Happy Pride 2024!
And I made a real zine!
Hello, friends! I am absolutely wrecked today between far too much work and my body refusing to rest properly last night. That latter may have come from residual excitement over making and selling my very first minizine, which is far closer to the traditional zines most people think of when they hear the term and not the overachieving books I keep producing, lol.
As my gift to you, dear readers, here’s the img file that you can print out, cut and fold at home:
You can purchase physical copies of the zine at my favorite local bookstore, People’s Book in Takoma Park. I’ll be sending these out for free as a bonus item for my Camp Elementa Kickstarter backers, too! My head is buzzing with ideas for more, actual zines, but I really need to finish setting up the BackerKit for Camp Elementa first. I’ve correctly loaded all the SKUs (I think: I suspect I may need to make a whole other subset for post-KS backers,) and need to move on to weights and postage. My anxiety is honestly through the roof, but I figure if I do it all in tiny little baby bites, it will get done. Some progress is better than no progress, is my mantra.
On the plus side, I actually managed to complete a lot of board games and related this week! I got to review the Around The World In 50 Birds jigsaw puzzle for work, and really enjoyed putting it together over the last month or so. It hit the sweet spot of being challenging without being frustrating, letting me hit a nice flow state of looking at many of the pieces and knowing very quickly where they went due to the rich art and textures across the entire image. It was also delightfully educational, with a foldout poster that was packed with facts about each of the fifty birds depicted. Highly recommended for both jigsaw and bird enthusiasts.
I also played two board games with nature themes this week: Dux Somnium’s Botany and Elizabeth Hargrave’s Tussie Mussie. Having heard mixed reviews about the former but really wanting to jump in on the related bonuses that came with Dux Somnium’s follow-up Kickstarter campaign, La Fleur, I was really pleased by how much I enjoyed the globe-trotting, light strategy, wholly amusing shenanigans of Botany. It was fun to play while watching the Champions’ League final, not requiring too much concentration but still giving me the satisfying feel of engine-building. And oh, the sheer quality of the game components and art! Botany is delightfully luxe, and a bargain at its Kickstarter price. I opened up the Regal Roses expansion after finishing the first playthrough and don’t know why anyone would play anyone but Elizabeth Price. Might have to just shuffle and assign starting characters randomly, at this rate!
Playing Botany inspired me to not only look up the solo rules of Tussie Mussie, but also to teach it to my eldest child. He picked it up really quickly and was super fun to play with, especially after the wild difficulty curve of the solo version. We haven’t dug into any of the expansions yet, but I’ll give them a read through and see whether we feel like giving them a try soon.
Speaking of reading, I’ve gotten back into a nice groove, I feel, or at least am feeling a little less anxious about at least that part of my life. I really enjoyed Becoming Who We Are edited by Sammy Lisel & Hazel Newlevant, this week. Telling the tales of nine impressive transgender individuals, and describing their childhoods and paths to being out and proud, this is a very valuable volume for anyone afraid of embracing who they really are. Exceptionally illustrated by nine different artists, it underscores the diversity of the trans experience and emphasizes that there’s no one “correct” way to be trans.
I also really enjoyed Ally Condie’s adult mystery debut, The Unwedding. When a natural disaster traps the guests and employees of a luxury resort with a killer, who will be able to figure out whodunnit before more and more people are murdered? In addition to the clever mysteries, I was super impressed by Ms Condie’s ability to write about grief, having very much been there and done that. I only hope that readers come out of it realizing what a total jerkface the main character’s ex-husband is. Ooh, I’m still annoyed thinking about him, what a tool!
I have so much reading to do tonight, but I’m stoked that I could finish this newsletter on time this week, for a change. See you in seven, friends!
Currently Playing (Music): Vivaldi’s Concerto #7; Mozart’s String Quartet #1; Corelli’s Christmas Concerto; my Declan Rice playlist; Miranda Lambert’s Wildcard; Donna Missal’s This Time.
Currently Playing (Games): The Light In The Mist puzzletale, Enigmas by David Kwong & Co, The Wild Beyond The Witchlight, Metazooa by Trainwreck Labs, Learned League trivia, NYT Connections, Around The World In 50 Birds jigsaw puzzle, Tussie Mussie, Botany.
Currently Reading/Writing (Games): Camp Elementa by me! Ghosts Of Saltmarsh.
Currently Reading or Just Read (Books): The Queen Of Poisons by Robert Thorogood; Bunnybirds by Natalie Linn; The Unwedding by Ally Condie; Better Must Come by Desmond Hall; Becoming Who We Are edited by Sammy Lisel & Hazel Newlevant; Fondant Fumble by Jenn McKinley.