Today’s quite a day.

If you’d like to read about the Inauguration, please visit any other part of the internet. If you need a break from politics, please step right up and enjoy any of these lovely suggestions for relaxing reading material.

What I’m reading:

Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey. This book is SO GOOD and so weird. I’ve never read anything like it and I loved it. I plan on writing you a full review of this one if I can figure out what on earth to say about it. Utterly fascinating and unique.

Between the Devil and the Duke by Kelly Bowen. This was a fantastic read. Complicated, interesting characters, a mystery, and a bit of darkness. Everything I love in a historical romance. I don’t know why I haven’t read more Kelly Bowen.

Internets:

In Honor of Supermodel China Machado, Who Broke Racial Barriers in Fashion.

Rare and Tiny Deer Born at Chester Zoo. It’s SO tiny.

How an Imaginary Island Stayed on Maps for Five Centuries.

This woman, who I had never heard of before I read her obituary, was a glorious badass and it’s worth your time to learn a little about her: Clare Hollingworth, Reporter Who Broke News of World War II, Dies at 105.

Here’s a video of glitter nail polish being blended. So soothing.

Oddly fascinating to me: What Is a Continental Breakfast, and What Makes It Continental?

The most stunning tiaras in the Swedish royal treasure trove.

Here is a recipe for hazelnut bourbon hot chocolate, which I will be attempting as soon as possible.

The 100-Year History of Marshmallow Fluff.

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Lady Sophie’s Christmas Wish by Grace Burrowes. This book is the fourth in a series – one of those wonderful romance novel epics where you get to see every single sibling in a large family fall in love. I’m a sucker for these.

Gilded Cage by Vic James. The first in a new YA Fantasy/Dystopian series – a well done, very interesting start. I look forward to the rest of the series.

If the Viscount Falls by Sabrina Jeffries. I started this series because one of the books’ heroines is a jeweler with a specialty in paste gems. I love historical romance, but a lot of the authors clearly don’t realize they need to do research to understand what jewelry was like 200ish years ago. Not so for Sabrina Jeffries: she did a great job with the jewels in this series.

Internets:

New discoveries in Neanderthal jewelry: pieces made from animal teeth, ivory, and shells.

36 of Brittany Spears’ most amazing red carpet moments. Britt, you are forever a national treasure.

A Tour of Meownuments to the World’s Most Pawesome Cats.

This Sweedish town is now filled with itty bitty shops for mice and it’s the cutest.

A Performance Where Victorian Mourning Braiding Meets Neuroscience.

The plant that can show you where diamonds are buried.

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Internets:

10 Times Superheroes Killed Other Superheroes For The Greater Good. Weirdly fascinating.

This is my friend’s recipe for Ginger Oatmeal Cookies with White Chocolate and Candied Ginger and you’re going to want to eat them.

How Being A Woman Will Become More Expensive Under Trump.

Jewelry storage advice from a guru of closet organization.

Time Travel Along Fifth Avenue, with Photos from the Early 1900s and Today.

This rescue goat wears a duck costume to ease her anxiety.

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