[Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash]
Are you a fan of chocolatey sweetness? Do you prefer a bit of bitter to level out a sugary treat? Well then, January 10th, Bittersweet Chocolate Day, is the day for you. But what about those other bittersweet fans whose cravings lean away from chocolate bars and toward books that leave them lying in their beds, staring at their ceilings until 3am? Those who enjoy stories that manage to pull a tear or two out of them on public transport or have them closing the book only to hold it, a bit stunned, as they wrap their head around their feelings, reorient themselves, and wonder what could possibly come next.
This one’s for those bittersweet book fans out there, looking for a good cry, a sincere smile, and their next read to leave them feeling that satisfying aftertaste of hope and sadness, happiness and dread, bitter and sweet.
Before you grab a handful of bittersweet chocolate chips and dive into these recs, note there will be SPOILERS AHEAD. As the title suggests, this roundup focuses on the book endings, and can ruin your individual experience with the story by having the endings spoiled. Proceed with caution.
[Photo by Jeremiah Lawrence on Unsplash]
When the end credits of a movie roll, it’s easy to walk out of the theater, exit the streaming service or app, or eject the blu-ray/DVD. It’s rare for viewers to sit through end credits or even take note of the names in the earlier part of the film, but in recent years there’s been a trend with including entertaining credits, especially end ones, to keep audiences occupied. This is most relevant in big-budget movies like the MCU films (no wonder, as audiences are expected to sit through the credits for a final after credits scene) and animated films that utilize the credits to play around with the movie’s art style, and kudos for them. These credits are a small step towards casual viewers noting the names of all the people who have contributed their time, skills, and efforts to the making of the movie.
January 5th is National Screenwriters Day, created to celebrate and honor the work of all the screenwriters who can get left in the shadows of the directors. Yes, the director is obviously an important and major figure in bringing a film to life, but those who script the film are just as crucial in the movie making process. This list is for all those aspiring screenwriters and other filmmakers, from editors to camera operators to producers, who have big plans for the future and the now. May these middle grade reads inspire you to pursue your dreams and continue creating movies that make you happy.
(Photo by Jakob Owens on Unsplash)
Last year North American, indie and foreign film distributor Film Movement did the world a favor and registered December 28th as National Short Film Day. This amazing new celebration commemorates the day in 1895 when the Lumière brothers projected a program of 10 short films to a captivated audience of 33 at the Grand Café in Paris (read more about it in Venice Gondolier Sun’s article).
To honor the igniting of a global fascination with cinema and to celebrate how far the world’s come with film, here’s a small collection of beautifully done shorts, paired off with some familiar and hopefully new reads. Grab your popcorn and your TBR list!
Image by MichaelWuensch from Pixabay
It’s that time of year again. Yes, International Ninja Day is back and that means you can indulge in your favorite ninja content from documentaries and action movies to learning ninjutsu (it’s a real thing, not just from Naruto) and more accessible jujutsu (grappling, select weapon training). It’s also a good time to practice your stealth, whether that’s creeping past the creaky boards in your house without a sound or learning how to manipulate your writing to punch your readers in the gut with some surprisingly heartfelt content.
Whether you’re practicing your own writing or interested in books that sneak up on you (like a well-trained ninja with a well-placed kunai to the throat) you’ll want to give these stories a try. Some have shocking twists, some tell you exactly what they’re about, but all leave you with some sort of feeling in your gut that you may not have seen coming.
Photo by Dominik Krawczyk on Unsplash
Are you craving a chomp of an oversized turkey leg or a spoonful of an overpriced bread bowl? Do you miss the smell of leather goods, the sound of fake but endearing British accents, or the crunch of gravel and the crinkle of straw underfoot?
This year has left a gaping Ren Faire hole in our hearts, and now that the season is coming to an end, it’ll be another year until we’re given the chance to cheer on complete strangers in knightly armor. That is, honestly, unacceptable. To hold you off until next fall and to temporarily patch up that hole in your soul, we’ve compiled a list of some medieval reads (some set in the Middle Ages, some not).
Screenshot from Among Us by author
The three-person team of indie game developer Innersloth brought veteran and new gamers around the world much needed social connection and good ol’ fun in the form of Among Us. This social deduction game follows a 4-10 person crew attempting to fix their spaceship while 1-3 impostors, assuming a crew member's form, sabotages the ship, picks the crew members off one by one, crawls through vents, and frames other members.
There are countless literary and pop culture characters who are too much of a hero to pull off the impostor look (and we love them for it), but what about the ones who would ace the impostor test? Scroll through for some characters who are already impostors in their own right.
NOTE: Some of these secret impostors are a bit spoilery, so to avoid ruining the show, book, etc., each section is labeled with the title of the work—not the name of the impostor character. So scan through and skip past any story you don’t want ruined.
