Best of 2021, Part One: Readers’ Picks
You offered up some of the essays that cheered, comforted, and challenged you.
Mashed Potatoes
Despite the poisonous potentials, the potato would steal the hearts, via the stomachs, of the world.
Inspector Lewis and the Ordinary
Hathaway has his head and Lewis has his heart, and together they make a force to be reckoned with.
Festive Erotica with Your Favorite Librarian
Our paranormal pair spend most of the story thinking about how their relationship failed because David was bad at sex, not chasing down whoever is putting up mistletoe all over town and giving a couple folks some minor frostbite.
“Come for tea, my people” and Other Mistaken Christmas Lyrics
An invitation to tea with the Lord sounds, well, heavenly.
All Kids Should Have a Talking Globe: The Best Christmas Present
The world I knew was only one of the worlds contained within my little globe.
6 Things I’ve Learned from Packing Boxes at Hallmark
5. Don’t bother adjusting the tape dispenser machine
One Year Later
He was the life of the party, always saying some absurd or hilarious things.
Christmas at the Threshold
American houses have a habit of being walled up. But we are undeterred.
Strangers
There is a paradox behind the art of interacting with strangers.
