As a youth services librarian, I spend a large amount of time trying to turn teenagers into library users. Throughout my education and professional development, I’ve sat through lectures and webinars on engaging reluctant readers, generally defined as students K-12 who are uninterested in reading, particularly leisure reading. There are reading materials specialized to captivate…
Jem and the Somebodies: Death of Childhood Hope
Jem and the Holograms Director: Jon M. Chu Starring: Aubrey Peeples, Stefanie Scott, Aurora Perrineau, Hayley Kiyoko October 23, 2015 Do you know the icy feeling of disappointment as it slides down into your gut? Even when you’re expecting to be let down, when nothing has indicated that things will go well, it’s an awful sensation to…
Love in the Age of Dragons: Unpacking the Romance Systems of Dragon Age
Gamers are an opinionated fan niche. Whether it’s your preferred system or whether you like a twist of romance in your stories, conversations about games can turn from mild disagreements to name-calling no matter the topic. Dreadfully serious folks sometimes find romance plots to be a distraction from “real gaming,” whatever that means, while other…
The Future Is Now With WAW Media
We Are Wakanda (WAW) is an online community turned publishing company that works with fans and creators to explore afrofuturistic themes. In their goal to support diversity in science and sci-fi, they’ve decided to crowdfund their new subscription service to go along with the app they’re launching in the winter. A portion of each subscription fee…
On Shipping: What’s Disney’s, What’s Yours, and What’s Mine
We never expect our ships to become canon. That’s the first thing you need to know. Wait, no. Let me start that again. As a result of creating a new world where there wasn’t one before, we have created our own language for this. We had to. The rest of the world gave us nothing….
Mighty Marvel Monday: Not Another MCU Update Post
It’s another Mighty Marvel Monday! Welcome to December! Only three more Mighty Marvel Mondays to go in 2015, so let’s get to it. First, to pick up where we left off, there are still great articles coming out about Jessica Jones, like this article on Bitch Media about Jessica Jones and abuse. There have been a…
Fail Better: Employee Awards I Would Prefer to Receive
It’s that time of year which means businesses are probably throwing holiday parties and handing out awards for “Outstanding Performance” or similar categories. If you’re lucky, the holiday party is during business hours, but your place of business could also be one of those asshats who schedule these parties outside of work hours — as…
Slow Burn: A Review of Sophie Goldstein’s The Oven
The Oven Sophie Goldstein AdHouse Books June 2015 Disclaimer: This review is based on a review copy provided by AdHouse Books. The Oven took two categories at the 2015 Ignatz Awards: Outstanding Graphic Novel and Outstanding Comic, wins that were well-deserved. Sophie Goldstein, who was nominated last year for House of Women, might also be familiar as…
X-Files Gift Guide for the Holidays, or Just in Celebration of the Revival
If the 2016 X-Files revival in January isn’t enough justification for you, Ginnis and Kate have cobbled together a holiday gift guide for the X-philes in your life, including you because you are in your life, right? Okay, just get your wallet ready.
My MegaCon Fan Days Spontaneous Roadtrip
I wasn’t originally going to attend MegaCon Fan Days. I’m currently just beginning my new job, I’m tight for money, and it was simply just super short notice. I hadn’t done any research on the convention like I do most conventions I attend. I hadn’t really given any thought to attending MegaCon Fan Days, until…
This Week in WWAC History: Dressing for Hunger Games and Rules for New Years Eve
At WWAC we know how to dress to impress as seen here in Sunday Art Gala: Dressing for the Hunger Games, December 7, 2014,
Pretty New Podcasts
As I said last week, new podcasts come out all of the time, which is great for me, a podcast addict. But which ones are worth listening to? I’ve pulled together a short list of some of the great ones that started this year.