Contest(s)

• Blodeuedd’s giving away a copy of Romancing the Soul by Sarah Tranter. Closes January 18.

Bookity

• New releases: Fiction Vixen (UF/romance), Tor.com (PNR), and Literary Escapism (UF/PNR)

• Book and publishing news from Dear Author.

• Book and writerly linkity from Becky Black.

• “The not-so-fine lines between critiquing and policing“.

• Vacuous Minx on “author, voice, text”.

• New words added to the OED in 2013.

• WordHippo sounds like a great online dictionary replacement.

• Getting started with fanfiction.

• “The incredible eccentricities of 20 great writers“.

• Bookity linkity from mental_floss.

Think, Do, Make, Learn

• Activity trackers seem to be the thing now – here are a few companies that are coming out with them soonishly: Razer, Sony, Casio, Mio, Epson, Garmin.

• Carl Sagan was a smart guy.

• Photos from a very cold Chicago.

• The importance of darkness for sleeping.

• Practical math shortcuts.

• If you used Yahoo from a PC between December 31 and January 3 and you were anywhere other than North America, Asia Pacific, and Latin America – you might have malware.

• Ever wondered about the calorie requirements of a T-Rex?

• If you get annoyed by people taking pictures instead of “experiencing”… (Hover your cursor for additional text.)

Cookity

• Vegan recipes.

• 10 vegetarian soups.

• 9 vegetable soups.

• 15 lunches for work that don’t need to be reheated.

• Rosemary tomato frittata. (via The Kitchn)

• Pink grapefruit, avocado, hazelnut, fig, and sage salad. (via The Kitchn)

• Crunchy cabbage salad with spicy peanut dressing. (via The Kitchn)

• White bean Swiss chard soup. (via The Kitchn)

• Manado spicy braised chicken. (via The Kitchn)

• Homemade fig newtons.

• Whiskey-sriracha caramel corn. (via CRAFT)

• Skinny pumpkin energy bites. (via CRAFT)

Gluten Free

• Crunchy chocolate chip cookies.

• Super fudgy brownies.

• Lemon-blueberry muffins, plus a lighter version.

• Peanut sauce.

Cool

• Button sculptures.

• The Simpsons LEGO set.

• Pictures of Niagara Falls in winter.

• Frozen soap bubbles.

• TARDIS yarn bowl.

• Make Doctor Who/TARDIS snow globes.

• Harry Potter travel posters. (via The Mary Sue)

• Game of Thrones Funko minis.

• Linkity from kmkat.

Cool or Wha…?

• TARDIS shower rack. (via The Mary Sue)

• Octopus chandelier. (via The Mary Sue)

• A very, very large Amazon box.

• Cookie Monster’s version of The Life of Pi.

Wha…?

• Mountain Dew Cheetos.

• Bluetooth toothbrush that will nag you to brush.

• Kraft is running out of Velveeta.

LOL

• Neil Patrick Harris had a margarita drinking contest with himself on vacation in Mexico.

• If my oven was at his eye level, Chaos would do the same.

• Smart cat!

• Ah, cats…

• *sigh*

Teh Cute

• Baby ocelot! Baby penguin! Baby buffalo! Lynx and babies! Black kittens! Ducklings! Penguins! Baby okapi! Baby lions!

Reading Update

• Hockey fics…

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“…zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…” -Chaos

“…zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…” -Mayhem

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Congrats to Kayla J, who won Galen and the Forest Lord (2nd ed) by Eden Winters!

Congrats to Cia N, Jennifer S, and Jess1, who won Behind the Curtain by Amy Lane! Behind the Curtain will be released by Dreamspinner Press on January 6.

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Randonymity

• Happy New Year to all of you! 🙂

• Seriously, I think I’m just going to hibernate until spring. My car’s already decided to do the same. *sigh*

• Brace yourselves – at the moment, I don’t have any contests on the schedule until early February. 🙂

Bookity

• New releases: Fiction Vixen (UF/romance) and Tor.com (SF, fantasy, UF, genre benders)

• Book and publishing news from Dear Author.

• Sherlock Holmes has been ruled to be in the public domain in the US.

• The Hockey RPF Holiday Exchange collection is live at AO3 now – 77 shiny new hockey fics to read!

• “Disrespecting your reading audience 101“.

• “Ten scientific non-fiction books to fire up your imagination“. (Emma Sea, I’m sure you’ve already read most of these!)

• Shortlist for the Bad Sex Awards 2013.

• 13 vintage posters promoting libraries.

• Book Hive interactive installation. (via Gizmodo)

• William Shakespeare’s Star Wars.

• The techno panic timeline. (Starts in 1494, but come on – there were people complaining about how writing/reading were going to destroy memory long before then.)

• Of course he doesn’t!

• Yes, this.

Think, Do, Make, Learn

• Chris Kluwe speaks out being released from the Vikings, which he suspects is because of his LGBTQ rights activism.

• The science of chocolate.

• The story of the inventor of the Etch A Sketch told via Etch A Sketch.

• How the internet is affecting human memory.

• If the world were a cube, how would gravity be different?

• What if humans kept growing at the same speed as during those first few months after birth?

• New Jersey, I think you’re being a bit ridiculous…

• Consumerist presents the 19 worst ads of 2013.

• 10 of the hundreds of new species found in 2013.

• xkcd welcomes 2014. (Make sure you hover your cursor for additional text.)

• Pop Tarts being made is hypnotic.

Cookity

• Sriracha.

• Coconut red lentil dal.

• Vegan salted dark chocolate nut bars.

• Maple cupcakes stacked with mini buttermilk pancakes. (via CRAFT)

• Impossible coconut pie. (via Bron’s Pinterest)

Gluten Free

• Best gf recipes of 2013.

• Cream puffs.

• Soft red velvet chocolate chip cookies.

• Champagne cake.

• Dairy-free hot cocoa with homemade marshmallows.

• Chicken chili with white beans, sweet potatoes, and lime.

Crafty

• Make a center-pull ball of yarn without a ball winder. (via CRAFT)

• Turn a sweater into leg warmers. (via CRAFT)

Cool

• My Little Cthulhu Pony.

• New Year’s with Sir Ian McKellen and Sir Patrick Stewart.

• Steampunk Star Wars.

• Stephen Colbert’s cameo in The Hobbit.

• The Hobbit story scarf. (via The Mary Sue)

• Ministry of Magic site that looks a lot like official UK government sites.

• A Lara Croft fan film.

• Scifi and fantasy with clickbait titles.

• 8 snow sculptures. Or how about a good ol’ Minnesota snow shark?

• Ah, Nathan Fillion.

• Astronaut selfie.

• Linkity from kmkat.

Cool or Wha…?

• Functional pickup truck made of ice.

• Skyscraper candles.

• 2013 in a minute.

Wha…?

• That there’s even a need for Atlanta to have to install urine detectors in the subway…

LOL

• 50 best autocorrects of 2013.

• Robin Hood: the drinking game.

• Bad kitties! (Thanks, Kate!)

• My, what sharp teeth you have…

• Oh oh…

Teh Cute

• Pretty bird! Penguins and baby! Hummingbird! Penguins! Tiger! Tiger!

Reading Update

• Hockey fics! 🙂

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“I’m incognito…” -Chaos

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Congrats to Yvette, who won Training Season by Leta Blake!

Congrats to Loren, who won Where the Lovelight Gleams by Keira Andrews!

Congrats to Karl, who won Nowhere to Hide (2nd ed) by Clare London! Nowhere to Hide (2nd ed) will be released December 22 by JMS Books.

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Randonymity

• Whoops! I missed my eighth blogiversary at the end of November. Oh well. 🙂

• This is totally how I feel about winter right now.

• I spent a bit of my workday Thursday at urgent care – I’ve had a red, painful, hot, swollen spot on top of my foot since Saturday and I have no idea what it’s from. Doesn’t look like a bite. I haven’t stubbed my toes or dropped anything on my foot, plus there’s no bruising. After xrays and blood tests, a broken bone, gout, and cellulitis were eliminated. Apparently it doesn’t look like rheumatoid or osteoarthritis. The doctor decided maybe it was a low-grade infection and sent me home with antibiotics. Here’s hoping…

Contest(s)

• Blodeuedd’s giving away Dangerous Decisions by Margaret Kaine. Closes December 21.

Bookity

• New releases: Fiction Vixen (UF/romance)

• Book and publishing news from Dear Author.

• Eric Arvin, author of gay fiction, is in the hospital and will be there for a while – read more about it and find out how you can help.

• Becky Black’s editing recipe.

• Vacuous Minx considers the broken man trope.

• What’s your birthday word? (via mental_floss) Mine’s “computernik”, which obviously didn’t become widely used…

• Historically, when were there more books than could be read in a lifetime?

• The Story Coaster. (via Book Bites)

• Bedsheet books. (via Wil Wheaton)

Think, Do, Make, Learn

• If you’ve used a credit or debit card at Target in the past month… What to do when your credit card information is stolen.

• Ewww. Don’t follow that link if you ever want to eat a chicken breast again.

• The FDA is proposing that antibacterial soap manufacturers have a year to prove their products are more effective than plain soap and water, plus are safe for long-term use.

• How educated is the US?

• Where to view the 25 films just added to the US National Film Registry.

Cookity

• Pepper chicken on rice cracker. (via The Kitchn)

• Baked egg with polenta cake. (via The Kitchn)

• Jumbo stuffed mushrooms with prosciutto and pine nuts. (via The Kitchn)

• Spiced potato cakes.

• Fried chickpea polenta sandwich.

• Cookie butter. (via The Kitchn)

• Salted caramel and coconut brownies. (via The Kitchn)

• Chocolate truffle shortbread bars.

• Chai tea cookies.

• Heavenly hash bars.

Drinkity

• Cinnamon roll latte. (via The Kitchn)

• Strawberry shortcake smoothie. (via The Kitchn)

• Bourbon eggnog.

Gluten Free

• Vegan chewy almond spice cookies.

• Chewy sugar cookies.

• Peanut butter blossom cookies.

• Coconut snowballs.

• Chocolate gingerbread.

• Gingerbread men.

• English muffin bread.

Cool

• Sir Patrick Stewart and Sir Ian McKellen sitting on Santa’s lap.

• “Rebels, It’s Cold Outside: A Star Wars Christmas Song“.

• Dragon skeleton dress. (via The Mary Sue)

• LEGO Sydney Opera House.

• Lord of the Rings battle scene recreated in candy.

• Harry Potter-themed wedding photo.

• Santa Cthulhu. (via CRAFT)

• Early December hockey hugs.

• Puck Daddy’s top 10 hockey hugs of 2013.

Cool or Wha…?

• Chocolate Toast Crunch cereal.

• Influenza wrapping paper.

• Unusual snow globes.

Wha…?

• Black pepper bacon Christmas tree garland. (via CRAFT)

• 3-D printed food.

LOL

• Take a test to find out how British you are. (Perhaps unsurprisingly, I scored as American.)

• 20 drunk autocorrects.

• You had one job, Phil. People died because of you, Phil.

• The truth about Firefly.

• The second part of Simon’s Cat in Christmas Presence.

• Cats “helping” with holiday decorating, set to music. (Thanks, Cheryl!) And also this.

• Having cats means no privacy.

• Wow, you’re home early.

• The caption makes it.

Teh Cute

• Baby sand cats! Tiger! Snow leopard and baby! Lions! Black cat! Cheetah and babies! Baby tigers! Baby ocelot! Wet Wylla! Baby lion!

Reading Update

• Falalalala hockey fics!

• My reading year in review. 😉

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“Is that a furry rattly mouse I spy?!” -Mayhem

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Congrats to Trix, who won In Another Life by Cardeno C!

Congrats to Alder, who won Mark of the Familiar and Gift of the Familiar by Alex Whitehall! ! Gift of the Familiar is being released today by Storm Moon Press.

Congrats to Emily, who won Old Loyalty, New Love by Mary Calmes! Old Loyalty, New Love is being released today by Dreamspinner Press.

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Randonymity

• I made a playlist for one of my favorite hockey fics.

• I’m completely over this winter thing. *shivering*

Contest(s)

• Clare London’s giving away an ebook copy of The Fall by Kate Sherwood. Closes December 16.

• Blodeuedd’s giving away a copy of Everlasting Enchantment by Kathryne Kennedy. Closes December 18.

Bookity

• New releases: Fiction Vixen (UF/romance) and Tor.com (PNR)

• Book and publishing news from Dear Author.

• Becky Black on absolutes as bad writing advice.

• Romance vs romantic.

• Snark’s place in book reviews/criticism.

• Important libraries of the world.

• 31 stereotypes about book lovers. (via TeleRead)

Think, Make, Learn, Do

• “12 obvious things confirmed by science“.

• Infographic about 84 symptoms that could indicate celiac disease (or a bunch of other things, really).

• Does knowing there are $1 billion worth of unredeemed gift cards in the US make you think twice about giving them?

• How squirrels became ubiquitous in the US.

• There’s a newly realized and extremely potent greenhouse gas.

Cookity

• Shrimp tacos with guacamole and sprout slaw.

• Chili cornbread bake. (via The Kitchn)

• 8 chocolatey cookies.

• Vegan chocolate pie.

• Pumpkin chocolate skillet cake. (via The Kitchn)

• Gingerbread waffles. (via The Kitchn)

Drinkity

• 14 hot chocolate tips and recipes.

• Vanilla bean hot buttered rum. (via The Kitchn)

Gluten Free

• Snowy lemon cookies.

• Soft chocolate chip cookies.

• Fluffernutter sugar cookies.

• Thumbprint cookies with chocolate filling.

Crafty

• Make a Death Star ornament.

• Gift ideas for knitters.

• Make Game of Thrones snowflakes. (via Tor.com)

Cool

• Helicopter ice hockey.

• Whimsical crosswalks.

• Powerpuff Doctors.

• Sesame Street’s Lord of the Rings parody.

• Make geeky decorations from LEGO.

• LEGO version of The Blues Brothers‘ mall chase scene.

• LEGO Rivendell. (via Gizmodo)

• Mug to keep your tea hot for longer.

Cool or Wha…?

• Giant M&Ms.

• Magnetic cushions for sturdy pillow forts.

• Sticky notes on a roll.

• Extremely minimalist Nativity set.

• Knitted facehugger.

• Budweiser UK’s tweet-powered knitting machine that’s knitting Christmas sweaters.

• “The Twelve Days of Christmas” as performed by the Twin Peaks cast.

Wha…?

• Multitool with a spritzer and napkin holder, among other things.

• Spice grinders made from posable artist’s hands.

• There’s going to be a ouija board movie.

LOL

• 15 Harry Potter autocorrects.

• Snapemas tree.

• Aww. Aww!

• So true!

• Yes, yes you are.

• Simon’s Cat Christmas, part 1.

• Yet another reason I don’t have a tree during the holidays. This might work, though.

• If there was a bare spot on his tummy, this could be Chaos!

• Chaos would love to do this, I’m sure, but he wouldn’t fit through the lid like that.

• What a friendly kitty…

Teh Cute

• Fennec! Cheetahs and babies! Tiger and baby! Baby leopards!

Reading Update

• Hockey fics! 😀

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“See? I can be just as beautiful as Mayhem!” -Chaos

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Congrats to Astrid, who won Merry Gentlemen by Josephine Myles!

Congrats to  choccygrl, who won A Lion in Tails by Andrew Grey! A Lion in Tails will be released by Dreamspinner Press on December 1 as part of its 2013 Advent Calendar.

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Randonymity

• I know I said there wouldn’t be linkity this week, but since I needed to post something about two contests closing this evening, you got a teeny weeny bit of linkity, too.

• I sold my old condo! And there was much rejoicing.

Bookity

• New releases and more: Fiction Vixen (romance/UF)

• Book and publishing news from Dear Author.

• “Taking the ‘bull’ out of book review ‘bullying’“.

• Three unpublished JD Salinger stories have leaked online.

• Infographic of all the deaths in Game of Thrones.

• Accurate for those of us who read fanfic.

Think, Do, Make, Learn

• Visualization of US public radio.

• Could you survive on pumpkin spice items for a week? (via Consumerist)

• Simon’s real cats.

• Antarctica from space.

Cookity

• Butternut squash, sage, and goat cheese lasagne. (via The Kitchn)

• Winter greens soup. (via The Kitchn)

• Cranberry margaritas. (via The Kitchn)

• Sparkling apple cider sangria.

Gluten Free

• Dairy-free Bailey’s Irish Cream copycat recipe.

• Vegan pumpkin cheesecake.

• Custard pie.

Wha…?

• Poutine-flavoured potato chips.

• Bacon deodorant.

LOL

• How telescopes are named. (Hover your cursor for more text.)

• 10 best “picture this” autocorrects.

• The cats and the couch.

Teh Cute

• The budgie and the tennis ball! Tiger and baby! Baby cheetahs! Black cat! Tiger and baby! Cat and kittens! Baby lions! Baby lion playing in a leaf pile!

Reading Update

• I’ll let you guess. 😉

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Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na, BatCat!

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Congrats to Peaches, who won Inside Out by Andrew Grey! Inside Out will be released by Dreamspinner Press on November 25.

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Randonymity

• I think I’ve triumphed over Windows 8 on my new computer by installing a shell that makes it mostly act like Windows 7. 🙂

• No linkity next week, due to the US Thanksgiving holiday.

Bookity

• New releases: Fiction Vixen (UF/romance) and AAR (romance)

• Book and publishing news from Dear Author.

• Dear Author on authors and professionalism.

• Great quote from Stacia Kane on the author-reader relationship.

• Bookwyrm Nicole is interested in finding out what others think of serials.

• Becky Black wonders where the authentic alpha males in romance novels have gone.

• On the influence of Kurt Vonnegut.

• It’s probably best not to read about the results of library book biological testing.

• Visualization of all the deaths in the Game of Thrones books.

• Temporary Jane Austen tattoos.

• Lovely accordion-style book lamp.

Think, Do, Make, Learn

• How the Titanic compares to modern cruise ships.

• 15 more Victorian slang terms.

• Could you boil a cup of tea by stirring it?

• A new KMart ad for Joe Boxer has (some) customers upset.

• Can you identify the hockey player by his (horrific) Movember mustache?

• Figure out your retirement number.

• Film footage of San Francisco before and after the 1906 fire.

• Tour the canals of Venice via Google Street View. Or visit some US national parks. Or tour Middle Earth.

• “What the Twin Cities can teach us about living well“.

Cookity

• One-pan pasta.

• Chorizo cornbread stuffing. (via The Kitchn)

• Cranberry orange quinoa salad. (via The Kitchn)

• Baked tomatoes with masala coconut. (via The Kitchn)

• Brussels sprout hash with sweet potato and bacon. (via The Kitchn)

• Peanut soba spring rolls. (via The Kitchn)

• Pumpkin hummus with spiced lamb. (via The Kitchn)

• Sweet potato seven-layer dip. (via The Kitchn)

• Cheesy Juicy Lucy bean burger. (via The Kitchn)

• Kale turkey soup. (via The Kitchn)

• Cinnamon roll bundt cake. (via The Kitchn)

• Bourbon dark chocolate crack cookies. (via The Kitchn)

• Flourless chocolate, coffee, and raspberry brownies. (via The Kitchn)

• Pumpkin spice latte.

Gluten-Free

• Sweet potato black bean enchiladas.

• Salted caramel butter bars.

• Shoofly pantry pie.

• Cranberry bread.

• Pumpkin bread pudding.

• Chai-spiced pumpkin bars.

• Vegetarian GF Thanksgiving recipes.

Cool

• World’s largest LEGO snowglobe.

• Stop-motion tissue paper animals.

• Watch a short film written by Neil Gaiman. (via Tor.com)

• Blade Runner recreated with 12,000 watercolors.

• The Avengers trailer made with footage from the gag reel.

• Google Australia has a Doctor Who game as today’s doodle.

• Hockey hugs!

Cool or Wha…?

• “The Hunger Games, as performed by cats“.

• If you were worried about staying staying at the Swedish ice hotel because it never had fire alarms before, worry no more.

Wha…?

• A candle that smells like fried chicken.

• Laser-guided pizza cutter.

• NHL player snuggies.

• Adult-sized Star Wars onesies – they also have TARDIS onesies… (via The Mary Sue)

• How will you ever decide between bacon candy canes and sriracha candy canes?

• White chocolate Pringles.

• The Walking Dead Monopoly.

• Hunger Games theme park.

• Add a light-up stegosaurus to your holiday lawn display.

LOL

• Who does it better, human or cat? (Thanks, Cheryl!)

• If Schrodinger was a cat person…

• 12 family-friendly autocorrects.

• Overly honest methods…

• Parody of Gravity set in IKEA.

• How to spice up reading the news.

• Cheat sheet for questions that get asked every time new technology is introduced.

• Chaos manages this (heavy on the annoying and light on the endearing, usually).

• Camouflage – you’re doing it right.

• Awww.

• Can’t say I blame him.

• Might have a point there.

• Clever!

• Smart bunny!

Teh Cute

• Baby dik-diks! Lynx and baby! Black kitten! Panda and baby! Baby snow leopards! Wolf and baby! Flamingo and baby! Baby ocelot! Baby moose! Baby tigers! Leopard and baby!

Reading Update

• Hockey fics………………………

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“…zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…” -Chaos

“There aren’t enough birds to look at now. Hmph.” -Mayhem

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Congrats to Carolyn, who won Home for the Holidays (The Replacement Guitarist #2) (2nd ed) by Lori Toland! Lori will release Home for the Holidays on November 18.

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Randonymity

• I had the best intentions to do linkity… 🙂 But I treated myself to a new laptop as an early birthday present (I’ll be 47 on Sunday – ack!!!) and let’s just say the transition to Windows 8 isn’t going smoothly. *muttering darkly* Anyway, I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend, even without linkity. You can always catch up on some you missed, right?!

Bookity

• Allie Brosh reading from her Hyperbole and a Half book.

Cookity

• 27 pancake recipes (such as Gluten-Free Oatmeal Cookie Pancakes, Double-Stuff Oreo Pancakes, and Red Velvet Pancakes with Coconut Syrup and Blueberries).

• Quinoa and winter squash bake.

• Gluten-free pumpkin cinnamon buns.

Cool

• The story behind Simon’s Cat.

• The US is getting Harry Potter postage stamps on Tuesday.

Cool or Wha…?

• A stage version of The Princess Bride is in the works…

• Life-sized Captain Jack Sparrow cake. (via The Mary Sue)

Wha…?

• Doctors practice on robot butts?! (Potentially NSFW.)

• Scandalous appliances.

Teh Cute

• Baby fennecs!

Reading Update

• Hockey fics! You knew that already. 🙂

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“Really, it’s terrible – Mom’s just been futzing with that new laptop and muttering some appalling things while she neglects us! We’ve even been forced to entertain ourselves.” -Mayhem

“Well, that trash basket was a bust, May – shall we move on to the next?” -Chaos

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Congrats to Isa, who won Spokes by PD Singer!

Congrats to Carey, who won All In with the Duke (Gambling on Love #1) by Ava March! All In with the Duke will be released by Carina Press on November 11.

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Randonymity

To be honest, I expected a bit more of an Enchanted Forest – make sure you look out for leaks from above…

May was sprawled on the trackpad earlier and managed to resize my normal, tiny recycle bin quite a bit – now it’s ginormous:

Contest(s)

• Blodeuedd’s giving away Is This Love? by Sue Moorcroft. Closes November 16.

• Answer the question to a four-pack Christmas novel four-pack from Blodeuedd. Closes December 7.

Bookity

• New releases and more: Fiction Vixen (romance/UF), Literary Escapism (UF/PNR), and Tor.com (PNR)

• Book and publishing news from Dear Author.

• Writerly links from Beck Black.

• Paperback Writer on trusting yourself as you write.

• Fiction Vixen wonders how predictable we are as readers.

• “Authors should know when to call it quits“. (I’m looking at you, Janet Evanovich and Laurell K Hamilton.)

• Read the original Frankenstein manuscript online.

• Yes, this.

• 13 book sculptures.

• Typography holy wars. (Hover your cursor for additional text.)

Think, Do, Learn, Make

• New body part discovered! (It’s a knee ligament. Don’t get too excited there.)

• Neil deGrasse Tyson on how to blow up a planet.

• “How much do you know about the world?” (via Experiment BL26)

• What would the world’s coastlines look like if all the ice melted?

• The FDA is starting the process to get trans fat out of US food.

• Which is more nutritious, fresh or frozen?

• 56 Victorian slang terms to cheer up your chuckaboos when they’ve got the morbs!

• Blockbuster Video’s closing its remaining stores by January.

• Will Barilla’s new diversity initiatives be enough for people to forget its president’s anti-gay remarks?

• Simpsons math.

• The minivan was invented 30 years ago.

• Build a bicycle-powered battery for emergency power. (I would be the worst parent. I would let my kids watch as much tv and play as many video games as they wanted… as long as they were able to continue powering their watching and gaming.)

Cookity

• 10 oatmeal recipes.

• 8 recipes with butternut squash.

• Beet hummus.

• Sweet potato chips.

• Roasted veggie, bean, and herb salad. (via The Kitchn)

• Artichoke and spinach grilled cheese sandwich. (via The Kitchn)

• Broccoli chicken mac and cheese. (via The Kitchn)

• Cheesy brown rice gratin with zucchini and eggplant. (via The Kitchn)

• Turkey sausage and spinach lasagna. (via The Kitchn)

• Spicy Thai steak salad.

• Fried egg salad.

• 8 stews.

• Banana bread doughnuts. (via The Kitchn)

• Whiskey Black Forest cake. (via The Kitchn)

• Cranberry chocolate brioche roll. (via The Kitchn)

• Cocoa and toast bread pudding.

• 7-layer candy bar dip.

Gluten Free

• Paleo chocolate chip muffins.

• Copycat brownie brittle.

• Pumpkin spice bundt cake.

• Pound cake.

• Holiday dinner rolls.

• Thanksgiving recipes and tips.

Crafty

• Turn sweaters into sweatpants (swants). (Thanks?!, Jeanne!)

• Crochet a rainboy baby sweater. (via CRAFT)

• TechKnitting on steeks.

Cool

• 35 gift ideas from mental_floss. (Dammit, I just bought something for myself from the list. NO, it wasn’t the cat hat.)

• What famous science fiction movies and tv shows would be like if they actually followed scientific principles. (You can follow @HardSciFiMovies on Twitter for more.)

• Don’t steal from old ladies who are competitive axe throwers.

• May will leap after toys flying through the air, but I’m not sure she’s as good at leaping.

• My Little Pony fan animation.

• NASA’s pumpkin carving contest.

• 12 best airline safety videos.

• Great photo of the Minneapolis skyline.

• Tiny Princess Thor.

• Turn bookshelves into cat trees. But only bookshelves that are securely anchored to the wall!!

Cool or Wha…?

• Le Chat Noir socks. (Thanks, Cheryl!)

• Denny’s has a hobbit menu?!

• Save the BiLiONS!

• Dunkin’ Donuts will be serving red velvet lattes and salted caramel hot chocolate.

• Game of Thrones hoodies.

• Socks that match the tunnels at LAX.

• Punny Potter t-shirt.

Wha…?

• Terrifying crocheted ski cap from 1967.

• I’m really glad I don’t like bananas…

• I can’t imagine The Fifth Element with that cast…

• A French hockey team’s player photos.

• Huh. I guess I’m a PANK now.

• Glow-in-the-dark ice cream for $225/scoop.

LOL

• I don’t think this version of Thor: The Dark World was released in the US…

• A bit of research would’ve helped. (That acronym is actually this word, if you aren’t familiar with it.)

• Yes, this.

• Thomas Kinkade paints are better with Star Wars added.

• If you’re not familiar with how an opossum differs from the Australian possum…

• Fortunately I eased his feeding time back over a week or two. Whew! (Thanks, PD!)

• Wedding photobomb.

Teh Cute

• Baby red pandas! Baby olinguito! Tiger and babies! Okapi and baby! Wylla! More Wylla! Baby lions!

Reading Update

• Hockeyficshockeyficshockeyfics.

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It’s catghan season! 23 lbs of cats keeps my legs very warm before they go numb.