A best of/reflection piece for 2020 will come out when I've put more time into it... I ended up doing collages over my break instead of writing!

A ⌛︎ before a title indicates that I have not finished reading it.

• Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Márquez
• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (novel, reread)
• The Lord of the Flies by William Golding (novel, reread)
• Opuntia, issues 56, 57, 61, 65, 65.5, 66A, 66B, 67.5, 68, 69.5, 70, 70.5A, 70.5B by Dale Speirs (13 zines)
• A Minecraft Fieldguide to Brazen Harlotry by Nat Quayle (zine)
• I'm in Love with the Villainess by Inori (light novel)
• Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire (novel)
• The Giver by Lois Lowry (novel)
• Adventure Time: Season 3 by canmom (liveread article)
• I Wouldn't Mind Being Loved chapter 3 by Amano Shuninta (manga chapter)
• “This Japanese Shop Is 1,020 Years Old. It Knows a Bit About Surviving Crises.” by Ben Dooley and Hisako Ueno (article, The New York Times)
• “Vicorva and the Handshake Coach” by Victoria Corva (essay)
• Grimgar of Fantasy And Ash Level 1: Whisper, Chant, Prayer, Awaken by Ao Jyumonji (light novel)
• Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney case “Rise from the Ashes” (visual novel arc)
• Phoenix Wright: Justice for All case “The Lost Turnabout” (visual novel arc)
• Phoenix Wright: Justice for All case “Reunion, and Turnabout” (visual novel arc)
• ⌛︎ Notes of a Crocodile by Qiu Miaojin (novel)
• ⌛︎ Otherside Picnic by Iori Miyazawa (light novel, 3 arcs finished)
• “The Old Man” by Mordecai Martin (short story)
• “What the Hole Is Going On? The very real, totally bizarre bucatini shortage of 2020.” by Rachel Handler (article)
• “The Hiveswap Fiasco” by Gio (article)

Total: 6 novels, 2 light novels (+ 3 short stories), 3 visual novel stories, 1 short story, 14 zines, 5 articles, 1 manga chapter

Notes

Opuntia zine

During the last week of November I started a zine binge. A last purchase from the Pioneers Press going-out-of-business sale included a freebie copy of Xerography Debt #20, a review zine; several of the reviewers covered circa-2006 issues of Opuntia. The topics mentioned (as well as the botanical Latin title) piqued my interest, so I did some online sleuthing.

Opuntia is a zine written by Dale Speirs that has been running since 1991, with 488 total issues to date. The content is a diverse mix including history, economics, and science articles, zine, science fiction, and mystery reviews, write-ups of conventions and fan events, abstracts of academic articles-of-interest, editorial correspondence, and stories about the author's daily life in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

The older issues use a fractional numbering system to divide the content: “Whole-numbered OPUNTIAs are sercon, x.1 issues are reviewzines, x.2 issues are indexes, x.3 issues are apazines, and x.5 issues are perzines”, which for those unfamiliar with the jargon are serious-constructive, amateur press association , and personal zines. Beginning with issue #248 (April 2012) Speirs switched to a straight numbering scheme; after retirement, he no longer had as many work anecdotes to share, and the focus of his serious writing shifted to longer projects with the eventual goal of publishing a book. (I have no idea if he's succeeded — I haven't read more recent issues!) Two years later, Speirs distributed his final issue by mail and switched to online-only publishing, as he could no longer afford the increased postage rates. You can find all issues archived on efanzines.

I've found myself most interested in Speirs' sercon and perzine issues; Speirs is a philatelist, worked for over 30 years in the Calgary parks department, and has a love of science and the outdoors — all things that I enjoy reading about. I have also, as a non-Canadian, appreciated the insight into life and politics in a different country, and the little bits of local history.

After flipping through Opuntia issues from 2004—2012, here are my favorites:

• #56: A history of roadside memorials
• #57: A history of offprints (author copies of academic articles); a history of “mummy wheat”
• #58.5: Parks department stories, including historic floods
• #59: A history of postcard libel
• #60.5: Memories of the his last cattle drive as a teenager
• #61: An early history of envelopes
• #61.5: Memories of small-town churches; parks department stories
• #65: A history of Canadian WWII ration coupon books
• #65.6: Parks department stories, with chonky cat photo
• #66A: An article about Pronghorns (Antilocapra americana), illustrated by postage stamps
• #66B: A history of personalized postage stamps, with examples from his collection

If anyone out there can recommend their favorite issues, send them my way! 488 (and growing) issues is a lot to sift through and I doubt my attention will hold for long enough to get through the complete archives.

#ReadingLog