Happy World Cup 2026!

Hello, friends! This has felt like a surprisingly long week as I attempt to manage my symptoms and still have a life. It’s been mostly good sailing, tho I’ve had to take prolonged naps of 1-3 hours every day. We’ll see how that works with the jam-packed World Cup schedule I’ve already downloaded into my official calendar, lol.

Was very excited last Friday to be able to make it back to my favorite Trivia Night, and tho we had a slightly different line-up than usual, my team finally returned to our winning ways! I was especially pleased because the prize this month was official Edgewood Community Farm tote bags that were linocut stamped with their logo. I also bought their very cute t-shirt in support.

Went home after our victory to swot up for the game of Ghosts Of Saltmarsh I was planning on running the next day. Even tho I was pretty sure that the 2-paragraph combat encounter that takes place partway through the party’s voyage would be enough to fill the entire 3+ hour session, I figured Future Me would thank Past Me for drawing out all the maps and at least familiarizing myself with the mobs throughout the entire adventure. I proved to be more correct than Mourinho pretending to be a prophet in those ridiculous Kalshi ads, so go me! Even better, I managed to lure Cassandra (speaking of prophets, ha) back to her first game in months! Bonus: our host Brandon had snacks that we absolutely had to share a photo of with another football friend who’s obsessed with Grogu. Overall, a very fun experience, even if I’m not 100% sure when we’ll be able to schedule our next session, given how the World Cup has eaten up my calendar for the foreseeable future.

The next day I successfully moderated a book club for the very first time! DC Armoury chat had decided to read Fever Pitch together, and while I’ve complained about the book here, it was very rewarding to use it as a springboard for a wider discussion on what it means to be an Arsenal fan. We’ve already decided on Clive Chijioke Nwonka & Matthew Harle’s Black Arsenal for our next discussion, which will be in July after the World Cup is over.

On Monday, I traveled down to Virginia to practice my Parisian accent (lol) with more Pendragon, which continues to be a blast. One thing I like about playing these pre-generated characters is the opportunity they give me to really play the role. Dame Tamura is way more spiritual than worldly, so when a beggar cursed her in the marketplace even after she’d offered him money, there was zero chance she didn’t believe that she had to make an offering to Diana to cleanse herself after. It’s always nice to play a person with very different quirks from my own!

Haven’t had a chance to play anything at home, really, but have been very tempted by this great new deal on Humble Bundle! You can get the entire Inkle library of 14 games on Steam — including the entire Sorcery series, Heaven’s Vault and TR-49 — for a minimum donation of USD20. Proceeds benefit the leading global type 1 diabetes research and advocacy organization, Breakthrough T1D (Formerly JDRF,) a very worthy cause.

Reading-wise, I adored Therese Bohman’s Mount Verity, translated from the original Swedish by Marlaine Delargy. This slender novel follows Hanna Hallman, whose life is indelibly marked by the disappearance of her older brother Erik. His absence is a constant in her life, even as her relationship with her best friend Markus shifts over the years. More than just a thoughtful depiction of the life of one woman, this is an incredible interrogation of folklore and art, and what it means to be an artist in our modern day.

I also really enjoyed Angela Cervantes’ The Mystery Of The Stolen World Cup Trophy, a middle grade novel that successfully combines crime-solving with football. Sixth grader Diez Espada is thrilled to be invited to a glitzy party in Miami where the actual World Cup trophy will be displayed ahead of the 2026 tournament. When the infamous thief La Lechuza strikes, carrying off the trophy, Diez is sure that he’ll be able to crack the case, with the assistance of his crush Rio and the world-renowned Detective Enzo. Not everything is as it seems, however, as he races to retrieve the trophy before it disappears for good. The book starts a little rough but gets way better as it goes along: you can read my full football-issue axe-grinding review at the link above, lol.

Alright, I’m currently watching this nailbiter of a 2nd World Cup game, between South Korea and Czechia. It has been SO much more entertaining than the ugly opener between Mexico and South Africa. Hopefully, you’re getting the chance to enjoy this tournament too (and yes, I complain about the dreadful circumstances surrounding it in my review of TMofSWCT above.) Hopefully, too, I’ll still have a voice left when I see you in seven, friends!

Currently Playing (Music): Dvorak’s 6th Symphony; Haydn’s 99th Symphony; my Declan Rice and 2026 Energy playlists; The Magnus Archives; BTS’ Arirang.

Currently Playing (Games): The Light In The Mist puzzletale; Metazooa by Trainwreck Labs; Learned League trivia; NYT Connections & Wordle; Gremco Industries’ Parseword; Irox Games’ Bongo Cat; Greg Stafford’s Pendragon.

Currently Reading/Writing (Games): Ghosts Of Saltmarsh.

Currently Reading or Just Read (Books): Served Him Right by Lisa Unger; The Diva Hosts A Murderer by Krista Davis; Mount Verity by Therese Bohman; The Mystery Of The Stolen World Cup Trophy by Angela Cervantes; Hugo Awards 2026 Best Short Story Nominees.