Lessons in Disaster is such a beautiful, finely crafted book that I feel kind of humbled to have been able to read it. It’s not a perfect book – it ends abruptly, it can be didactic, and I developed a love/hate relationship with the tendencies of all these intellectual characters to use words like ‘heuristic’ in the middle of emotional arguments. But overall, this was lovely. The book tells the stories of two women and … Continue reading Lessons in Magic and Disaster by Charlie Jane Anders →

This month we are going on a field trip! I visited the Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond, California. This National Historical Park includes a small but mighty visitor’s center that has fascinating and inclusive exhibits. I encourage history buffs to check out their website. Better yet, if you are visiting San Francisco or Oakland, take a side trip to this location. It’s set along the San Francisco Bay Trail which, … Continue reading Kickass Women in History: Field Trip! →
This piece of literary mayhem is exclusive to Smart Bitches After Dark, but fret not. If you’d like to join, we’d love to have you! Have a look at our membership options, and come join the fun! If you want to have a little extra fun, be a little more yourself, and be part of keeping the site open for everyone in the future, we can’t wait to see you in our new subscription-based section … Continue reading After Dark at the Movies: The Old Guard 2 →
I liked Chuck Tingle’s book Camp Damacus, but I loved Lucky Day (I still haven’t read Bury Your Gays). I found Lucky Day to be much more assured and solidly constructed than his first book, and its X-Files/Welcome to Nightvale sensibility and musings on existential vs nihilistic philosophies really hit the spot for me. I even liked the fact that what seems like a potential romance turns out to be something else. Vera is a … Continue reading Lucky Day by Chuck Tingle →
This piece of literary mayhem is exclusive to Smart Bitches After Dark, but fret not. If you’d like to join, we’d love to have you! Have a look at our membership options, and come join the fun! If you want to have a little extra fun, be a little more yourself, and be part of keeping the site open for everyone in the future, we can’t wait to see you in our new subscription-based section … Continue reading Tarot After Dark: Finding Peace →
by Carrie S · Jul 16, 2025 at 2:00 am ·
Comments Off on After Dark at the Movies: The Damned
This piece of literary mayhem is exclusive to Smart Bitches After Dark, but fret not. If you’d like to join, we’d love to have you! Have a look at our membership options, and come join the fun! If you want to have a little extra fun, be a little more yourself, and be part of keeping the site open for everyone in the future, we can’t wait to see you in our new subscription-based section … Continue reading After Dark at the Movies: The Damned →
I’ll Have What He’s Having is a sweet m/m romance that is cosy and chill but marred by an excess of mopiness towards the end. The worst thing I can say about this book is that it made me super hungry and that the minute I finished it I forgot all about it. It was pleasant and solidly written (barring too much repetition) but not especially memorable. Farzan is a great cook, a skill he … Continue reading I’ll Have What He’s Having by Adib Khorram →
by Carrie S · Jul 9, 2025 at 9:16 am ·
Comments Off on Tarot After Dark: Mermaids!
This piece of literary mayhem is exclusive to Smart Bitches After Dark, but fret not. If you’d like to join, we’d love to have you! Have a look at our membership options, and come join the fun! If you want to have a little extra fun, be a little more yourself, and be part of keeping the site open for everyone in the future, we can’t wait to see you in our new subscription-based section … Continue reading Tarot After Dark: Mermaids! →

For this month’s After Dark at the Movies, I’m writing about The Damned, a folk horror film about 19th century Icelandic fishers who find themselves in desperate straits and faced with the consequences of a terrible choice. I found it interesting that the small crew included two women – an older woman who cooks for the crew and a younger woman who manages the site and the crew, and whose gender never seems to be … Continue reading Kickass Women in History: Icelandic Women at Sea →

This piece of literary mayhem is exclusive to Smart Bitches After Dark, but fret not. If you’d like to join, we’d love to have you! Have a look at our membership options, and come join the fun! If you want to have a little extra fun, be a little more yourself, and be part of keeping the site open for everyone in the future, we can’t wait to see you in our new subscription-based section … Continue reading After Dark at the Movies: Night of the Comet (1984) →
by Carrie S · Jun 11, 2025 at 4:00 am ·
Comments Off on Tarot After Dark: Get Gothic with the Haunted House Tarot
This piece of literary mayhem is exclusive to Smart Bitches After Dark, but fret not. If you’d like to join, we’d love to have you! Have a look at our membership options, and come join the fun! If you want to have a little extra fun, be a little more yourself, and be part of keeping the site open for everyone in the future, we can’t wait to see you in our new subscription-based section … Continue reading Tarot After Dark: Get Gothic with the Haunted House Tarot →