Welcome back to Wednesday Links!
I am dragging today, so as you’re reading this, I’m probably brewing an afternoon cup of coffee on this somewhat dreary New England day. My house is also staggeringly devoid of a little biscuit or treat to munch on while drinking. A shame!
Do you have a favorite coffee or tea paring? I love hearing about people’s food rituals, especially for more soothing meals or snacks.
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Bree Bridges of Kit Rocha has an oral history of dragon romance over at Reactor Mag.
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Sarah: This link came from The 19th newsletter which I adore. It’s about a 12-year old girl winning prominent fishing awards!
I shared this quote in the SBTB Slack:
But Lucy is not in it for the awards. She said her favorite part about fishing is getting to explore nature with her dad.
“Fish never really live in ugly places,” Lucy said.
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TIME compiled the 50 best romances to read right now along with a piece on how these books were selected. It’s caused quite a discussion with us.
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An embroiderer I follow on Instagram is part of a series of concurrent workshops that kick off tomorrow! Tickets are rather affordable and all virtual workshops are taped to rewatch, just in case you miss one or have to make a tough choice on which to attend.
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If you’ve ever spent a sickly or lazy afternoon, watching hours of How Did This Get Made, you might enjoy this video on Hagoromo chalk.
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Don’t forget to share what cool or interesting things you’ve seen, read, or listened to this week! And if you have anything you think we’d like to post on a future Wednesday Links, send it my way!
I was pointed towards Peter’s Evil Overlord List at http://www.eviloverlord.com/lists/overlord.html?source=post_page—————————
As the title suggests, it’s a list of handy pointers of what not to do for aspiring wrong-doers (I assume everyone has seen this and I’m just a bit behind as usual, as it is ancient in internet years).
Point 98 was spot on: If an attractive young couple enters my realm, I will carefully monitor their activities. If I find they are happy and affectionate, I will ignore them. However if circumstance have forced them together against their will and they spend all their time bickering and criticizing each other except during the intermittent occasions when they are saving each others’ lives at which point there are hints of sexual tension, I will immediately order their execution.
Here is an interesting article about Casey McQuiston (Red, White and Royal Blue) and queer romance. Perhaps this gift link will work. Also, NYTimes is offering $1.00 per week subscription for six months but it doesn’t include recipes.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/05/books/casey-mcquiston-the-pairing.html?unlocked_article_code=1.BE4.jNwx.yJNtNV0XxbHS&smid=url-share
A somewhat frustrating Guardian article: My weeks of reading hornily: steamy book sales have doubled – and I soon found out why (Zoe Williams). Goes all over the place, confusion about genres, reads like another “I just discovered romance, what is this thing” opinion piece. Does talk to insiders but is more interested in her own thoughts (that’s columnists for you).
Not sure that link worked, so will plain text it: https://www.theguardian.com/books/article/2024/aug/06/my-weeks-of-reading-hornily-steamy-book-sales-have-doubled-and-i-soon-found-out-why. The Economist article from last year that it links to is paywalled, but there is an archive at https://web.archive.org/web/20230306215153/https://www.economist.com/britain/2023/03/06/sales-of-romance-novels-are-rising-in-britain.
In terms of tea and coffee snacks, our Costco sells lemon mini biscotti in the summer that are perfect for dunking in coffee.
I also love coffee and biscotti (I get the almond ones from Costco), so I will definitely have to look for the mini lemon ones!
In 2016, there was a review on this site about a card game “Regency Solitaire” https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/reviews/game-review-regency-solitaire/
It’s a card game where you watch a love story unfold between playing levels of solitaire. I’m happy to report that a few weeks back a sequel has been released, and it’s just as lovely as the first one was. It’s available from the developers website (Grey Alien Games) and the usual gaming retailers.
Almond biscotti with coffee, yes I love that combination, but if I am in need of a blast of nostalgic comfort it’s malted milk biscuits. You do have to be more careful on the timing of the dunk as they will collapse if too wet, but for me they are the ultimate comfort dunk. Less nostalgic are chocolate topped malted milks, so you get melty chocolate along with your softened biscuit, but I have absolutely no self control when it comes to chocolate malted milks so very very rarely buy them, as eating a whole packet in one go really is over the top!
I loved that chalk video, so thank you for that!
Good old Stella D’Oro for a not too sweet dunking biscuit! Margherites, anisette toast or breakfast treats are all good.
I also saw the Guardian article, it was silly.
> TIME compiled the 50 best romances to read right now along with a piece on how these books were selected. It’s caused quite a discussion with us.
And you’re just going to keep that discussion to yourself? Heartless!
Ellie Palmer’s reading romance led to novel and got her through double mastectomy:
https://www.today.com/life/essay-life/ellie-palmer-romance-novels-rcna164720
For tea/coffee dunking, I like a good shortbread. I also like a good Tim Tam (Tim Tam slam!) but it is a time/place/access situation. (The Pepperidge Farm Tim Tams are trash, I will only eat the Aussie ones.)