Book Review: The Devil’s Guide to Managing Difficult People by Robyn Bennis
The Devil’s Guide to Managing Difficult People is an urban fantasy that deceptively starts off as a lighthearted take on a relationship with a supernatural being and eventually turns into a meditation on deeper explorations of a character’s pain, personality, choices, and mistakes. It tempts the reader with the fun and goofiness of its initial premise and gradually sucks the reader into a study of the main character and their history in a deep and sometimes painful dive. This latest book by Robin Bennis leverages and leavens Bennis’ droll sense of humor seen in the Signal Airship series and turns it onto a fantastic urban fantasy story.
#Booktube – June 2019 Recap
Hello, Skiffy and Fanty fans! It’s suddenly July, which means that it’s time for you to go catch up on all the #Booktube episodes we posted last month! We started with some #Pride recommendations, reviews of We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal and the NSFW webcomic Alfie by InCase, moved to our monster pile of TBRs, and ended with a brilliant take down of the soft imperialism in Mary Norton’s Bedknob and Broomsticks! Enjoy!
What Should Righteous Kicks Watch Next?
Hello there! It’s Brandon, one-half of Righteous Kicks, here to ask which men in spandex bodysuits you would like to see kicking evildoers to death! Iori and I have just finished watching through Kamen Rider Drive (the last Drive episode drops Friday, June 21st!), and now we want to find out which series you would like to watch along with us next! Which interests you more, based on very little information: Kamen Rider Kiva, which has ~vampires!~, or Kamen Rider Fourze, which is all about ~space!~?
#Booktube – May 2019
Because it’s proving difficult for us to do this on a consistent basis, we’ll just be doing monthly wrap-ups! May was a bit light, as was everything around here, but hopefully you’ll enjoy some of the fun content we produced! We were super excited when we got to 100 subs last month because it means we now have a unique url for our Youtube channel! It’s Youtube.com/skiffyandfanty, so head on over there any time and subscribe if you haven’t already. Another way to make sure you don’t miss these is to sign up for our newsletter. These are in the order we posted them, not by show (because they do occasionally reference one another!)
Speculative Fiction in Translation #14: Biological and Artificial
https://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/SFiTEpisode14BiologicalAndArtificial/SFiT–Episode_14–Biological_and_Artificial.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSApril brought us stories and books about the merging of the biological and artificial, zombification, organic routers, and much more. Plus we talk about what we’ve been reading, our favorite stories this month, and translations that we wish we could have yesterday. Remember: with new stories and books coming to their attention each week, make sure to check the SFT website for updates. Enjoy, and keep reading! A bientôt! P.S. It’s Jen’s fault this is late! Sorry about that, folks!
Episode 6. Into the Wardrobe with The Secret of NIMH (1982; dir. Don Bluth): Dark Animated Wonder and the Motherhood of the Muddy Cinderblocks
https://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/SandFEp6IntoTheWardrobeSecretOfNIMH/SandF–Ep6–Into_the_Wardrobe–Secret_of_NIMH.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSIn this episode of Into the Wardrobe, Shaun Duke and Jen Zink talk about the dark and somewhat terrifying — but also whimsical and often hilarious — first major production of Don Bluth films, The Secret of NIMH, released in 1982 and based on Robert C. O’Brien’s book, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. Our intrepid duo discuss the film’s garage-style production, the history of Don Bluth Productions and his love of classical animation, the film’s tone and artistic style, the role of motherhood in the narrative, and so much more. Plus, they tackle the standards: their personal relationship to the film (childhood, y’all) and what impact the film might have on audiences today! They seriously couldn’t shut up about this movie because it is just that good. We hope you enjoy the episode!
