Broad view of rsun rising over ocean with pink, lavender and orange clouds and water. Foreground center, two hands help upright form a V shape with the sun between them. Image from iStock.

June summer sun solstice concept with silhouette of happy young woman’s hands relaxing, meditating and holding sunset against warm golden hour sky on the beach with natural ocean or sea background

This Friday is 2025’s summer solstice. The Farmer’s Almanac provides some information on the event.

Last Saturday, people all over the USA participating in a protest event called No Kings. The Facebook page called Alt National Park Services tracked attendance and reports a final number of 13.1 million people.

The Guardian provides a Best Of round-up of new speculative novels. Esperance has caught my attention—although the horror of sleepless zombies is intriguing too.

I tried to say “femfanzines” three times fast and sprained my tongue, but this article about them is pretty interesting. (Thanks, File770.)

Smithsonian Magazine has this wonderful article on Egyptian Blue, an artificial dye whose recipe is lost to history no more.

In Reactor’s SFF Beastairy, Judith Tarr writes about a classic kids’ movie, Free Willy. I’ve never seen it, and now I want to.

Nice interview with writer and historian Natania Barron! If you get a chance, check out some of her history-of-fashion podcasts. They are great.

Paging Kat… audiobook sales rose 13% in 2024.

Romper shares some summery recipes for a solstice feast.

 

 

 

Author

  • Marion Deeds

    Marion Deeds, with us since March, 2011, is the author of the fantasy novella ALUMINUM LEAVES. Her short fiction has appeared in the anthologies BEYOND THE STARS, THE WAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE, STRANGE CALIFORNIA, and in Podcastle, The Noyo River Review, Daily Science Fiction and Flash Fiction Online. She’s retired from 35 years in county government, and spends some of her free time volunteering at a second-hand bookstore in her home town.

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