Hi folks. Here's what we've been up to this week:

Ashley Cowger joined us again to review Perfect Happiness by You-Jeong Jeong, tr. Sean Lin Halbert (Creature Publishing).

And this week's featured story, chosen by guest editor Nicholas Claro, was "Pioneer Spirit" by Brett Biebel, whose writing we are pleased to be sharing again.

On Monday our editors will share some of the books we've enjoyed this year, and I've been glad to hear from some of you with your own recommendations including this note from Kell Hagerman:

I was impressed with Nghi Vo’s newest Singing Hills novella, A Mouthful of Dust, as I have been with each book in the cycle. Vo layers story in a delicious way that gets right to the heart of our fears. Two more novels about stories that I loved were: The Capital of Dreams by Heather O’Neill, the first book of hers that I’ve read and a fantastic construction of adolescent girlhood in times of crisis; and The Land of Mirrors by Maria Medem, a beautiful graphic novel (translated from Spanish) that follows a woman and her beloved flower, reminding me in some ways of The Little Prince. Lastly, Lila by Marilynne Robinson and Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan were new to me novels concerned with girls/women in poverty, survival, and care, both of which I found immensely moving.

Finally, you might take a few minutes to enjoy some of these videos from CBC's series Inside The Craft, interviewing musicians and makers in British Columbia. Perhaps starting with luthier Michael Heiden talking about what he learns from the wood he works with even after shaping many, many top class instruments. I was reminded of Joy Williams — quoted here by Elisa Gabbert — saying, "The moment a writer knows how to achieve a certain effect, the method must be abandoned."

Thanks for reading,

Steve Himmer