Pan Bagnat (Niçoise Salad Sandwich)

Jan. 21st, 2026 04:35 am
nverland: (Cooking)
[personal profile] nverland posting in [community profile] recipecommunity
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Pan Bagnat (Niçoise Salad Sandwich)
Active Time: 30 mins Total Time: 50 mins Servings: 4

Ingredients

4 large eggs
14 ounces canned tuna in olive oil (from 4 [5-ounce] cans), drained (about 2 cups)
½ cup red wine vinegar
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 anchovy fillets (from 1 [2-ounce] can), drained
2 medium garlic cloves, smashed
1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
½ teaspoon black pepper, divided
1 (14- to 16-ounce) ciabatta loaf, split horizontally
1 cup multicolored pitted olives, halved if large
2 medium beefsteak tomatoes (about 10 ounces each), cored and sliced crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1 small red onion (about 6 ounces), halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise (about 1 1/4 cups)
4 large radishes, thinly sliced crosswise (about 1/3 cup)
4 large or 6 medium Bibb lettuce leaves (from 1 head lettuce)
12 large fresh basil leaves

Directions

Fill a medium saucepan halfway with water; bring to a boil over high. Carefully lower eggs into boiling water; cook, undisturbed, 8 minutes. Pour off water, reserving eggs in saucepan; add ice water to cover eggs. Let eggs cool completely, about 10 minutes. Drain and peel eggs. Cut each egg lengthwise into 3 slices. Set aside.

Combine tuna, vinegar, oil, anchovies, garlic, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a food processor; process just until smooth, 20 to 30 seconds, stopping to scrape down sides using a spatula as needed. Spread tuna mixture evenly onto cut sides of ciabatta halves. Scatter olives on bottom ciabatta half. Top with sliced eggs, tomatoes, onion, and radishes; sprinkle with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Top with lettuce and basil. Cover with top ciabatta half. Cover sandwich with aluminum foil or plastic wrap. Place a baking sheet on top of sandwich, and place a skillet on top of baking sheet to weigh it down. Let sandwich stand 10 to 20 minutes. Cut crosswise into 4 sandwiches, and serve.

Make Ahead
Eggs may be boiled and chilled up to 2 days in advance. Peel and slice just before assembling sandwich.

Books

Jan. 20th, 2026 10:26 pm
[personal profile] cosmolinguist

Oh good: the problem with my Kobo not showing up in Calibre was as easy as I hoped it would be: dodgy USB cable. Phew.

So I have a lot of me-to-it books on there now, which is exciting. Good timing, since I'm off to London for three fucking days tomorrow.

And despite D's efforts at de-DRMing the ebook he got me for my birthday, the way for me to read it turns out to be to just log in as him on the Bookshop app. Stupid DRM! I've got a bunch of vouchers to spend on bookshop.org too, and it'll probably still be more worth my while to get ebooks than paper books, but it's not as sure a thing as the calculation would be otherwise.

Still, it's been nice to read the first 10% of my birthday present.

spikedluv: (winter: mittens by raynedanser)
[personal profile] spikedluv
Today was an actual no-shopping day!

I did two loads of laundry, hand-washed dishes, went for several walks with Pip and the dogs, cut up chicken for the dogs' meals, scooped kitty litter, and showered.

I watched the final three eps of Heated Rivalry. (I know I said I wasn’t going to comment until I did a re-watch, but why did no one tell me how emotional I was going to get over the final eps?!! Also, Christina Chang makes one guest appearance on Numb3rs and I remember her for the rest of my life, apparently.)

Despite spending so much time on that, I also found time to write! I added ~1,400 words to my SFBB fic! I had some tea in the afternoon, and chose Afternoon tea, which seemed kind of tasteless to me. Since I like my tea weak, I didn’t think that could actually happen.

Temps started out at 10.7(F) and dropped to 9.5 before I left the house. The forecast called for a high of 13, but it reached 19.9. It was windy, though, so it felt much colder. So freaking windy! There was some sun, which helped with my mood, but didn’t make it feel any warmer.


Mom Update:

Mom sounded okay when I talked to her. She’d had some company throughout the day; my aunt and uncle were there earlier and Sister A was there when I called. The Hospice nurse visited today. Mom said eating was going well, so that's a bonus.

Weather, emotional and actual

Jan. 21st, 2026 11:05 am
rmc28: (glowy)
[personal profile] rmc28

Today would have been my mother's 79th birthday. It's been 3.5 years, I still miss her.

Her sister, my aunt, is in hospital following a stroke last week, and not expected to recover. My cousins are on their way to Australia (possibly there by now) and hoping to arrive in time to say goodbye.

I walked to work this morning in a downpour with angsty-sad music in my headphones, and let myself cry it out while no-one was watching. In the last few minutes of my walk, the sun briefly shone through the clouds, and the music algorithm played me something more upbeat. I took in the moment of beauty, and walked on.

selenak: (Avalon by Kathyh)
[personal profile] selenak
[personal profile] hannah asked: I'd love to hear you talk about assorted public transportation options you've taken while traveling, both domestically and internationally, and whether or not any stuck out to you for any reason.

Domestically: Well, it's practically a German cliché to complain about Die Bahn, but the truth is that while it truly is in a bad state, due to sixteen years of conservative ministers of transport defining their office as "lobbying for Mercedes, BMW and Audi" and endlessly delaying necessary repairs of the railway system, I still consider our public transport system my favourite way to travel within Germany. Both the trains, and in cities the busses and streetcars and underground trains. In most cases, it's possible to reach any given destination by train and from the railway station by local public transport. And one great invention that was added in, I think, the second Pandemic year, was Das Deutschlandticket, meaning a ticket you pay per month and which you can use for all public transport within Germany that is not - forgive me using now traumatizing initials - ICE or IC. (ICE in Germany means our fastest trains, to put it simply. ICs are second fastest trains. Both are the type of trains which can bring you from Munich to Berlin in less than five hours.) Which means that if, say, you live in Munich like me, and go to a conference in Hamburg, you do not have to buy extra tickets to use the public transport system in Hamburg, you can simply use your Deutschlandticket . Very neat indeed.

Anyway, the terrible state of our railway system means that currently practically every second long distance train is late, but there are a lot of them, and you do get notified at least an hour before the supposed departure of your train, so you can, using the Bahn app,, easily find a replacement connection. Well, most of the time. Not that people without a mobile device and internet access are screwed, and the are still a considerable part of older folk for whom this is true. Yours truly, in her fiftyseventh year of life, does not have this problem and thus can navigate the perils of the public transport system while using its benefits. Which I still very much prefer to taking the care, believe me. I am a German who isn't crazy about the Autobahn.

Internationally: Back in what turned out to be the last year of the Soviet Uniion (I think? 1991?) my APs and self spent two weeks in Russiai, one in Moscow and one in Leningrad/St. Petersburg, respectively. Among the many memorable things in Moscow were a couple of subway stations which looked like mini palaces, complete with chandeliers. I dimly recall being told these hailed from Stalin's era and were meant to demonstrate how well off the people were in the worker's paradise, which sounds like him, and of course looking like mini palaces does not enhance the usefulness of a subway station, but it still was an unexpected and impressive view! Also, the APs and yours truly actually managed to get to all the sightseeing spots we wanted to visited via the Moscow Metro and armed with a guide book and a map, so all hail the public transport system in Moscow in the year 1991. That same journey also included going by train overnight form Moscow to Leningrad (as it was still called), which worked fine, and while the cabins were hardly luxurious, they were comfortable enough for such a journey.

I also remember the main railway station in Madrid which includes a palm tree garden to relax in, which was lovely. And the cable cars of Lisbon from when I was there two or so years ago; last year, there was a terrible accident featuring one of them, so I don't know whether they'll still continue to be used that way, but they certainly were a signature part of the city (and usually you stand when using them, because they're that crowded.)

The country other than my own where I used the public transport system most often would be the United Kingdom. Generally, I've found British cars to be less comfortable but far more reliable than German ones, and the one time when I did a criss cross journey through the country on my lonesome, I got pretty much anywhere by train easily. As for the London "Tube", it's responsible for some occasions with much adrenaline pumping and transpiration from when I needed to reach the airport but was stuck in the Picadilly Line unexpectedly, but so far - knock on wood - in each of these cases, I did manage to reach the airport in time after all. Oh, and the one time I had to go from Heathrow to Oxford via bus directly, it worked perfectly as well, so good on you, British busses.

Let's see, what else? Oh, right, I once had a chance to housesit a palazzo in Venice for ten days which was awesome, and while I went everywhere on foot, I did take the vaporetto now and then, which was fine, as was the train connection to Padua when I used the chance to see the Giotto frescoes there.

The other days

The Book of Elsewhere

Jan. 21st, 2026 09:17 am
alobear: (Default)
[personal profile] alobear
I heard about The Book of Elsewhere when it came out and was intrigued because it's by China Mieville, one of my favourite authors, and Keanu Reeves, one of my favourite actors. But I also heard it was terrible - and I think I tried listening to the audiobook and only got a few pages in before giving up.
But my brother gave it to me for Christmas and I decided to give it another chance!
The first 30 pages or so were almost unreadable and largely incomprehensible (though each new short section was somehow terrible in a different way, which was pretty impressive). But then, around pg 35, the first female character was introduced, along with a long scene of perfectly credible dialogue and reasonably readable prose - and I was hooked. Some of the writing was still a bit tortured in places, but either that disappeared over time, or I just got used to it - because the rest of the book was awesome!
It's possible the forces in the book invaded my brain and influenced me (in the same way they do with some of the characters), and I'll later come to my senses and decide the book was terrible after all - but just after finishing it, it's definitely my first five-star read of 2026!
It's about a man who comes back every time he dies, and the various people who either want to study him or kill him outright, as well as his own struggles with the nature of his existence. It's very violent and gory (which is not usually something I like but which didn't bother me here - more evidence of paranormal activity, I feel...) but also has a lot of depth and layers. There were multiple characters I got invested in and attached to - and the sections charting bits of Unute's history over the centuries were varied and interesting in showing his impact on the world.
It did unravel a bit towards the end, when it got rather over-complicated and a bit silly in some ways - but I was very much along for the ride by that point and just went with it.
So, a very surprising about-turn for a book I wasn't sure I'd be able to get through! But I can't think of anyone I'd be able to genuinely recommend it to...
[syndicated profile] smartbitches_feed

Posted by SB Sarah

We’re only a few weeks into 2026 (?!!) and I’m curious about the books you’re most looking forward to that are releasing between January 1 and June 30, 2026.

There are MANY on our lists, and I limited folks to only a few – which means I know you have titles to suggest, too.

One that I couldn’t format for our database: Drowning Sorrows in Raging Fire, Vol. 3 by Priest, translated by Yog and SassyStrawberry. This hardcover will be released in March 2026.

And if you want to mention your own book, please feel welcome!

Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter

Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett

Author: Heather Fawcett
Released: February 17, 2026 by Del Rey
Genre: , , ,

Agnes Aubert leads a meticulously organized life, and she likes it that way. As the proudly type-A manager of a cat rescue charity, she has devoted her life to finding forever homes for stray cats.

Now it’s the shelter that needs a new home. And the only landlord who will rent a space to a cat rescue is a mysterious man called Havelock—who also happens to be the world’s most infamous magician, running an illegal magic shop out of his basement. Havelock is cantankerous and eccentric, but not not handsome, and no, Agnes absolutely does not feel anything but disdain for him. After all, rumors swirl about his shadowy past—including whispers that his dark magic once almost brought about the apocalypse.

Then one day a glamorous magician comes looking for Havelock, putting the magic shop—and the cat shelter—in jeopardy. To save the shelter, Agnes will have to team up with the magician who nearly ended the world . . . and may now be trying to steal her heart.

Havelock is everything Agnes thinks she doesn’t need in her life: chaos, mischief, and a little too much adventure. But as she gets to know him, she discovers that he’s more than the dark magician of legend, and that she may be ready for a little intrigue—and romance—in her life. After all, second chances aren’t just for rescue cats. . . .

This book is out February 3, and I want to dive into the cover and roll around in it. I also love everything about this concept, especially the cats.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

The Ex-Perimento

The Ex-Perimento by Maria J. Morillo

Author: Maria J. Morillo
Released: February 17, 2026 by Berkley
Genre: ,

A woman enlists the help of her favorite musician to win her ex-boyfriend back in this sparkling romantic comedy set in Venezuela by debut author Maria J. Morillo.

Maria “Marianto” Camacho is a planner. At twenty-seven, she has her life perfectly mapped out. Her long-term boyfriend, Alejandro, is perfect on paper, and she’s expecting a proposal any day now. She has a stable job as a lifestyle columnist at Ellas, one of Latin America’s biggest digital magazines. Her future is set; she’s sure of it.

Until everything falls apart overnight: Marianto loses her boyfriend and her job. But she’s determined to get them both back with an idea that is either delusional or ingenious—a juicy new article for Ellas that documents a series of romantic experiments to get her ex back. Thus begins The Ex-Perimento. With her bank account dwindling, however, Marianto lands a temporary gig on Venezuela’s hottest new singing competition show. Her job? Personal assistant to Simón Arreaza, the lead singer of her favorite indie band.

It’s only her second day on the job when Simón discovers Marianto’s list of romantic experiments, striking her ideas and replacing them with his own better ones. Out of desperation, she offers a proposition: Help her win back Alejandro, and she’ll give Simón’s band a profile in the magazine once she returns to Ellas. But between the close quarters on set and the blurred lines of a budding friendship, Marianto and Simón find themselves irresistibly drawn to each other, caught in a whirlwind of unexpected romance.

The Ex-Perimento is out on February 17, and takes place in Caracas, Venezuela, which is both a setting for a contemporary romance I’ve not read before, and a little uncanny in the current political mess. This book is a mix of tropes I love, too: celebrity romance, behind-the-scenes, and “I’ll coach you to get your ex back and we all know that will workout exactly as we planned.”

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

And Now, Back to You

And Now, Back to You by B.K. Borison

Author: B.K. Borison
Released: February 24, 2026 by Berkley
Genre: , ,
Series: Heartstrings #2

Two competing meteorologists are forced to find common ground in this opposites attract, When Harry Met Sally inspired romance, from New York Times bestselling author B.K. Borison.

Jackson Clark and Delilah Stewart have had their fair share of run-ins over the years, often ending in disaster. While Jackson thrives on routine and organization from the comfort of his radio booth, Delilah loves the spontaneity and adventure out in the field. When they’re partnered against their will to cover a historic snowstorm, they find themselves scrambling to figure out how to work together.

Eager to be taken seriously as a journalist, Delilah offers Jackson a deal: If he can help her ace this assignment, she’ll help him rediscover his long-lost fun side. With unexplored chemistry burning beneath their clashes, the unlikely partnership quickly tumbles into an easy and surprising friendship.

But when other feelings start to enter the equation, can Jackson and Delilah withstand the storm? Or does what happens in the mountains stay in the mountains?

February 24th is the day for Borison fans! I have heard so many enthusiastic recommendations for Borison, and I’m starting with this one because I love the idea of rival meterologists.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

A Ghastly Catastrophe

A Ghastly Catastrophe by Deanna Raybourn

Author: Deanna Raybourn
Released: March 3, 2026 by Berkley
Genre: , ,
Series: Veronica Speedwell Mysteries #10

Veronica and Stoker are practically dying for a new adventure, but when their wish is granted, they find themselves up against a secret society and a darkly seductive duo in this landmark historical mystery from beloved New York Times bestselling and Edgar® Award–nominated author Deanna Raybourn.

When the corpse of an entitled young man is found entirely drained of blood in a carriage next to Highgate Cemetery, Veronica’s interest is piqued. And then a second victim is found, his death made to look like a suicide—and Veronica and her intrepid beau Stoker know the hunt is on. The two men share one link: they were both members of a society so secretive that only a singular mention of it can be found anywhere.

Thirsty for more clues, Veronica and Stoker hear that a young Romany boy may know more about their first victim, and the only way to the boy is through an old acquaintance of Stoker’s, Lady Julia Brisbane. Lady Julia and her dashing husband, Nicholas, occasionally track down murderers and are only too happy to help. But as it becomes clear that the secret society is a dangerous sect looking to entice immortality seekers, Veronica and Stoker find themselves ensnared by a decidedly more sinister couple.

The professed leader of the society claims to be a creature of the night; his partner practices witchcraft and they both fancy themselves emissaries of the otherworldly. Just as Veronica and Stoker get closer to learning the true purpose of the society and unraveling this macabre mystery, another body turns up, and they quickly discover they’ve gone from being the hunters to the hunted. . . .

Can you believe this is book 10 in the Veronica Speedwell series? TEN! I’m shocked. I’m also enamored of this series because sometimes mystery series make me tense and anxious before I even start it – bad things keep happening to the protagonists I like! – but not this one. Veronica is so competent, unflappable, and confident that I am more curious to see what absolute bullshit displays itself in front of her, and what she’ll say about it. Release date: March 3.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

The Fox and the Devil

The Fox and the Devil by Kiersten White

Author: Kiersten White
Released: March 10, 2026 by Del Rey
Genre: , , , ,

Anneke has a complicated relationship with her father, Abraham Van Helsing—doctor, scientist, and madman devoted to the study of vampires—until the night she comes home to find him murdered, with a surreally beautiful woman looming over his body. A woman who leaves no trace behind, other than the dreams and nightmares that now plague Anneke every night.

Spurred by her desire for vengeance and armed with the latest forensic and investigatory techniques, Anneke puts together a team of detectives to catch this mysterious serial killer. Because her father isn’t the only inexplicable dead body. There’s a trail of victims across Europe, and Anneke is certain they’re all connected.

But during the years spent relentlessly hunting the killer, Anneke keeps crucial evidence to herself: infuriatingly coy letters, addressed only to her, occasionally soaked in blood, and always signed Diavola.

The closer Anneke gets to her devil, though, the less sense the world makes. Maybe her father wasn’t a madman after all. Diavola might be something much worse than a serial killer . . . and much harder to destroy. Yet as Anneke unearths more of Diavola’s tragic past, she suspects there’s still a heart somewhere in that undead body.

A heart that beats for Anneke alone.

The Fox and the Devil arrives on March 10, and Elyse says, “I love this author and this a sapphic vampire/ vampire hunter Romantasy.” I know many folks here are fans of all of White’s books, so happy new book to all of you!

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Yesteryear

Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke

Author: Caro Claire Burke
Released: April 7, 2026 by Knopf Doubleday
Genre:

A traditional American woman, a beautiful wife and mother who sells her pioneer lifestyle of raw milk and farm-fresh eggs to her millions of social media followers, suddenly awakens cold, filthy, and terrified in the brutal reality of 1855—where she must unravel whether this living nightmare is an elaborate hoax, a twisted reality show, or something far more sinister in this sensational debut novel.

“A bold and biting satire, Yesteryear…will have you cackling and gasping right to the final page.”
—Nita Prose, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Maid series

My name was Natalie Heller Mills, and I was perfect at being alive.

Natalie lives a traditional lifestyle. Her charming farmhouse is rustic, her husband a handsome cowboy, her six children each more delightful than the last. So what if there are nannies and producers behind the scenes, her kitchen hiding industrial-grade fridges and ovens, her husband the heir to a political dynasty? What Natalie’s followers—all 8 million of them—don’t know won’t hurt them. And The Angry Women? The privileged, Ivy League, coastal elite haters who call her an antifeminist iconoclast? They’re sick with jealousy. Because Natalie isn’t simply living the good life, she’s living the ideal—and just so happens to be building an empire from it.

Until one morning she wakes up in a life that isn’t hers. Her home, her husband, her children—they’re all familiar, but something’s off. Her kitchen is warmed by a sputtering fire rather than electricity, her children are dirty and strange, and her soft-handed husband is suddenly a competent farmer. Just yesterday Natalie was curating photos of homemade jam for her Instagram, and now she’s expected to haul firewood and handwash clothes until her fingers bleed. Has she become the unwitting star of a ruthless reality show? Could it really be time travel? Is she being tested by God? By Satan? When Natalie suffers a brutal injury in the woods, she realizes two things: This is not her beautiful life, and she must escape by any means possible.

A gripping, electrifying novel that is as darkly funny as it is frightening, Yesteryear is a gimlet-eyed look at tradition, fame, faith, and the grand performance of womanhood.

Elyse says, “a trad wife influencer wakes up on an actual homestead in the 1800’s” to which I reply with ALL the wide-eye emoji. Yesteryear is out on April 7, and I’m so ready for more fiction skewering the layers of deceit behind trad wife influencers.

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Enemies to Lovers

Enemies to Lovers by Alisha Rai

Author: Alisha Rai
Released: April 7, 2026 by Avon
Genre: ,

From the author of Partners in Crime, comes a sparkling new adventure rom-com where a con woman and a lawman team up on an epic cross-country road trip to save their families…and each other.

Sejal Chaudhary inherited her mama’s calculating brain, her daddy’s quick fingers, and the boatload of trauma that comes with being the eldest daughter of criminals. Although Sejal has never claimed to be a good girl, she’s spent the last couple years laying low and going (mostly) straight. That is, until a con gone wrong sends her into the arms of a handsome stranger who’s set on dragging her back into her messy family drama.

Krish Anand never mastered the fine art of being a bad boy…he would take a book over bullets any day. But when his FBI agent brother goes missing, he has no choice but to suit up for the adventure of a lifetime. Certain that someone in Sejal’s little crime family is behind the disappearance, a desperate Krish manages to convince the beautiful thief that his brother’s badge is actually his.

The deal is simple: help him find his brother, and Krish and the law will leave Sejal be. With an up-to-no-good ex also hot on her trail, Sejal reluctantly agrees. As they wind their way across the country on planes, buses, and automobiles, sparks ignite, and what began as a fragile temporary truce starts to look more and more like a partnership.

Falling for the enemy? So cliche, but so good…if only they can survive long enough to chance a happily ever after.

April 7 is going to be an EXPENSIVE day, y’all: the long-awaited sequel to Partners in Crime is out, and it’s got a nifty Bonus Trope Title: Enemies to Lovers: A Romantic Adventure of a Jewel Thief and a Lawman on a Cross-Country Journey. Also the hero is a pretend lawman, if cop heroes are not your bag right now: he lies and says his brother’s FBI badge is his. It’s in the cover copy.

So maybe that should read: Enemies to Lovers: The title is already a Trope Tag but here are a few more for this Romantic Adventure of a Jewel Thief and a Pretend FBI Agent on a Cross-Country Journey. 

I’ll workshop it.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

More Like Enemigas

More Like Enemigas by Stephanie Hope

Author: Stephanie Hope
Released: April 7, 2026 by Carina Adores
Genre: , ,

“This heartfelt sapphic romance is loaded with laugh-out-loud humor and the high-drama hijinks of a splashy telenovela.” —Camille Perri, author of When Katie Met Cassidy

One wedding, two rivals and a whole lot of secrets…

As the daughter of Cuban immigrants, Isabella Valdes knows three things for certain:
her late father’s restaurant is thriving
she owns lots of designer things
both of those statements are absolute lies to make her mother happy

Isabella would do anything to keep her father’s legacy alive, including attending her estranged cousin’s weeklong wedding extravaganza. Because once Sofia’s wealthy fiancé tastes the recipes Isa prepares from her father’s cherished journal, he’s sure to invest.

To Isa’s annoyance, she’ll be sharing a cabin with Valentina, the former friend turned rival who ruined her quinceañera. But Val is offering an unexpected deal—she’ll help Isa unravel an old family secret found in her father’s journal in return for help sabotaging the wedding and winning the heart of the bride.

Saying yes is a bad idea. Isa’s perfectionism meets its match in Val’s carefree demeanor, but as they work together, the usually responsible Isa can’t seem to say no to Val’s shenanigans. There’s no hiding from Val, no ignoring this complicated but undeniable connection that’s changing Isa’s beliefs about love, loyalty and just how much she owes to her family—and to herself…

Another April 7 title, More Like Enemigas is my favorite title. ENEMIGAS. Perfect word is perfect. And my goodness, the cover copy is offering some incredible messy mess – my favorite kind.

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Platform Decay

Platform Decay by Martha Wells

Author: Martha Wells
Released: May 5, 2026 by Tor
Genre: ,
Series: The Murderbot Diaries #8

A most-anticipated title from USA Today, Goodreads, BookPage, BookRiot, Seattle Times, and The Nerd Daily!

Everyone’s favorite lethal SecUnit is back in the next installment of Martha Wells’ bestselling and award-winning Murderbot Diaries series.

Having someone else support your bad decision feels kind of good.

After volunteering to run a rescue mission, Murderbot realizes that it will have to spend significant time with a bunch of humans it doesn’t know.

Including human children. Ugh.

This may well call for… eye contact!

(Emotion check: Oh, for f—)

System System: NEW MURDERBOT OUT MAY 5! NEW MURDERBOT OUT MAY 5!

I’m sure I won’t devote myself to a weeks long re-read or disappear into the series again. It’ll be fine.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

The Tapestry of Fate

The Tapestry of Fate by Shannon Chakraborty

Author: Shannon Chakraborty
Released: May 12, 2026 by Harper Voyager
Genre:

New York Times bestselling author Shannon Chakraborty sets sail into the second adventure of pirate Amina al-Sirafi as her quest to track down magical artifacts brings her to the island lair of a sorceress whose woven enchantments are impossible to flee.

Amina al-Sirafi thinks she’s struck gold. Tasked with hunting down arcane artifacts for the council of immortal peris, she can savor the occasional rollicking adventure on the high seas with her cherished criminal companions while still returning home to raise her beloved daughter, Marjana. But when Raksh, the spirit of discord with whom she is reluctantly wed, provokes the council’s wrath, Amina is charged with a seemingly impossible quest: steal a spindle capable of rewriting fate from a mysterious sorceress on an island no one can escape.

Forced to leave Marjana—who is increasingly frustrated at being peddled what are clearly lies about her mother’s life and her own past—Amina finds her mission almost immediately thrown into peril. But deadly storms, an erratic poison mistress, and old enemies are the least of her worries. For the peris’ story is unraveling, hinting at a far deadlier game whose rules Amina must swiftly puzzle out. A game that sets her against an adversary more cunning and powerful than she has ever faced.

A game that not everyone on her crew wants her to win.

Clear your calendars for May 12, because the sequel to The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi is arriving, and the cover is luscious and many of us are very excited. Elyse says, “I loved the first book so so much.”

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Score

Score by Kennedy Ryan

Author: Kennedy Ryan
Released: May 19, 2026 by Forever
Genre: ,
Series: Hollywood Renaissance #2

​You never forget your first love. Isn’t that what they say? Verity Hill knows this truth intimately. She didn’t simply miss Wright “Monk” Bellamy when they parted ways in college. She’s haunted by his touch. Every kiss, any lover since—it’s a shadow of what they had.

Time heals all wounds. Isn’t that what they say? Monk doesn’t believe that for a second. He wasn’t simply betrayed when he and Verity split. He was devastated, with parts of him left behind in the ruins of all that was destroyed.

More than a decade after their disastrous breakup, Verity and Monk must work together on the set of an epic Harlem Renaissance biopic. With Monk, now a world-class musician, creating the score, and Verity, an award-winning screenwriter, penning the script, there’s Oscar buzz before shooting even begins. This once-in-a-lifetime project could catapult them both to new heights, but can they can put the past behind them for the sake of the film…for the sake of something more?

The only thing better than a new Kennedy Ryan book (out May 19) is watching how media outlets and book people react to a new Kennedy Ryan book. She’s such a powerhouse, and it’s so fun to watch more people discover that.

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Game of Rogues

Game of Rogues by Julie Anne Long

Author: Julie Anne Long
Released: June 2, 2026 by Avon
Genre: ,
Series: The Palace of Rogues #9

In this sexy regency romance by USA Today bestselling author Julie Anne Long, a lady on the edge of ruin must plead with the king of London’s underworld to save her family, only to find herself instead caught in his web…and unable to resist him.

One disastrous night. One devastating man. One diabolical proposition.
Gabriel Marchand ruthlessly fought his way up from the gutters of St. Giles to preside over London’s most exclusive gaming hell. Few dare cross him. But when a young earl gambles away his inheritance, Marchand makes an enemy: a woman with wit like a dagger and the softest eyes he’s ever seen.

Spend a night in his bed, and he’ll call off the debt. This is the offer he makes Guinevere Woodville, the earl’s sister, when she blames him for her brother’s disaster. She’d rather die, of course. But when their seething enmity gives way to sizzling attraction at The Grand Palace on the Thames, his offer haunts them. Soon it seems a matter of not if, but when.
It’s not long before Ginny is facing two stark truths: the so-called worst man in London is the best man she’s ever known….and keeping him would mean losing everything and everyone else she loves. But Marchand has one final card to play…and losing everything is a risk he’s willing to take if it means a chance to love her forever.

A sexy, witty, and heartwarming tale, Game of Rogues has everything readers love about Julie Anne Long.

Considering we just snarked on earlier covers in this series, this new cover is jaw-dropping gorgeous. Game of Rogues is book 9 of the Palace of Rogues series, it’s out on June 2, AND the title is kind of a pun. Maybe. Either way, Lara cannot wait for this one.

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Romantic Hero

Romantic Hero by Kirsty Greenwood

Author: Kirsty Greenwood
Released: June 16, 2026 by Berkley
Genre: , , ,

A heartbroken romance novelist is forced to address her writer’s block when the villainous cowboy character from her books shows up in the real world, desperately in need of his own Happily Ever After. . . from the bestselling author of GMA book club pick The Love of My Afterlife.

Gertie Bickerstaff writes happily-ever-afters for a living. . . . Or she did, until her own love life fell apart. Now her ex is thriving, her deadline is looming, and she can’t write a single word.

The last thing Gertie needs is more drama—like waking up to find a confused and rugged cowboy on her sofa. And not just any cowboy, but River Oakley, the villain from her unfinished novel. Somehow very real . . . and very shirtless.

River wants to go home. Gertie wants her life back. So they strike a deal: he’ll use his cunning ways to help her win back her ex, she’ll finish the novel, and, surely, he’ll return to whatever world he rode in from.

But as River Oakley proves to be so much more than just the bad guy, Gertie has to choose: the ending she thought she wanted . . . or the plot twist she never saw coming.

Since I read The Love of My Afterlife, and interviewed the author in Episode 622, I’ve been curious to see what Greenwood’s next book would be. I was not expecting a story about a romance novelist whose villain comes to life and agrees to help her scheme to get her ex back (never a great idea in real life, but fun to read about) if she will help him return to his book/world. I’m in!

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Scandal of the Summer

Scandal of the Summer by Alexandra Vasti

Author: Alexandra Vasti
Released: June 23, 2026 by St. Martin's Griffin
Genre: ,

A desperate debutante meets a ragtag smuggler in this sexy Regency romp by USA Today bestselling author Alexandra Vasti.

Eccentric heiress Lady Ruby Ballimore has had enough of the Marriage Mart. After offending yet another Very Important Marquess―and imperiling her father’s diplomatic career―Ruby flees London for the holiday house of a glamorous (and better yet, absent) princess. Armed with a forged invitation and accompanied by her like-minded friends, Ruby arrives at the Cornwall estate expecting a summer of blissful freedom.

Instead, she discovers a derelict mansion and the most suspiciously charming man she’s ever met.

Former privateer and current con artist Captain Malcolm Archer has dragged his ramshackle crew into a new life. Posing as staff at a princess’s abandoned estate provides the perfect cover for Archer’s smuggling scheme (not to mention free rent). Everything’s going according to plan―until an unorthodox London heiress crashes the party.

But when Archer and his crew attempt to frighten off their uninvited guests, Ruby’s unfazed by insect invasions and sham sea monsters. Harder to ignore? The scorching heat between the rakish pirate and the debutante who can see right through him. As sparks fly, deceptions run wild―because in this Great Cornish Fake Off, the only thing riskier than telling the truth is falling in love.

Several of us are looking forward to this one, including Claudia, Lara, and me, and alas we have to wait until June 23.

I cannot get over her shoe, though. What is happening with her shoe. Since titles don’t tend to hang out in my brain, this book is now “the purple shoe book” in my head. Sorry.

What books are you most looking forward to from now until June 30? And yes, you can mention your own if you wish. 

It’s TBR Destruction Time!

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Wilco

Jan. 21st, 2026 08:35 am
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[personal profile] poliphilo
 OK, I said to Myself, as I was going to bed last night, It's my birthday tomorrow so give me a clue as to what I should be doing with my life.

And Myself obliged.

The dream had me moving to a farm in Sussex with a ready-made family in place. First I was having a bonfire, chucking the dead wood onto it (obvious symbolism) and then I was going through the attics where I found a huge cache of drawings and prints and writings by a chap called Phil (my own pseudonym- Poliphilo, right?) and realised I should be doing what I could to disseminate them and get them better known.

Then it was a meal time and I was introduced to the men who worked on the farm and one of them was called Jordan and he shook my hand and I knew he was going to be an ally. Since waking up I believe I've identified who he is IRL.

So the dream is saying, "You're in the right place at the right time. Carry on doing what you're doing and maybe put more of yourself into it."

Thanks. Wilco. Over and out....

[community profile] threesentenceficathon is open now

Jan. 24th, 2026 03:04 am
conuly: (Default)
[personal profile] conuly
And posting is rapid. Don't you need a distraction?

Dabblings in poetry: Sylvia Plath

Jan. 21st, 2026 05:16 pm
lucymonster: (bookcuppa)
[personal profile] lucymonster
I should have loved a thunderbird instead;
At least when spring comes they roar back again.
I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead.
(I think I made you up inside my head.)

~ Mad Girl's Love Song, 1953

This verse was quoted in an unrelated book I was reading; poetry only very rarely grips me as viscerally and immediately as these few lines did. I had to look up the full text online because it wasn't even included in my collected Plath edition. (It was worth looking up. Holy fuck, I love this poem!)

But then I had the collected Plath down from the bookshelf, so I figured I might as well keep reading. Here are some excerpts from a few favourites.

Soliloquy of the Solipsist )

Frog Autumn )

April 18 )

Dirge for a Joker )

I didn't read cover to cover, but one thing that stood out to me was how many more poems I liked from among the juvenilia than from her published volumes. That could be due to how they were collected - only 50, from a few hundred - but there's also a raw emotionality to these early efforts that connects with me more than some of her more sophisticated, "mature" work.

Also, Mad Girl's Love Song is still my favourite of them all. <3

Midsummer garden

Jan. 21st, 2026 07:56 pm
mific: (Garden salad)
[personal profile] mific
More pics from the garden - mostly flowers this time with everything in full bloom other than the roses, which are in between. These were taken a few days ago before solid rain set in, so what with a planned power cut 8am-6pm today for maintenance work, a quiet day today. Went for a moderate drive to get lunch out (excellent sushi) and charge my car battery, and now the power's back in time to download a bunch of fics to survive AO3 being down for way too long. I'm feeling virtuous as I made a rice cooker full of bean, veggie, chicken & chilli stew. Very tasty.

I'm still marinating in Heated Rivalry everything and it's helped with creating in other fandoms - an SGA and a due South secret Santa fic in late Dec and several SGA ones more recently for another exchange (will be unanoned soon). Gave myself for-real goddamn eyestrain from too much screen time reading and scrolling tumblr - inflamed, watering eyes, blurred vision, the whole nine yards. I'm being marginally more sensible about breaking up screen time with other activities now and that's resolved it, thank goodness. Too wet to garden, but. Anyway, garden pics follow, and here's hoping you're all doing okay! (Click through for large size)

Read more... )
delphi: An illustrated crow kicks a little ball of snow with a contemplative expression. (Default)
[personal profile] delphi
[personal profile] kingstoken's 2026 Book Bingo: eBook/Audiobook

That's a Great Question, I'd Love to Tell You is a 2025 memoir by comedian/musician/online personality Elyse Myers. It's a collection of essays, free verse poetry, and lists that take a humorous but heartfelt look at formative and vulnerable moments in her life, with a retrospective understanding of the anxiety and undiagnosed neurodivergence that often shaped them.

Stories include a childhood fixation on a Magic 8 Ball, overthinking and missing the obvious during a teenage game of Seven Minutes in Heaven, college panic attacks, Parisian dates gone awry, beach encounters gone sour, and conquering the mysteries of gravel roads. Anyone familiar with Elyse Myers' work online knows she has a way of telling a story and getting a laugh while also not being afraid to be earnest. If you haven't seen her videos before, you can check her out on TikTok or on Youtube.

I don't listen to a ton of audiobooks, my main exception being memoirs that are read by their authors. That usually works out for me, but in this case I really wish I'd gone with the print book for three reasons:

1) It turns out the print edition is full of little illustrations and creative formatting that brings a lot to some of the pieces.

2) One of the things I enjoy about Myers is her more freeform and sometimes frenetic delivery, but this was a more sedate and traditional audiobook performance.

3) Related to #2, several stories triggered some secondhand embarrassment for me and having to listen to that be slowly relayed instead of being able to read faster during those was rough.

An Excerpt )

Science

Jan. 21st, 2026 12:13 am
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Stanford scientists found a way to regrow cartilage and stop arthritis

Scientists have found a way to regrow aging cartilage, raising hopes for arthritis treatments that could make joint replacements obsolete.

Scientists at Stanford Medicine have discovered a treatment that can reverse cartilage loss in aging joints and even prevent arthritis after knee injuries. By blocking a protein linked to aging, the therapy restored healthy, shock-absorbing cartilage in old mice and injured joints, dramatically improving movement and joint function. Human cartilage samples from knee replacement surgeries also began regenerating when exposed to the treatment
.


Well, that would be super useful ... if it's not blocked by megacorps making the current arthritis treatments. Then again, most politicians are old and would probably like to have this option, so maybe they'll tell the megacorps to fuck off for once.

Good News

Jan. 21st, 2026 12:11 am
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Good news includes all the things which make us happy or otherwise feel good. It can be personal or public. We never know when something wonderful will happen, and when it does, most people want to share it with someone. It's disappointing when nobody is there to appreciate it. Happily, blogging allows us to share our joys and pat each other on the back.

What good news have you had recently? Are you anticipating any more? Have you found a cute picture or a video that makes you smile? Is there anything your online friends could do to make your life a little happier?

(no subject)

Jan. 20th, 2026 09:30 pm
hafnia: Animated drawing of a flickering fire with a pair of eyes peeping out of it, from the film Howl's Moving Castle. (Default)
[personal profile] hafnia
Bad migraine Thursday. Like, "I am not a functional human being" most of the day lasting into Friday.

Friday at least was better? but yeah. Most of the weekend was off-and-on "pain and anxiety", because that's also one of the weird migraine symptoms. Somewhere in there my major joints also decided that since it's cold as hell (in the 20s, in town, which is unusual for us), they were going to seize up, so. You know.

The upshot of it is that I was running on too little sleep this weekend, including Holiday Monday, and so I slept eleven hours today.

Which. Okay.

I'm glad I had the ability to do it, I guess?


One of the things that was contributing to "blergh" mood (besides, you know, pain) was that everything I tried to cook this weekend turned out awfully, mostly for reasons that weren't my fault. Like — mmm. Last night I made a dish I have made many, many times. Everything went more or less smoothly, except when Max took his first bite he gagged and had to go spit it into the trash, because the frozen vegetable mix I use as a mix-in apparently had a moldy bell pepper stem in it.

...yup. Also found a bit in mine. Thank God neither of us is allergic to mold?

(It was the "pepper stir-fry mix" from WinCo, on the off-chance that anyone else lives somewhere with a WinCo and uses it. Never had that issue before; had unfortunately already thrown out the packaging and taken the trash out as part of making dinner, so, you know. I'm out $3.)

Aside from that: tried to make bread Sunday and it was awful (new bag of flour; must have more water than the last bag I bought from the same brand, because I followed the usual hydration ratio and it was too wet — just did not have a good structure and didn't end up with a good rise, was more like flat bread); overcooked the protein for Saturday's dinner...

The moldy pepper was the real low point and that was the point at which I ended up crying, ha. Too little sleep, fucking up the dinner that spouse had specifically ASKED FOR...yeah.

Anyway! I redeemed myself tonight.

When we went to wine tasting weekend before last, we were given shooters of "Hungarian Mushroom Soup" to accompany their pinot noir.

Both of us tried it and were pleasantly surprised at how good it was. Max in particular was like, "That's really good!", so.

I looked it up and laughed, because it was a recipe from the Moosewood Cookbook!

I told Max I could make it, so. Picked up oyster mushrooms at the store. Had everything else on hand.

Made a new loaf of bread tonight, reducing the amount of water, and it was fine.

Cooked the soup. Omitted the sour cream and the salt (I was using salted butter for the onion step, and like — tamari is pretty salty on its on, too, didn't want to overdo it). The sour cream omission was something I'd seen recommended online to drop the richness of it. Cheated, and instead of making a roux (because I can ALWAYS TASTE THE FLOUR, ugh, I would rather eat wallpaper paste than something made with a traditional French roux — yes, I am weird, and yes, that includes bechamel sauce), I whisked about a tablespoon of corn starch into the milk and added that for the final step with the stock.

Yeah, it was a good dupe of the soup we had at the wine tasting, so. Heh.

It was excellent. The bread was also very good, I put together a green salad to go with it, and on the whole was like, right, yeah, I do know how to cook, so. A much-needed win, I have redeemed myself.

Tomorrow is going to be an attempt at this, I think, so.


Quiet day, otherwise. I started reading Blood on Her Tongue, because my hold came in at the library after having waited for...long enough that I forget when I'd placed it (July, according to the library app). It's...mm. I like parts of it? I suppose I'll post an in-depth review when I'm finished with it. Right now I'm about a third of the way through and it's...something.

Before Blood on Her Tongue was — some dumb memoir by a trauma surgeon from the Rockies that was probably not worth the hour it took to read (dude is massively burnt out and I hope he's since gotten to take a proper vacation, but that doesn't make for good reading). Before that, dumb romance novels. I still have a bunch of stuff on my TBR, but the migraines have been frequent of late, and it's very difficult to want to focus on anything when you're dealing with that level of pain. It's part of why I haven't been posting much, here — when it's like, "well, today was another day, and all that happened was I had a migraine and so slept most of the day and I'm still in pain", why bother? so.


Other stuff:

-I'm doing [community profile] getyourwordsout and I'm on track to meet my goal for the year! Which feels very nice, ha.

-If you're at all interested in participating in the tropes-based remix event I'm co-running with [personal profile] shadaras, entries are due on the 24th! Details at [community profile] seasonalremix! Right now it's, uh...just me, I think? so as excited as I am to remix my own story, if you've been thinking about it, now's the time. :D

-I wasn't planning on being an official DEI committee member this year (because I forgot the fucking deadline, whoops), but apparently the city recorder has Thoughts On That, because I got an email today telling me nicely that there were still vacancies and would I be willing to fill one? She asked Manda, too, at some event or another, if I was going to be signing up again, as "the city would find it valuable", so. I filled it out. I was planning to volunteer in an unofficial capacity anyway; this is just — yeah. I think it's mostly that I'm used to running meetings in a very different context and have no compunction about telling someone, like, "that's great, thank you, we are not doing that" and getting stuff back on track.

-After a conversation with Ed (therapist) I am thinking about career stuff in a sort of different light. More on that to come, maybe, when I am up for talking about it — his perspective on things was difficult mostly because, like — I pay my therapist to be the voice of reason, right (among, you know, other things), and so hearing him be like, "I am wondering why you haven't thought about doing [thing I have secretly thought about doing like every day for the last four years] for work?"

I laughed when he asked, then got flustered and was like, well, because — and couldn't come up with a good answer. So.

(It is very boring, fear not, I am just sort of — mm. Fragile enough about it at the moment that anyone going, "Oh, really, are you sure that's a good idea?" will probably make me cry. Ha. :P )

Talked to Max about it and he was like, "huh."

So.

God, that's a really cryptic way to end an entry — I promise, I am not going to run away to join the circus, suddenly start training to be an Olympic gymnast (HA), or anything else that is wildly unattainable. It is very boring and staid! It's just...not something I had let myself think about, for reasons that are difficult to get into. So.


Off to go write, again. It dawns on me that part 3 of this project (which is, to be fair, an unedited nightmare) is at 75k words long. Good lord.
numb3r_5ev3n: Concentric red and cyan hexagon pattern. (Default)
[personal profile] numb3r_5ev3n
On youtube, here.

I like how he goes straight into the way that Tron was an expression of 60s Left Wing idealism, and the idea of taking on a corrupt corporate entity: and even going into the spirituality and consciousness-expanding aspects of it.

Spoilers for the Tron franchise. )

Today was a tad chilly

Jan. 20th, 2026 11:46 pm
cornerofmadness: (Default)
[personal profile] cornerofmadness
damn near had to zip my jacket this morning (it was 14 F) Less said about work the better (still dealing with the issues of that mix up) but the funny thing is we were loaned (from another failing program) the autoclave and incubators. So I went in to see how they were going as my researchers are ramping up. The autoclave isn't put together (and the fuse box is MIA) and NONE of the incubators are done. Me and DM were working on them. It's like incubators by IKEA and it's ALL in German and nothing is complete (I have a German student, I might drag him in there) It's so dumb I'm laughing.

Today was Cheese Cake and Golden Girls at the library. Just bring/eat cheesecake and watch a couple episodes of GG. It was packed. I was someone's hero because I gave her some of my lactose pills (she forgot hers). You'll share them? Yes, of course. It was fun except....for the two tables in the back who just kept talking thru the entire first episode we watched. Like fucking non stop. I really wanted to say hey, STFU. We're here trying to enjoy ourselves but we can't even hear teh show. I hate that women are so well trained to be 'nice' that sometimes making waves is hard. And then they had the audacity to shove in a couple pieces of cheesecake and then left without watching the first 30 minutes all the way thru. Didn't care. Glad they gone.

Came home. Realized OMG the authors zoom is tonight and I'm exhausted. I shook it off. Wrote over 2500 words in 1 1/2 hours. Well yay for me.

No fannish 50. I'm too tired again.

Also dummy went outside this morning. Refused to come back. I'm like of all days to go out and run off rocket. He's back and he's fine.

Tuesday word: Grandfamily

Jan. 20th, 2026 08:40 pm
simplyn2deep: (Teen Wolf::Sterek::BW)
[personal profile] simplyn2deep posting in [community profile] 1word1day
Tuesday, January 20, 2026

Grandfamily (noun)
grandfamily [grand-fam-uh-lee, fam-lee]


noun, plural grandfamilies
1. a family in which one or more children live with and are raised by their grandparent or grandparents: Grandfamilies exist because of absent parents, and the circumstances behind that can vary greatly from one case to the next.

Origin: First recorded in 1960–65; grand ( def. ) + family ( def. )

Example Sentences
“I hear from the grandfamily caregivers that they don’t want to be a part of ‘the system,’” Keith Lowhorne, vice president of kinship with the Alabama Foster and Adoptive Parents Association, said in the report.
From Washington Post

Gentry said she hopes more grandfamily communities like hers pop up around the country so residents can provide support for one another when resources are not readily available.
From Seattle Times

More older Americans are finding a haven in the “grandfamily housing” communities sprouting nationwide.
From New York Times

There are at least 19 grandfamily housing programs with on-site services across the United States, financed by a mix of public and private funding, according to Generations United, a nonprofit focused on intergenerational collaboration.
From New York Times

Projects are underway in Washington, D.C., and Redmond, Ore., and lawmakers in the House reintroduced the Grandfamily Housing Act, which would create a national pilot program to expand grandfamily housing.
From New York Times
siderea: (Default)
[personal profile] siderea
Hey, Americans! Do you live around or south of the Mason-Dixon line? If so, your weather report for later this week is shaping up to be a bit exciting. Looks like Actual Winter will be visiting places that historically have been poorly prepared for this sort of thing, i.e. TX, the South, and the mid-Atlantic.

(Also eventually the NE, but a forecast of a few feet of snow is threatening us with a good time.)

H/t to the RyanHallYall YT channel. He's a well-reputed amateur, but his report is congruent with what I'm seeing in conventional weather reports:


https://youtube.com/shorts/nh4JEVGWfFU

Good luck and remember running a charcoal grill in your living room is a dumb way to die.

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