I forgot to mention yesterday that Gracie was nose-to-nose with Oliver, and she didn’t bug him (though she was barking at him later). Gracie seems to be maturing. Yay.

I tried turning on the washer. It worked, so something is wrong with the dryer. I want to pull the washer and dryer out to make sure that the dryer is plugged in. (It would be really annoying to pay a service charge only to have them tell me that the dryer is unplugged!)Otherwise, I’ll get it fixed. I need to get some more laundry baskets to get the clothes off of the washer and dryer, and Dollar Tree has them.

I’m still feeling a little sick. I’m trying to decide whether to call in sick to work and my dental appointment. Done—I’m going back to bed. I did screw up though. I’m “on call,” which means to assign a working group to tickets, and I forgot to tell my backup that I was out. She was nice about it though.

I’m wondering if dehydration is causing my stomach issues. I’ll try to chug water.

Good. No rain predicted on the weekend so far, so I can get yard work done.

I’m back at work in the afternoon. The people at my job tend to take ½ sick days and try to log in in the afternoon, so I do too. I’ve had lunch and feel better.

Therapy went okay, but I logged on a little late because I was working on a program and lost track of time. We’re going to up my frequency of sessions because a friend might be staying with me, and she wants to help me work out any issues. She’s also sending me a link to a book called “Unfuck Your Boundaries”.

Worked on the kitchen.

I haven’t been mentioning that I might have a friend stay with me because I didn’t want to put pressure on her. But we had a long talk tonight, and I think that this is going to work. She wants to store some stuff at my place, so I need to measure the part of my basement that doesn’t have stuff in it and let her know how much space I have available.

I think that I’ll go to bed early though (famous last words) to sleep off the ick that I’ve been having.

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Posted by Athena Scalzi

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2026/07/09/the-big-idea-bryan-gruley/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=61518

BERJAYA

“Innocent until proven guilty” isn’t always as black and white as it may seem in some cases. Author Bryan Gruley takes a look at what happens when other factors are at play in a seemingly open and shut case of murder. Plunge into the icy depths of the Big Idea for his newest novel, River Deep.

BRYAN GRULEY:

In the middle of a northern Michigan winter, a young mother drives into a river, drowning her twin infant boys.

My God. Why?

Was she drunk? Or drugged? Or both? Was she under intense stress? Was the father complicit? Did she have a reason, however misguided, to plunge into that freezing water? If she was at the steering wheel, is she guilty regardless of countervailing circumstances?

I didn’t know the answer to any of these questions when I put Catriona Dulaney into the Jako River outside little Bitterfrost, Michigan, at the start of my novel, River Deep. And I worried that, however my story answered those questions, Catriona would inevitably repel readers. After all, how can a normal person empathize with someone who is at least partially if not totally, maybe even intentionally, responsible for the deaths of helpless children? Why impose on readers the burden of relating to such a reprehensible character?

Catriona’s story was inspired, if that’s the word, by a 1989 case involving a man named DeLisle who drove his wife and four children into the Detroit River, drowning the kids. I was a reporter at The Detroit News in Washington, D.C., at the time, and read with great interest my colleagues’ stories about how DeLisle confessed to the crime and was sentenced to life in prison.

More than thirty years later, I revisited the case as I was conjuring an idea for a new novel. I read about DeLisle in Blood on the Mitten, an anthology of Michigan murders by Tom Carr, and did some additional digging of my own. Even after 2020, I learned, DeLisle was still appealing his conviction on grounds that his confession was coerced. He had previously struck me as a pathetic sort, unwilling to accept any responsibility for what happened. But as I read the appellate pleadings, I focused more and more on the motivations and behavior of the law-enforcement people who nudged the hapless DeLisle to the precipice. They professed to be seeking truth but acted more like they were stalking a guilty verdict. Maybe DeLisle, I thought, and by extension, Catriona Dulaney, weren’t the only bad guys in the story. I wondered whether such a character could be relatable and, just as important, compelling?

The answer, at least initially, was no. When I delivered a first draft of River Deep to Laurie Johnson, my editor at Severn House, I didn’t know that she, like Catriona, was the mother of twins. Laurie was, shall we say, highly sensitive to my portrayal of the woman standing trial for the murder of her sons, Liam and Logan. In her editorial comments, Laurie said Catriona’s outlook on her children’s deaths “comes across as cold. She doesn’t even seem numb … and so she runs the risk of losing sympathy with the reader. It’s crucial that we see some form of emotional journey from Cat, so that by the time of the court case, readers are invested in her–even if she admits she’s guilty.”

Laurie’s assertion resonated with me, though not right away. Initially I thought, if Catriona admits she’s guilty, the story is over, isn’t it? I was mistaken, but only after thousands of words in rewrite did I see how and why. What mother who lost two eight-month-old children wouldn’t feel somehow responsible, even if she wasn’t involved? Whether she is deemed guilty or not guilty by a jury of her peers, might not she nevertheless assume every tincture of blame she could soak up? As if a guilty verdict would be beside the point. And then, what reader couldn’t muster compassion for this mother and the shadow that will follow her to her grave?

I wrote through the entire novel with these questions and their possible answers in mind, dropping in details, dialogue, and a bit of back story that I hoped would close the emotional gap between Catriona and readers. I rewrote the last half-dozen chapters of the book and had both Catriona and Devyn confront the matter of Catriona’s relative guilt or innocence head on. Only readers can decide how well or even whether I succeeded, but when I finished, I was at peace with the character, even if she wasn’t entirely at peace with herself.

River Deep: Amazon|Barnes & Noble|Bookshop|Powell’s|Horizon Books (Bryan’s hometown bookstore; signed/personalized copies available)

Author socials: Website|Facebook|Instagram|Goodreads|X

Read an excerpt: First Chapter of RIVER DEEP

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2026/07/09/the-big-idea-bryan-gruley/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=61518

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Posted by John Scalzi

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2026/07/09/rip-bonnie-tyler/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=61509

Watch on YouTube

At the time one didn’t think of it, because of course one never does at the time, but looking back from the vantage point of 40+ years, “this “Total Eclipse of the Heart” was one of the most 80s songs with one of the most 80s videos that ever 80ed the 80s. Bonnie Tyler! Jim Steinman! Russell Mulcahy! (The last two being the songwriter and video director respectively, the latter who also directed Highlander, and the former who wrote every astoundingly bombastic pop song you can think of between the late 70s and the early 2000s.) All together in one ridiculously over the top package. It practically sweats cocaine.

Ms. Tyler did have other hits, big ones, too (“It’s a Heartache,” “Holding Out For a Hero”), but this is the one she’s remembered for in the pop consciousness. There are far worse songs, and things, to be remembered for. Wherever there is a karaoke machine, she will yet live. Fair travels, Bonnie.

— JS

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2026/07/09/rip-bonnie-tyler/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=61509

smartbitches_feed

Posted by Amanda

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2026/07/ya-fantasy-and-contemporary-romances/

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=174737

Annie Knows Everything

Annie Knows Everything by Rachel Wood is $1.99! This one feels like contemporary fiction with a subplot of a workplace romance, rather than a full on contemporary romance. However, please correct me if I’m wrong!

Annie thinks she knows what’s best for everyone. But when her life goes sideways, the inner workings of her own heart become a total mystery—can she stumble her way to happily ever after?

“This is the tech-world romance I didn’t know I was craving. Crisply written, smart, and full of unique, quirky characters, this is a truly joyful and healing love story. I give it five big stars.”—Annabel Monaghan, New York Times bestselling author of Nora Goes Off Script

After getting let go from her job and learning her sister is engaged to the worst man alive, Annie needs a win. Filling the open role in her company’s data strategy team is just what the doctor ordered. So what if she doesn’t know how to write code? How hard can it be? Surely Connor—the team’s overworked, aggravating, and distractingly hot interim head—will soon realize how capable Annie is.

Annie sets her sights on landing this new job, even if that means ignoring the chemistry building between her and her new boss, and she tries to (gently!) convince her sister to reconsider her engagement. But with sparks flying at work and at home, she begins to see how complicated taking matters into her own hands can be. Maybe, just maybe, Annie doesn’t actually know everything.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

In Your Dreams

In Your Dreams by Sarah Adams is $2.99! This is book four in the When in Rome small town romance series. The heroine is a chef and the hero is her brother’s best friend.

Madison Walker left Rome, Kentucky, determined to make it in the culinary world. But after years of chasing success in New York, all she has to show for it is her shattered confidence and a desperate need for a fresh start. Coming home isn’t part of the plan—until an unexpected job offer lands in her lap: the head chef position at a new farm-to-table restaurant in her hometown. The only catch? It comes from James Huxley, owner of Huxley Farm, her brother’s best friend.

James has always played it safe, keeping his head down and running the family business. But when Madison’s happiness is on the line, he’s willing to take up his estranged brother’s offer to launch a restaurant. James has loved her quietly for years, knowing she’s never seen him as more than an annoyance, but now that she’s back, he’s determined to change that.

Madison and James are tasked with launching the dreamy restaurant in record time, but keeping things strictly professional soon becomes impossible, and the town can’t help but meddle in their relationship. As opening night looms closer, Madison’s fears threaten to hold her back.

When an unexpected disaster collides with a long-simmering sibling feud, both Madison and James will have to face their biggest insecurities—and decide if love is worth the risk or if some dreams are safer left untouched.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

Pipe Dreams

Pipe Dreams by Sarina Bowen is $1.99! This is book three in the Brooklyn Bruisers hockey romance series. It seems that illustration covers have claimed another series.

A goalie has to trust his instincts, even when taking a shot to the heart…

Mike Beacon is a champion at defending the net, but off the ice, he’s not so lucky. A widower and a single father, he’s never forgotten Lauren Williams, the ex who gave him the best year of his life. When Lauren reappears in the Bruisers office during the playoffs, Beacon sees his chance to make things right.

Lauren hates that she’s forced to travel with the team she used to work for and the man who broke her heart. There’s still undeniable sexual tension running between her and Mike, but she won’t go down that road again. She’s focused on her plans for the future—she doesn’t need a man to make her dreams of motherhood come true.

Lauren plays her best defensive game, but she’s no match for the dark-eyed goalie. When the field of play moves to Florida, things heat up on the beach.

One of Mike’s biggest fans doesn’t approve—his teenage daughter. But a true competitor knows not to waste the perfect shot at love.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

The Faraway Inn

The Faraway Inn by Sarah Beth Durst is $2.99! This is a YA cozy contemporary fantasy with some romance. If you’ve been keeping up with Durst’s adult cozy fantasy romances, there’s a fourth book out in January.

A teen girl decides to spend her summer helping her eccentric great aunt manage her quaint Vermont inn—only to discover that the fixer-upper is hiding a magical secret—in this cozy and irresistible new young adult fantasy from the New York Times bestselling author of The Spellshop.

“Frosted with whimsy and sprinkled with joy, The Faraway Inn is a testament to why Sarah Beth Durst is the queen of cozy fantasy!”—Tricia Levenseller, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Darkness Within Us

When sixteen-year-old Calisa arrives at her great-aunt’s B&B in rural Vermont for the summer, she’s shocked to find a rundown inn rather than the cozy bed-and-breakfast she was expecting. Grumpy and eccentric, Auntie Zee is determined to keep anyone from messing with her beloved inn . . . even though she clearly needs the help.

To convince her great-aunt to keep her around, Calisa sets to work fixing up the inn, enlisting extra help from the groundskeeper’s (handsome) son. But the longer she stays, the surer she is that there’s something strange about the B&B—and its guests. Something almost . . . otherworldly.

The inn is keeping a magical secret—but to protect the place she’s come to love, Calisa must unravel the truth before it’s too late.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2026/07/ya-fantasy-and-contemporary-romances/

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=174737

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( Scans under the cut... )

oursin

Brain’s sex differences are subtle and contradictory, large MRI study finds:

But even apparently null results, as in the current study, are useful, Sanchís Segura says, “because it’s important to talk about when men and women are similar” in a field that is biased toward finding bias. For example, the way brain activation mapped onto behavior was largely the same for men and women, the new study found.
“You can prove that a difference exists, but you cannot prove that a difference doesn’t exist,” she says. “You can put into PubMed, ‘sex differences,’ and you will have thousands of papers, but what if I want to look for the absence of differences? We don’t even have a word.”

Also about finding what you want to see there:

No evidence for ‘witches’ marks’ claims at old English buildings, historian says:

Over the years, English Heritage and Historic England have claimed to have identified large numbers of “witches’ marks” or “ritual protection symbols” on the walls of historic buildings, including medieval churches and houses.
Now a leading architectural historian has said there is “absolutely no evidence” that these marks have anything to do with witches or any “mystical meanings”.
Daisy wheels, or hexafoils, are among symbols that are no more than the marks of stonemasons who worked on those buildings, according to Jennifer Alexander, a professor of architectural history at Warwick University and author of a new study.

This one is a bit more niche, in that I had not actually come across it, but it resonates with other cases where there is A much-circulated Story which based on Something Somebody Told Someone based on their vague recollections or something they thought they saw, or, in fact, conflating several different stories....

What Do You Do with a Phantom Sailor Suit? A New Note with Some "New" Old Evidence on Cornell Woolrich, the Blackton Sisters and the Infamous Story of the Sex Diary

I had some vague knowledge of Woolrich, but pretty much only as 'er, wrote noir novels in the 30s or thereabouts? some of them became movies???'

I'm also slightly sceptical of the 'unconsummated marriage' alternative narrative simply because if you realised you had made A Dreadful Mistake this was probably an easy out via annulment? (will concede that I have personally written scholarly article deconstructing a famous allegedly non-consummated marriage narrative in the light of the British divorce laws of the early C20th)

But the whole 'create sensationalist account on basis of I think this happened/I made it all up' is not unfamiliar to moi.

smartbitches_feed

Posted by SB Sarah

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2026/07/what-is-your-favorite-book-youve-read-so-far-this-year/

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=174654

A red bookmark against a white background. The bookmark is a red ribbon with a notch cut into the bottom
We are a few days past the halfway point of 2026 (we made it!) and I am asking an important, difficult question.

What is your favorite book you’ve read so far this year?

Rules: you may name 1 fiction and 1 nonfiction.

That is the limit.

Yes, I’m know. I’m terrible.

Also: the book does not have to be a 2026 book! Any book you haven’t read before is a new book.

Sarah: I’m the one asking, and here I am thinking, Oof, that’s a tough one, because I’ve read some really, really good books and I’m very happy about it.

A | BN | K | AB

My favorite fiction that I’ve read so far this year: Romantic Hero by Kirsty Greenwood. I read this book on vacation in May, and it still gives me warm, fizzy feelings, probably because of the perfect combination of being a book that made me laugh and cry, and a book that I read in a swimming pool. Kirsty was my podcast guest last week talking about this book, too.

My favorite nonfiction, hands down, is Like, Follow, Subscribe: Influencer Kids and the Cost of a Childhood Online by Fortesa Latifi, because I am not going to stop thinking about the things I learned in this book for ages. I have been thinking about the children of the original mommy bloggers and influencer families for literal decades, and this book confirmed many of my suspicions about exploitation. It also forced me to confront some of my own conclusions and reevaluate them. (Fortesa Latifi was also my guest on the podcast earlier this year.)

A | BN | K | AB

Lara: I have read a handful of truly excellent books this year. If I were cheating, I would choose an author, rather than a book. My introduction to CS Harris/Candice Proctor this year has been glorious. But if you were to really turn the thumbscrews, I would choose Star Shipped by Cat Sebastian. That book had me cheering and breathless with joy for the duration! But if the criteria were which book had the strongest impact on me personally, then I’d say Vera Stein is Fine by Julie Murphy, as Vera and I both have big life changes happening.

Sarah, how badly did I cheat? Oopsy.

Sarah: I’ll allow it.

Amanda: I’ve only had one five star read so far this year and that honor goes to Against a Wall by Cate C. Wells.

Shout out to Katie for the recommendation. She had previously signed up for After Dark recs and we had a convo via email about Cate Wells and where I should start. She recommended this one with the caveat that it’s kind of an enemies to lovers, bully romance if that is or isn’t my bag.

I also want to mention DiscoDollyDeb’s really great description of Wells’s heroes:

As I frequently assert, her heroes tend to be men who want to do better but often lack the emotional bandwidth to do so without blunders. Wells’s style isn’t for everyone, but, if she hits your sweet spot, she’ll undoubtedly become an auto buy.

I really appreciated seeing a hero repeatedly try to get the heroine’s attention or try to understand her and her interests. I also thought it had an interesting take on small towns we don’t often see in romance and certainly, though briefly, touched on the socioeconomic issues and racism that lies at the foundation of these communities.

A | BN | K | AB

Elyse: My favorite book of the year so far really surprised me: Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton. This is a non-fiction book that recounts a period of time during COVID lockdown when Dalton raised a baby hare she found abandoned in her garden.

Dalton raises the hare with the intention that it returns to the wild (it does), but it also repeatedly returns to her home as well. It’s a beautiful memoir of appreciating wild things and allowing them to be wild, but also about her budding awareness of the natural world outside her home. It’s just an incredibly soothing and intimate read that was wonderfully relaxing for my brain.

What about you? What is your favorite book you’ve read this year?

Remember: you can name up to 1 fiction and 1 nonfiction, and it does not have to be a 2026 book!

Update! Y’all have so many good recommendations that we have some shopping options, should you wish to add these titles to your library or TBR.

First, an an Amazon storefront with your picks (in progress, since you’re still commenting).

A screenshot of the list of your favorites in a storefront including Much Obliged, This Kingdom Will not Kill me, and Lush Money

And, a Bookshop.org list – don’t forget to pick the store that will benefit from your purchases, from local indie bookshops to friends of the library organizations!

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2026/07/what-is-your-favorite-book-youve-read-so-far-this-year/

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=174654

elisi

A little explainer for people overseas who are wondering wtf is happening in UK politics at the moment. The video freezes a little way in, but the sound is fine which is the main thing.

Watch on YouTube

And here is a little interview with Count Binface himself. 🗑🏆

Watch on YouTube

ETA: OK, I couldn't help myself...

MPs make fun of Farage resigning

Watch on YouTube

Current Mood: silly

days_unfolding

Woke up at 8 AM. Oliver scratched up my leg because he was on my lap and I tried to get him off, and he slipped. Sigh.

There was a flurry of activity when I started work because of a problem with some Web pages that I posted. I fixed them.

I went out to lunch with the AARP-affliated women’s group. It was nice, but I had to leave early to get back to work, so I felt a little like I had just got there. I told them that I’ll try to get to more of their lunches. My stomach is upset now though (I don’t think that it was the food, but my IBS), but I can’t leave work to lie down when I just got back from lunch.

Oh! I discovered that there is a Le Peep restaurant in Champaign. It’s a really good breakfast chain that I thought was only in the Chicago area. I’ll have to go there soon. It’ll be a little sad though because I used to go to Le Peep with my mom.

My stomach is still kind of wacky. I thought about going to piano class, but I think that I’ll lie down instead. I tried eating something to see if it helps. Couldn’t sleep; my brain was whirring about the things that I needed to do. Oliver was snuggling with me though.

I checked to see if the dryer was plugged in because it isn’t turning on. It seems to be, but it’s hard to tell because the dryer vent is in the way. I’ll have to get someone in to look at it, but I need to check the circuit breaker box first. Meanwhile, I have the heated drying rack.

Got the recycling out. Two full bins and some boxes. The forecasters are predicting rain late in the morning, but I’m hoping that the recycling people will get the boxes before then.

Fed us all. My stomach is still upset despite the food. I need to get to bed soon to settle my stomach, and I need to shower before work because of a dentist’s appointment.

jazzfish

Paul William Davies et al, The Residence

A cosy whodunnit set at the White House during a state dinner. About six hours' worth of material, spread over eight hour-long episodes. Rapid-fire dialogue reminiscent of Howard Hawks's screwball comedies, a fun birding-obsessed detective, and a great cast. Recommended.

Three thoughts after the last episode:

1) That last episode is emblematic of the Netflix Way. The detective gathers all the suspects to walk them through the crime, as is traditional for the genre (though she's doing it to see who will give themselves away, rather than because she knows). So she takes them all through a recap of everything that's come up in the series so far. Then, just in case you missed it, she spells out explicitly how the murder was committed, again, for the big reveal. Dumbed down, for people who've been half watching and half scrolling. Kudos to the writers for managing to keep the rest of the show interesting, but I was about ready to gnaw my arm off to escape yet more Here's What Happened.

I recognise that audiences can't be trusted anymore, what with the proliferation of videos explaining the ending of even fairly straightforward movies. I just wish it weren't so.

2) I did not so much call the culprit as really really want it to be that person.

3) The whole series demonstrates how mysteries are a fundamentally conservative genre. ( spoilers follow ) I have no beef with this in general; it's just really obvious, and not a little frustrating, in this instance.

scalziwhatever_feed

Posted by Athena Scalzi

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2026/07/08/the-big-idea-haralambi-markov/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=61502

BERJAYA

Death is a rather big part of life, so it makes sense that author Haralambi Markov kept writing about it, whether that was intentional on his part or not. In the Big Idea for his newest collection of short stories, Markov talks about his own experience with mental illness and death that contributed to this horrific yet strangely hopeful collection titled The Language of Knives.

HARALAMBI MARKOV:

“You want to die.”

That’s the first thing a friend of mine told me after reading the first stories I’d written. We were in high school at the time. The second thing he told me is that I shouldn’t write in English before learning how to do it in Bulgarian, because that’s my mother tongue. He was a writer as well, although he wrote literary fiction and listened to Mozart. I respected him a lot at the time, which is probably why I took great offense at both statements and chose to ignore him.

I continued to write in English—definitely the right decision, although there’s a whole separate essay to be written about the difference in my approach to writing in two different languages—and I mostly tried to forget the comment about death. But I couldn’t really shake it off. Not when I consistently return to death and dying as themes in my work, even when I was trying to write science fiction and fantasy. The whole conceit of “The Language of Knives,” the title story in my collection, is the meticulous rendering of a body to blood, bone, and meat before being presented as cake to the Gods to be granted entry into the afterlife. The transition to horror and weird fiction happened on its own without much of a conscious choice.

Over the years, I developed deep bouts of depression. I’ve been diagnosed with bipolar II disorder for about seven years now, but have been living with it for far longer, and until my medication started working, I really, really wanted to die. If I have to summarize the big idea behind my collection, as much as my body of work over the past decade can have one, it would be the horror of existing and how one deals with an enormous death drive.

I didn’t realize I was fantasizing about my own death until much later, when I first experienced serious depression. It felt very hopeless, and much of my university years were filled with suicidal ideation. You find some of the weight of that in my story “Nine Tongues Tell of,” where the protagonist Damyana willingly follows a halla—a predatory weather spirit—to its lair, even if that means death rather than facing the prospect of yet another bleak day. Similarly, Lazar from “The Town the Forest Ate” finds himself alone in a cursed forest at night, compelled by a samodiva to skin himself alive. A terrible fate for sure, but also a quick escape from a curse placed upon his entire town.

Both stories view surrender to death as cathartic. Death is the ultimate liberation from life that feels like an inescapable trap. I don’t think I was consciously writing about my own death, but felt such relief upon finishing each story. I found joy in the symbolic death through botanical transformation in “When Raspberries Bloom in August”; self-acceptance in the body horror of “Holding Hands with Monsters,” where my protagonist chooses to become a monster after being visited by one each night for years; and reconciliation with the past as my protagonist faced extinction in the eco-horror of “Convalescence.”

A lie I maintained until as recently as arranging the stories in my manuscript was that my writing was not autobiographical. Very much not true. Reading the book, to me personally, felt like I was trying to work out how to be for the past thirteen years. All the ways I metaphorically experienced death through my characters became all my attempts to live and make a life worth living. A crucial moment in “The Drowning Line” has my protagonist confront and overcome the ghost of an ancestor, who has made each member of his bloodline drown in the place where he was drowned centuries ago. Similarly, in “Baba Yaga Helps Build a House,” Hristian overcomes his grandmother, Baba Yaga, and earns a new beginning. In “Swallow,” my protagonist summons the ghost of his deceased father, also a medium, and is able to leave an abusive relationship. Yes, there’s death and carnage, but that’s on par for the genre. The point is that the latter portion of my collection contains hope that there is an after and it’s better than what was before.

I’ve been in remission for a year and seven months, and before that, have done remarkably better in my thirties than in my twenties. To my high-school friend, I concede. You were right, but I am thrilled to say that your assessment is not true anymore.

Author socials: Facebook|Instagram

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2026/07/08/the-big-idea-haralambi-markov/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=61502

oursin

What I read

Finished Second Wind, which was really a bit kitchen-sinky in all the stuff that happened to Our Hero the Physicist Turned Weatherman - I thought Rare Form of Bovine TB was really going a bit far after all the flying through hurricanes etc.

Finished Free for the book-group - account of growing up in Albania just before and just after the Fall of Communism, in a family with rather a lot of intricate backstory on both sides. And a lot of it narrated via perspective of very young person who is, understandably, not being told everything by the parents and living under that particular regime.

Then read JD Robb, Stolen in Death, (In Death #62) (2026), and while I am always pleased when Dallas is not chasing a serial killer or someone with weird perverse agenda, this one did not seem to me one of the top entries in the series, quite apart from the jewel theft from the TATE!!! blooper. (I was trying to construct any scenarios in which there would be v pricey jewels on display alongside, you know, all the PAINTINGS and some sculptures.)

Then I re-read, the first time in a Very Long Time, George Eliot, Felix Holt, the Radical (1866). A lot of it reads like practice-steps for Middlemarch, which has so much more going for it. The plot-stuff to do with legacies, lost heirs, etc, is pretty clunky. Felix himself is somewhat of a pain. There's not much of her humour. Even so, there's some terrific stuff there.

On the go

Winifred Holtby, Poor Caroline (1931), which I appear to have re-read slightly more recently than I thought, though still not very recently.

Up next

There's a new Literary Review. Otherwise, feel I am on a bit of a re-reading things kick.

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laughing_tree posting in

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"It can be intimidating to a new reader. With ‘Spider-Man TODAY,’ we wanted to make sure that a new reader could pick this up, start here, and not feel left out. So we hold your hand through it. In fact, you see parts of Spider-Man’s origin in each issue as we go through there, and then other characters' origins as we get beyond just this first arc. We wanted to make sure that this entry-level comic was a welcome mat saying, ‘Come on in, the water's fine.'" -- Nick Lowe

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Posted by Amanda

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2026/07/earls-dark-lords-more/

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=174734

The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy

RECOMMENDED: The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen is $1.99! Sarah loved this one and gave it an A-:

If you like fantasy with characters that might sound like your neighbors sometimes, in a world with big stakes and little stakes and magical talking animals who deliver the mail, and especially if you like epistolary novels that lead to characters becoming more of themselves, you’ll like this undertaking. (Bad dum bum.)

Hart Ralston is a demigod and a marshal, tasked with patrolling the wasteland of Tanria. The realm the exiled old gods once called home is now a forsaken place where humans with no better options or no better sense come seeking adventure or spoils, but more often end up as drudges: reanimated corpses inhabited by the souls of those who’ve died in Tanria before. Hart tells himself that his job is simple: neutralize the drudges with a quick zap to the appendix and deliver them back to polite society at the nearest undertaker’s, leaving the whys and hows of the drudge problem for men without the complexities of a god in their family tree. But working alone, Hart’s got nothing but time to ponder exactly those questions he’d most like to avoid.

Too much time alone is the opposite of Mercy Birdsall’s problem. Since her father’s decline, she’s been single-handedly keeping Birdsall & Son undertakers afloat in small-town Eternity—despite definitely not being a son, and in defiance of sullen jerks like Hart Ralston, who seems to have a gift for showing up right when her patience is thinnest. The work’s not the problem—Mercy’s good at it, better than any other Birdsall—but keeping all her family’s plates spinning singlehandedly, forever, isn’t how Mercy envisioned her future.

After yet another run-in with the sharp-tongued Mercy, Hart considers she might have a point about his utter loneliness being a bit of a liability. In a moment of sentimentality, he pens a letter addressed simply to “A Friend,” and entrusts it to a nimkilim, an anthropomorphic animal messenger with an uncanny connection to the gods, (and in Hart’s case, a bit of a drinking problem). Much to his surprise, an anonymous letter comes back in return, and a tentative friendship is born.

If only Hart knew he’s been baring his soul to the person who infuriates him most–Mercy. As the two unlikely pen pals grow closer, the truth about Hart’s parentage and the nature of the drudges creeps in. And suddenly their old animosity seems so small in comparison to what they might be able to do: end the drudges forever. But at what cost?

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

You’re the Earl That I Want

You’re the Earl That I Want by Kelly Bowen is $1.99! This is the third book in the Lords of Worth series, but it can be read as a standalone. Readers seemed to be divided on the heroine. Some loved how confident and intelligent she was, while others felt her personality overshadowed the hero.

THE EARL DOTH PROTEST . . .

For businessman Heath Hextall, inheriting an earldom has been a damnable nuisance. The answer: find a well-bred, biddable woman to keep his life in order and observe the required social niceties. But it’s always been clear that Lady Josephine Somerhall is not that woman. Once a shy slip of a girl, Joss is now brilliant, beautiful chaos in a ball gown.

. . . BUT THE LADY KNOWS BEST

In her heart, Joss has always loved Heath, the one person she’s always been able to count on. That doesn’t mean she wants to marry him though. Without a husband, Joss can do as she pleases—and now, it pleases her to solve the mystery of an encoded file given to Heath by a dying man. It’s put Heath in peril once, and Joss won’t let that happen again. She’ll do what she must to ensure the earl’s safety. And to remind him that what she lacks in convention, she makes up for in passion.

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying

How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying by Django Wexler is $1.99! I mentioned this in Get Rec’d and Darlynne commented, warning of a cliffhanger but noting it was definitely worth it.

Groundhog Day meets Deadpool in Django Wexler’s raunchy, hilarious, blood-splattered fantasy tale about a young woman who, tired of defending humanity from the Dark Lord, decides to become the Dark Lord herself.

“Takes the old saying ‘If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em,’ to the next level. A sarcastic, action-packed, intrigue-filled (mis)adventure. One of the funniest books I’ve read in a long time.”–Matt Dinniman, author of Dungeon Crawler Carl

Davi has done this all before. She’s tried to be the hero and take down the all-powerful Dark Lord. A hundred times she’s rallied humanity and made the final charge. But the time loop always gets her in the end. Sometimes she’s killed quickly. Sometimes it takes a while. But she’s been defeated every time.

This time? She’s done being the hero and done being stuck in this endless time loop. If the Dark Lord always wins, then maybe that’s who she needs to be. It’s Davi’s turn to play on the winning side.

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

The Magic of Untamed Hearts

The Magic of Untamed Hearts by by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland is $1.99! This is book three in the Wild Magic series, which focuses on a group of sisters with magical abilities. Carrie reviewed book one and gave it a B.

After several years stuck as a ghost, Sky Flores learns to reconnect with the living again with the help of her handsome neighbor in this lush romance from the USA Today bestselling author of Witch of Wild Things.

Like her sisters, Sage and Teal, Sky Flores has a touch of magic, and it’s caused nothing but heartache. Not only did she disappear into the woods years ago and reappear with no rational explanation, she’s also more comfortable talking to animals than to people. Different and misunderstood, Sky is shunned in the small town of Cranberry.

Sky’s neighbor, Adam Noemi, has his own problems. After being laid off from a prestigious newspaper, Adam, ever the ambitious reporter, needs a big headline to redeem his career. Enter Sky, a girl with a story that news outlets have been chasing for years. Sky agrees to grant Adam an exclusive interview on one that he befriend Sky, in a very public way, to prove to everyone in Cranberry that she’s not an outcast.

As Sky shares her experiences with Adam, something much bigger than a simple agreement begins to grow between them. But for love to take root, Adam will have to take a leap towards a life that defies expectations, and Sky must open her heart – full of flora and fauna and mystical energies – to his curious mind.

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2026/07/earls-dark-lords-more/

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=174734

conuly

This has to have been an EARLY scifi novel. 80s- to early 00s at the latest.

********************

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Posted by Athena Scalzi

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2026/07/08/youll-never-guess-who-rescued-more-kittens/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=61483

UPDATE: They’re claimed! Thank you!

(The Short Version: Athena rescued two adorable kittens near her home here in Ohio but cannot keep them and is offering them free to a home who will take them as a package deal. They have been to the vet, are healthy, have been vaccinated and gotten rid of fleas and ear mites, so that’s all been taken care of. ~~If you would like to adopt these two bonded kittens, send an email to “john@scalzi.com” with the subject “KITTEN ADOPTION.”~~ And now, Athena with the longer version — JS)

I was driving home yesterday and was only two blocks from home when I saw two kittens on the edge of the curb of the main road of Bradford. I immediately knew I had to try and snatch them before they got hit by a car. I was desperately hoping that they wouldn’t just run from me immediately. Especially into the road.

It turns out, I had no need to worry, because they both came running up to me and were more than happy to be pet. I looked around for others the best I could while also trying to keep tabs on the two kittens right in front of me. After not seeing any more kittens or a mama cat, I decided I better just get these two home as soon as I could.

One in each hand, I quickly scooped them both up and went back to the car, thankful I only had to drive two blocks with two kittens loose in my car. They put up no fight.

Unsure if they had fleas or anything, I decided the garage was the best place for them for now. Two bowls of food and water later, the kittens seemed more than happy with their new space and comfy blanket to lay on together.

Here is Mister Cookies and Creamsicle:

My mom holding two kittens side by side! One is orange and white, and the other is black and white.

Thankfully, it was only 2pm, so my vet was still open. I called them immediately to see how soon I could get these two in for a wellness check. They told me I could bring them in right away, and when I tell you these kittens were SO GOOD at the vet, I mean it. They were purring so much that the vet couldn’t even listen to their heart because their purr engines were so loud.

The two kittens, behind bars! Don't worry, they're just in a cat carrier.

I got a full panel on them. They’re both boys! They are both FeLV and FIV negative, have no fleas or ear mites, and I got them deworm vaccines and flea and tick prevention medicine administered, and both are just barely under two pounds.

These two kittens are the most sweet, loving, cuddly cuties ever. They don’t mind being handled at all, even picked up! They love to be pet and snuggle and are so curious and exploratory. And playful!

The only time they have ever cried is when they were separated briefly at the vet. It was truly the end of the world for them without the other around. They snuggle so much and walk so closely together that their tails end up intertwined.

Creamsicle and Mister Cookies standing next to each other, their tails overlapping each other.

Which is exactly why I need to find these brothers a home that will take both of them.

Both kittens eating from the same bowl of kitten kibble!

Could you be the perfect home for two lovable brother kitties?

Mister Cookies walking around!

He’s just a lil’ nugget!

Creamsicle looking up adorably at the camera.

How could you say no to that face?!

~~If you think you would be the perfect family for two healthy, adorable kittens, please send an email to “john@scalzi.com” with the subject header “KITTEN ADOPTION.” You know you want them.~~

-AMS

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2026/07/08/youll-never-guess-who-rescued-more-kittens/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=61483

tcampbell1000 posting in

scans_daily

The first of three graphic novels dropped this week, featuring John Byrne writing and drawing an "alternate history of the X-Men" in which Jean Grey doesn't die because the Shi'ar take an alternate approach to the Phoenix problem. ( A not very smart one, as it turns out, but never mind that for now. )

solenne

So I sent my portfolio yesterday, and, unless i miraculously fail it, I am officially done with my studies. Well, I'll be getting my master's degree, but I am done with by base studies! I am happy, but it is taking a lot of effort to not fall into an existential crisis.

Anyway, in order to keep my mind off future I've been focusing on hobbies as much as possible. I'm continuing A Storm of Swords after a big pause due to exams. I also started my reread of Harrow the Ninth last night as a treat for sending the portfolio. It's somewhat hard for me to read right now. I am slower than usual, and I think it's due to mu brain being fried from looking at words the past week. Still, I am really enjoying myself and I am determined to catch any possible foreshadowing I missed last time. The last time I reread it I did the same, but I was partially listening to the audiobook, so I didn't underline anything. Now I am back to reading the pdf and am highlighting everything in Readest, which I started using recently.

The next on the list is She Who Became the Sun, and then possibly Babel. I am trying to think of a way to read them without ruining the nice covers. I have to take into account that I will be going on a vacation, and I do love reading on the beach, so I'll probably have to read something else If I don't want to ruin the nice covers of Babel.

I've also been dealing with TV Time shutting down, but I have moved my data, so now I can decide what to do in peace. I've moved to Refract, but the app is now experiencing some issues because so many TV Time users have moved there. The developers are trying their best, and say that everything will be fixed as soon as they get used to like 30times more users. I don't envy their position. Will probably be starting a list in google sheets just in case. This will probably keep me busy enough to stave off the imminent existential crisis.

And I keep existing.
Solenne

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Annie Knows Everything

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In Your Dreams

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Pipe Dreams

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The Faraway Inn

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The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy

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You’re the Earl That I Want

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How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying

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The Magic of Untamed Hearts

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