January 2026 archive

Jan 07 2026

Steeple, Volumes 1, 2 & 3 by John Allison

For quite a long time there, I’d treat myself every Christmas by reading a new volume of John Allison’s Bad Machinery while the kids played with their new toys. I eventually ran out of volumes (there are only ten, after all) so decided to go ahead and read all three books of the Steeple series …

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Jan 06 2026

Looking Back On 2025

Y’all, I read my Looking Back On 2024 column in preparation for writing this one and have never been more depressingly reminded of the French aphorism “Plus ce change, plus c’est la meme chose” or as we say in English “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” Ofc, not everything has been …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/01/06/looking-back-on-2025/

Jan 05 2026

Winnie-The-Pooh, 100th Anniversary Edition by A. A. Milne & Ernest H. Shepard

collecting both the original Winnie-the-Pooh short story collection as well as its follow-up, The House At Pooh Corner, in one delightfully velour-covered volume reminiscent of a particularly huggable (and decidedly yellow) stuffed animal friend. I did not, unfortunately, have a Winnie the Pooh childhood. I only really came to the property in my adolescence, after …

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Jan 04 2026

Taking Stock of 2025

2025 turned out to be a year of reading easily. I remember thinking at the end of 2024 that I was going to make sure I read for enjoyment at least as much as for satisfaction or a sense of accomplishment. My reading, especially in the first half of the year, reflected that desire. I …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/01/04/taking-stock-of-2025/

Jan 02 2026

Tantalizing Tales — January 2026 — Part One

Happy New Year, readers! I hope you had a delightful celebration ringing in a year that is hopefully no worse than the last… tho given the state of the country I live in and the absolutely infuriating refusal of large swathes of it to take note of history’s lessons, who even knows any more. Apologies …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/01/02/tantalizing-tales-january-2026-part-one/