Welcome to my first post of 2023! I’m back from my December break and I’m eager to dive into creating videos and blog posts, again. I’m going to kick things off with something pretty straightforward and simple: a reflection of 2022. I experienced a lot of stories in 2022, and I experienced some substantial community growth as well! We’re going to dive into all of that and talk about what stories are coming up for me in 2023.

The first thing I did when I got my house? Paint it black. Everything. Walls, ceiling, and trim, all black! It was a lot of work, probably the most work I've done on a house in my life, just given the sheer scope of it. I haven't even touched the second floor yet, but the second floor needs significantly more help than a mere coat of paint can give to it.

Like many, many others, I was left disappointed and angry at the end of Game of Thrones. I haven’t seen a more perfect example of phoning it in than I did with the end of that show. That final season was absolutely abysmal. So when HBO announced a prequel series based on George R. R. Martin’s history book, I wrote it off and figured it would be a disaster. I wasn’t even going to bother picking it up.

Continuing on with my series of fantasy recommendations for all ages, I'm moving beyond my recommendations for small children to works by the likes of Garth Nix and Bruce Coville. The book recommendations I’m providing today are for ages eight through twelve, not for middle schoolers, though I’m sure some of them will hold up for older ages.

People idolize characters like Breaking Bad’s Walter White, The Burning’s Tau, or How I Met Your Mother’s Ted Mosby. Why do we idolize these characters, and why is it wrong to do so? What’s the difference between loving a character and idolizing one?

So I thought to myself: Self, why don't I make a post recommending books to help ensnare readers into wanton devotion to the fantasy genre? Here I am, doing just that! I’m going to do a series of posts like this, targeting various reading levels. In today’s post, I’m going to focus on very young readers (or completely illiterate humans who can barely keep their heads upright, let alone pass a simple Hooked on Phonics flash card test).