I think I already posted about Era 1, but I just finished Era 2 and it was so heartbreaking at the end. This is not the post for spoilers. But there are so many good quotes in there.
“You’re meant to be helping people.”
A review of “Communion”
I haven’t read Communion, by JD Vance, and I probably won’t.
I did read Hillbilly Elegy, and my primary impression was that he had never heard the word “classism” or had an intelligent discussion with anybody who understood the concept of intersectionality. (If you’re local to me and want to borrow my copy, which I marked up with commentary, let me know.)
Anyway, in my place, I offer Elizabeth Spiers’s review.
Books of 2026: Mistborn Era 1
Mistborn: The Final Empire
The Well of Ascension
The Hero of Ages
Brandon Sanderson
I first read Mistborn almost 20 years ago, after enjoying Elantris a great deal…and I bounced off it HARD. It was such a grim dark world, Vin was insufferable and “not like the other girls” in my eyes, and I just was not here for it.
But this year, I decided I would give them another try; and I’m so glad I did.
Being immersed in the Cosmere means that I was spoiled for most of the major events of the second two books, but that’s okay. I can accept a few spoilers.
I would like to get a marewill flower tattoo, to go with my bannion flower. Perhaps I will have a whole bouquet of literary flowers someday.
Books of 2026: Hemlock and Silver
Hemlock and Silver, by T. Kingfisher
I picked up this one at a Boozy Book Fair (the local independent bookstore made a deal with a local pub to host a book fair, and it was a smashing success). Took me a minute to read it, but I was enthralled. I love twists on fairy tales (although this one is unique enough that I’m not even sure that’s an accurate description), and I love stories with middle aged protagonists (I need to reread Paladin of Souls).
Books of 2026: There is no antimemetics division
This year or late last, I read “There is no antimemetics division” by qntm. This is a delightfully bizarre story based on stories from the SCP wiki. I would like to read more novel-form-factor SCP stories.
It bears a certain similarity to Ruin, and I’ll say no more about that.
Books of 2026: Spinning Silver
I’m just trying to write down the books I’ve been reading this year.
In January, I read Spinning Silver, by Naomi Novik. I’m not Lithuanian, and I’m not Jewish, and I’m not as plugged in to my Eastern European heritage as I’d like to be…but this book felt like home. It’s hard to explain why.
The first time I read it, I was sad that Miriam/Wanda was not the ship.
The second time I read it, I was okay with how it turned out.
I would like to try krupnik. Apparently we call it boilo here?
Potioncraft
Last week, I finished playing the game Potioncraft. It was honestly exactly the sort of cozy little dopamine hit I needed during the end of the summer and all the changes and transitions going on.
It’s also the first game I’ve ever 100%’d on Steam, or possibly ever. (I don’t tend to finish games; even Spirit Tracks, my favorite Zelda game, isn’t complete because I couldn’t fight Ganon or whoever it was. Gosh, was that really 15 years ago?)
In any case. If you like crafting sims that are navigational puzzle games, give Potioncraft a shot.
Moonstone Island
I have been playing a really great game recently called Moonstone Island, on the Steam deck. The way I describe it to my friends is:
Imagine that you’re playing Stardew Valley, but you’re also catching Pokemon, and those Pokemon battle each other using Slay the Spire decks.
It’s very very cute, and also has nice queer representation. All pluses in my book.
Wind and Truth Read: Prologue
This post contains spoilers for the Prologue of “Wind and Truth” by Brandon Sanderson.
Continue reading “Wind and Truth Read: Prologue”Financial order of operations
A friend of mine shared this link with me, and I’m really appreciating it right now.
I’m always looking for new ways of thinking about money, and this post highlights one of my own weaknesses: I always tend to go for a mathematical solution, rather than looking at the root emotional causes of what I’m doing. So thinking about what it is I want to be able to do with my money is an important thing for me to step back and contemplate.
Along with that, though, her second point about creating a Descriptive Budget first is something I already love. The first step (or, in her list here, the second step) to taking control of your money is knowing where it all is going.
Steps 3 and 4, emergency fund and employer matching, are also good; though from the title I had expected 4 to be about Lifecycle funds. But I guess that comes later!
Step 5 is interesting. She calls it “pay off then highest interest rates first,” but also talks about the snowball method (pay off lowest balances first). Fortunately, those two things often run together – a credit card balance is likely to be smaller than a car, house, or student loan, and it’s likely to have the lowest rate. So that makes sense.
Steps 6 and 7 are emergency fund and retirement, again. I approve. Then step 9 is about aggressively paying off debts. I like that this comes after establishing baseline financial security first; debt is not a great thing to have, especially if it has high interest, but it’s not evil.
Steps 8 and 10 relate back to Step 1: thinking about what you want again, and then making it happen. Most things in the world come with a concrete price that you can look at and save up for, even if that price is not immediately visible. And prioritizing your dreams and placing them within the context of what you want to do is a great way to make them much more accessible.
In short: I like this financial writer!
Emilybook 