Homeless Persons' Remembrance Day

Note: I was supposed to post this yesterday. Sorry for the delay.

December 21st is the Winter Solstice, the longest night of the year. This is likely why it was also chosen as Homeless Persons' Remembrance Day, when we honor those homeless people who have died.

Every year we see the same headlines about men and women found frozen, dead from exposure. Many of these people chose a spot—an alley, some vacant lot, an underpass—to bed down for a cold night and simply never woke up. Some of these people have no family left, while others have loved ones out there, somewhere, who have lost contact with them over the years and will never officially learn of their deaths. Hence, Homeless Persons Remembrance Day, where we, the community, take on the collective act of mourning these people.

Something Salty, Something Sweet: Book Titles

It's like, all of my pet peeves.

Today, I discuss the the good, the bad, and the pretentious of book titles. I should add (because I didn't in the video) that I don't blame authors for any of this, and assume that the publishers have the most say in choosing book titles, hence the utter lack of creativity seen in certain genres.

Rant Rave Review: Mike Nelson's Mind Over Matters

It's, like, super short and super late.

Today, I (briefly) rave about my favorite nonfiction book ever: Mike Nelson's Mind Over Matters (Yes, THAT Mike Nelson).

November Reading Roundup

Psycho USA: Famous American Killers You Never Heard Of by Harold Schechter

• Genre: Historical True Crime
• Why I read it: The genre is my jam.
• What I thought of it: The author examines crimes, as well as how each case was reported on or remembered in folk ballads (murder ballads were apparently a huge thing!) from colonial days to the mid 20th century. Fascinating!
• Would I recommend it: Yes! People have this notion that mass murder, serial killing, psychopathy, or a public interest in true crime are modern phenomena, and that just isn't true. People should educate themselves about the past, and I've found that true crime is a good way to do it.