-mail was forwarded to you, follow this link to subscribe to “The Kids Are All Right” newsletter and other fabulous Book Riot newsletters for your own customized e-mail delivery. Thank you!*

Categories
Today In Books

Best Selling Book Of The Decade: Today In Books

Best Selling Book Of The Decade

Place your bets on what the best selling book of the decade is–I’ll wait… Got it? Okay, the best selling book of the decade in the U.S., according to NPD Bookscan, is E.L. James’ Fifty Shades of Grey. 15.2 million copies were sold from 2010 through 2019. And super interesting: Over the decade, fiction dropped from being 80% of the top best sellers to 32% and 6.5 billion print books were sold and 1.8 billion e-books. Data, yum-yum!

The Gift That Are These Cats’ Reviews

I’m not really sure what is happening but after the embargo was lifted on reviewers opining over the film Cats, the claws came out. It isn’t that reviewers are saying they disliked the film, but apparently it’s so bad and weird that they’ve taken to some pretty wild and hilarious descriptions. All I know is these reviews, and Baby Yodita, are giving me life so keep them both coming.

J.K. Rowling’s Transphobic Tweet

J.K. Rowling decided to take to Twitter with a transphobic tweet as she defended the transphobic side in a British legal case. Maya Forstater, contracted with the Centre for Global Development as a consultant, made several transphobic comments leading CGD to not renew her contract. Forstater sued. The court ruled in favor of CGD and against Forstater: “is absolutist in her view of sex and … will refer to a person by the sex she considered appropriate even if it violates their dignity and/or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment. The approach is not worthy of respect in a democratic society.” J.K. Rowling wants everyone to know she stands with Forstater.

Categories
Swords and Spaceships

Swords and Spaceships for December 20: May the Force Be With You

Happy Friday, Resistance pilots and Jedi! It’s Star Wars week, and if you don’t Star or War, I’m sorry in advance, because it’s consuming my brain. Yes, it’s Blue Three, aka Alex, with some links and news–most of which is not actually Star Wars-related, I promise–to take you into the weekend and a little chatter about the Star Wars books I love.

News and Views

I am not linking to what people are already saying about The Rise of Skywalker because it’s honestly too much and I want to let the movie be what it’s going to be when I see it shortly. Instead, I’m going to link to Jeannette Ng’s gorgeous essay about what The Last Jedi meant to her. And also this deeply person essay about grief, loss, and Star Wars.

Orlando Jones was fired from American Gods and this is what he had to say about it. It’s incredibly upsetting. A spokesperson for the show provided a statement to Syfy wire.

Mousa Kraish was also ejected from the show, but was much quieter about it.

If you’d like to read the first couple of chapters of Docile by K.M. Szpara, Tor.com has you covered.

Historical sources and N.K. Jemisin’s Broken Earth trilogy.

Neil Gaiman’s getting another adaptation… to comic books.

Young People Read Old SFF: A Matter of Proportion by Anne Walker

An argument that scifi novels from the 1960s are still good because they got everything so gloriously wrong: Science Fiction’s Wonderful Mistakes

The Netflix Christmas Expanded Universe.

Oscar Isaac says the new Dune movie will be ‘shocking’ and ‘nightmarish.’ But can it really be more shocking and nightmarish than Sting’s far future speedo in the David Lynch version?

Screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan looks back on the big reveal in The Empire Strikes Back.

So there’s a nuclear war simulator if you’re looking to either depress yourself or write something truly post-apocalyptic.

Want five and a half minutes of Henry Cavill reading to you from The Last Wish?

Jason Isaacs has a few things to say about racists claiming to be fans of Star Trek.

Audobon takes on a very serious question: When is a bird a ‘birb’?

A glorious Twitter thread from the annual Planet Labs gingerbread spacecraft competition.

On Book Riot

This week’s SFF Yeah! has most-anticipated books of 2020.

10 Epic Fantasy Books Like Wheel of Time

A Magic Beyond: A Guide to Harry Potter Music

Quiz: Which Marvel Superhero Are You?

Free Association Friday: Star Wars

Because what else could I talk about today of all days? There’s still a relatively limited number of books that actually count as canon–particularly when compared to the sprawling and occasionally extremely wacky mess that is the Expanded Universe–but there’s still enough to be worth cutting it down to just a few books that are either very necessary or just darn good.

(And if you want to chat about Expanded Universe books some day, we can do that, too. Hilariously, thanks to my older brother having the worst luck when it comes to picking books, most of the EU books I’ve read have wound up on “worst” lists.)

cover of resistance reborn by Rebecca RoanhorseResistance Reborn by Rebecca Roanhorse is probably the number one most important Star Wars book at the moment. It’s the bridge between The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker and also ties together some disparate properties like Battlefield II. Of course, if you don’t get around to it in the time before you see the movie, I’m sure the opening crawl will explain everything we need to know anyway.

Last Shot by Daniel José Older is a Han and Lando novel, and do you really need to know anything more than that? Han’s just started his family with Leia with Lando shows up on their doorstep, needing help thanks to a criminal from their mutual past showing up.

Phasma by Delilah S. Dawson gives us the full origin story of Captain Phasma, and she is Not A Nice Lady, shockingly.

cover of Leia: Princess of Alderaan by Claudia GrayLeia, Princess of Alderaan and Bloodline by Claudia Gray are both excellent novels about our favorite space princess. The first book tells us about how her friendship with Holdo came to be–and makes us feel even sadder about Alderaan’s eventual fate because Leia’s mom is AWESOME–and the second book examines both the origins of the Resistance and the repercussions of Vader being Leia’s biological father.

Thrawn by Timothy Zahn has, in my opinion, the best part of the EU returning to canon. I love the first novel of the new Thrawn books because you learn about Thrawn and his human sidekick, Eli Vanto. To be honest, I loved the first book so much that the second book, Thrawn: Alliances, felt a little disappointing because there isn’t as much emotional meat; it’s mostly Vader being a dick and Thrawn being twistily Holmesian, which is satisfying, but not at the same level–though it does also feature some good moments for Padme, who is certainly owed them.


See you, space pirates. You can find all of the books recommended in this newsletter on a handy Goodreads shelf. If you’d like to know more about my secret plans to dominate the seas and skies, you can catch me over at my personal site.

Categories
Check Your Shelf

Doggos and Kitties and Bats…Oh My!

Welcome to Check Your Shelf! This is your guide to help librarians like you up your game when it comes to doing your job (& rocking it).


Libraries & Librarians

News Updates

Cool Library Updates

Worth Reading


Book Adaptations in the News


Books & Authors in the News


Award News


Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous


On the Riot


Thanks for hanging! See everyone on Tuesday!

–Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter. Currently reading The Farm by Joanne Ramos.

Categories
What's Up in YA

We’ve Got Your Year End YA Book News!

Hey YA Readers!

This is the last YA newsletter of the year. You’ll see a new edition in your inbox come January 2. But even though the end of the year is here, there’s still some good YA news to share. Let’s dig in.

In Case You Missed It…


Thanks for hanging out, y’all, and we’ll meet again in the new year!

— Kelly Jensen, @heykellyjensen on Instagram and editor of (Don’t) Call Me Crazy and Here We Are.

Categories
The Fright Stuff

Christmas Ghost Stories

I don’t know if y’all know this or not, but it used to be a tradition in England to tell ghost stories on Christmas Eve. Now, I love America and most of what we stand for, but of all the shitty traditions that we continue to perpetuate… ghost stories on Christmas!? That’s the one that should stick around (pun intended). I guess we can just blame its absence on the Puritans? 

I digress. The only Christmas ghost stories that I could think of were the obvious ones, like A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (which, also, are y’all as excited as I am for that new FX/BBC One miniseries adaptation? LET’S DO IT, JACOB MARLEY. RATTLE THOSE CHAINS, SON!) and The Turn of the Screw by Henry James. You may notice that both of these are written by old, dead, white guys. Most of the Christmas ghost stories are written by old, dead, white guys, since the tradition is old, dead, and white.

By the way, I’m Mary Kay McBrayer, your Virgil on this journey, and this is The Fright Stuff, Book Riot’s weekly newsletter about the latest and greatest in horror. This week’s theme is the Christmas Ghost Story!

Earworm: “Arabesque Cookie (Arabian Dance)” by Duke Ellington–this whole album is my favorite spooky, jazzy Christmas album. Like, at any moment, I expect a goblin in a sequin gown to exhale smoke in my face and start trimming the tree.

Fresh Hells: (AKA New releases)

Darkly: Black History and America’s Gothic Soul by Leila Taylor

In this cultural study and history, Leila Taylor, the Creative Director at Brooklyn Public Library details how the Gothic culture, which is largely associated with England (as you’ll see in this list), permeates Black American culture. It’s such an important book, especially because the Christmas ghost story should be for EVERYONE, and historically, not very many of those stories have been published by authors of color. (That doesn’t mean they don’t exist, though, as you’ll see in this gem!)

Hark! The Herald Angels Scream edited by Christopher Golden

This collection of horror stories with a Christmas theme features short works by many contemporary authors. They elaborate on tropes like the untying of Jacob Marley’s head bandage and the concept of Yankee Swap.

 

 

Monster, She Wrote: The Women Who Pioneered Horror & Speculative Fiction by Lisa Kroger and Melanie R. Anderson

Though this book is more so an anthology of women writers in horror, it’s this book from which I first learned of the Christmas ghost story tradition. (Sometimes it takes someone pointing out a trope for us to notice it, even though it’s been there all along.) They list MANY women authors in this text, and several of them are/were writers of the Christmas ghost story.

Connie Willis’s “Adaptation” from Miracle and Other Christmas Stories

Though these stories are not exactly straight-up horror, they blend science fiction with fantasy in a delightful reading experience. Who doesn’t love it when two of the ghosts from A Christmas Carol meet? And who doesn’t want to know what happens when they find EXACTLY WHAT THEY WANT under the Christmas tree? They’re ominous, and they’re delightful.

The Afterlife of Holly Chase by Cynthia Hand

This book is a fun YA retelling of A Christmas Carol, but instead of the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge, the protagonist is a spoiled teenage girl. The ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future try to warn her of what will happen, but she doesn’t listen. And then she dies.

 

Cryptkeepers:

“Christmas in the Beach House” by Eliza Lynn Linton (anthologized in The Valancourt Book of Christmas Ghost Stories)

This is one of the authors whom I learned of through Monster, She Wrote, and am so grateful to have done so! This story in particular has a supernatural bent, and is set on the Cornish coast, but the entire collection (three volumes, now!) anthologizes rare Victorian Christmas ghost stories that were collected from periodicals published at the time.

Gothic Tales by Elizabeth Gaskell

Unlike her predecessor and influencer, Ann Radcliffe, who explained away supernatural hauntings in the natural–for example, it’s not a ghost, just a stalker!–Gaskell’s stories feature bona fide ghosts. This collection groups many of them together so that you can choose your favorite to read around the fireplace as you wait for Santa to slip down the chimney and try to avoid those embers.

News:

I won’t lie: I don’t feel great about this list being predominately white folks and men, so basically ALL of the news is going to counterweight that!

Razzouk Ink in Jerusalem has been tattooing religious pilgrims for 700 years. Another amazing tradition!

It’s not just Christians around Christmas who love ghost stories. Everyone loves ghost stories. Here are some traditional ghost stories from Malaysia!

Check out this interview with M. Lamar and Leila Taylor about the long history of Afrogoth. It’s SO cool!

And because I can’t resist… have y’all seen the trailer for Rose Glass’ writer-directorial debut, Saint Maud from A24? It is SO SCARY.

That’s it, everyone. It’s time to go overeat with family and celebrate the birth of the Christ child with some spooky stories! I’m Mary Kay McBrayer, and if you want to LiveTweet about that A Christmas Carol miniseries with me, follow me on Twitter and Instagram!

Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a good night!

Your Virgil,

Mary Kay