Could You Repeat That? 165
Last Year, Robert Charles Wilson
"I'll go in and kill Candy and his men," Jesse said.
"That's--not a real plan."
"I disagree."
Classic German Baking, Luisa Weiss
I grew up thinking Strudel was like Mount Everest, to be attempted only by the professionals or the Viennese.
The Mystery Knight (graphic novel), George R. R. Martin
SER UTHOR: A snail may leave a trail of slime behind him, but a little slime will do a man no harm. Whilst if you dance with dragons, you must expect to burn.
Pierced by the Sun, Laura Esquivel
Ironing was an act of annihilation in which wrinkles would die and give way to order: something she required more than anything.
Victuals, Ronni Lundy
Here are the rules: Buns should be soft, not toasted. Either can be dressed with bright yellow ballpark mustard and chopped white onion, but ketchup, pickles, and/or kraut are largely frowned upon. Hot sauce--favored brands are Crystal, Tabasco, and Texas Pete--may be liberally applied by those who wish for more heat. Jalapenos? Well, now you're talking schisms.
Smitten Kitchen: Every Day, Deb Perelman
Look, if a food writer ever compares his or her moment with a dish to Proust and his madeleines, I think you should be like that gif that flips a table over and storms out.
Glass Houses, Louise Penny
A lie was a light. One that grew into a floodlight, that eventually illuminated the person among them with the biggest secret. The most to hide.
Flame in the Mist, Renee Ahdieh
She remembered Chiyo telling her that finding one's match was like finding one's other half. Mariko had never understood the notion.
She was not a half. She was wholly her own.
Quietly in Their Sleep, Donna Leon
After a while, he said, 'I never knew your mother.'
'You've known her for twenty years.'
'No, I mean I never knew her as a person. All these years and I had no idea who she was.'
Power Man & Iron Fist: The Boys Are Back in Town (graphic novel), David Walker
IRON FIST: I don't get it. How can there be something as powerful as the Supersoul Stone and I've never heard of it?
LUKE CAGE: Same reason Black History Month is the shortest month of the year.
Cooking for Jeffrey, Ina Garten
It is impossible to improve on something as classic as roast chicken.
The Geek Feminist Revolution, Kameron Hurley
Let’s be real: if women were “naturally” anything, societies wouldn’t spend so much time trying to police every aspect of their lives.
Power Man and Iron Fist: Civil War II (graphic novel), David E Walker
LUKE CAGE: No one told us that the Please-Beat-My-Ass Convention was in town.
IRON FIST: That's right. You all should've brought umbrellas--'cause we're about to start raining ass kickings.
LUKE CAGE: Raining?
IRON FIST: It's a creative metaphor.
Curate: Authentic Spanish Food from an American Kitchen, Katie Button
Think about what people can fit in their mouths.
March: Book One (graphic novel), John Lewis, et al
JOHN LEWIS: I was the sixth speaker that day, and Dr. King spoke tenth. Of everyone who spoke at the march, I’m the only one who’s still around. Yes?
JACOB: Why do you have so many chickens?
The Refrigerator Monologues, Catherynne M Valente
The thing I hate about being dead is you can't move on. I was in love with him when I died, so I'll be in love with him till the sun burns out.
And...
What's the use of all that rage you got if you don't take it out for a spin?
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: Squirrel You Know It's True (graphic novel), Ryan North
RATATOSKR: Death's a part of life, you know?
SQUIRREL GIRL: Like death from old age, maybe, and even that sucks!
RATATOSKR: Grow up. You gotta clear out the deadwood sometimes. Otherwise we'd all still be running around with dinosaurs.
CHIPMUNK HUNK: And that would've been amazing!
SQUIRREL GIRL: Stop trying to talk up death, you jerk!
Bookburners: The Complete Season Two, Max Gladstone
Saving him, she'd lost six weeks, four days, nine hours, and four minutes of life--you could fall in love in that time, in less--and gained as many nevers. Which would she choose? Never hiking to the North Pole? Never drinking until she threw up in Paris? Never reading Finnegans Wake, never skating on a frozen river? There you are, Liam, she thought after the eighth sniper fell. I give you these, my nevers, and your life. I hope you're happy.
A Taste of India, Madhur Jaffrey
They look like black tadpoles. They are swiftly dispatched and their inedible portions thrown to the family rooster, who seems delighted, in his own nervous sort of way.
Empire of Storms, Sarah J Maas
And Aedion smiled like the wolf he was as he lifted the Sword of Orynth and unleashed himself upon the line of soldiers raising weapons on the left, Lysandra lunging to the right with a guttural snarl, and Aelin rained down flames of gold and ruby on the world.
Butter: A Rich History, Elaine Khosrova
I'm no anthropologist, but attention is a means of preservation.
The Uncanny Inhumans: Civil War II (graphic novel), Charles Soule
MAXIMUS: The entire city's sealed up tight as a drum.
TRITON: Above the waterline, anyway. No one ever thinks about what's happening beneath the surface.
MAXIMUS: Yes, Triton. Very deep. I get it. You're a very deep aquatic fish-person.
The Uncanny Inhumans: IVX (graphic novel), Charles Soule
BLACK BOLT: This world is a loud, clanging place. There is achievement--pride--in setting yourself apart from all that volume. Silence is...transcendence. To the world, you are your shadow. You are snowfall, an hour before the dawn. You are a locked room, and there is no key. You are silent. Do you understand?
My Rice Bowl: Korean Cooking Outside the Lines, Rachel Yang and Jess Thomson
It's hard to uncook a noodle.
Run For It: Stories of Slaves Who Fought For Their Freedom (graphic novel), Marcelo D'Salete
The quibaungo is a big monster with a mouth on the back of his neck. Be careful. He swallows up anybody who gets lost in the wilderness, cica.
The Homemade Vegan Pantry, Miyoko Schinner
It's about slowing down enough to imagine, even if only ever occasionally, that as you stand at your kitchen counter, you are really in Tuscany preparing a meal to be enjoyed under an arbor heavy with grapes--maybe some hand-thrown pasta with a simple, rustic sauce, a caprese salad, and a carafe of refreshing wine.
Pacific Rim: Tales from Year Zero (graphic novel), Travis Beacham
PENTECOST: In all our eons, we've seen continents frozen and the sun blotted by ash--and we're still here. A decade after K-day and we're still here. I've never believed in the end times. We are mankind. Our footprints are on the moon. When the last trumpet sounds and the beast rises from the pit--we will kill it.
Sorghum's Savor, Ronni Lundy
There's a scraping of the chairs as everyone settles in. Johnnie reaches out in front of me for a golden biscuit so hot she tosses it from one hand to the next before she breaks it open, breaks off a chunk of white steaming fluff and crust.
"I'll go in and kill Candy and his men," Jesse said.
"That's--not a real plan."
"I disagree."
Classic German Baking, Luisa Weiss
I grew up thinking Strudel was like Mount Everest, to be attempted only by the professionals or the Viennese.
The Mystery Knight (graphic novel), George R. R. Martin
SER UTHOR: A snail may leave a trail of slime behind him, but a little slime will do a man no harm. Whilst if you dance with dragons, you must expect to burn.
Pierced by the Sun, Laura Esquivel
Ironing was an act of annihilation in which wrinkles would die and give way to order: something she required more than anything.
Victuals, Ronni Lundy
Here are the rules: Buns should be soft, not toasted. Either can be dressed with bright yellow ballpark mustard and chopped white onion, but ketchup, pickles, and/or kraut are largely frowned upon. Hot sauce--favored brands are Crystal, Tabasco, and Texas Pete--may be liberally applied by those who wish for more heat. Jalapenos? Well, now you're talking schisms.
Smitten Kitchen: Every Day, Deb Perelman
Look, if a food writer ever compares his or her moment with a dish to Proust and his madeleines, I think you should be like that gif that flips a table over and storms out.
Glass Houses, Louise Penny
A lie was a light. One that grew into a floodlight, that eventually illuminated the person among them with the biggest secret. The most to hide.
Flame in the Mist, Renee Ahdieh
She remembered Chiyo telling her that finding one's match was like finding one's other half. Mariko had never understood the notion.
She was not a half. She was wholly her own.
Quietly in Their Sleep, Donna Leon
After a while, he said, 'I never knew your mother.'
'You've known her for twenty years.'
'No, I mean I never knew her as a person. All these years and I had no idea who she was.'
Power Man & Iron Fist: The Boys Are Back in Town (graphic novel), David Walker
IRON FIST: I don't get it. How can there be something as powerful as the Supersoul Stone and I've never heard of it?
LUKE CAGE: Same reason Black History Month is the shortest month of the year.
Cooking for Jeffrey, Ina Garten
It is impossible to improve on something as classic as roast chicken.
The Geek Feminist Revolution, Kameron Hurley
Let’s be real: if women were “naturally” anything, societies wouldn’t spend so much time trying to police every aspect of their lives.
Power Man and Iron Fist: Civil War II (graphic novel), David E Walker
LUKE CAGE: No one told us that the Please-Beat-My-Ass Convention was in town.
IRON FIST: That's right. You all should've brought umbrellas--'cause we're about to start raining ass kickings.
LUKE CAGE: Raining?
IRON FIST: It's a creative metaphor.
Curate: Authentic Spanish Food from an American Kitchen, Katie Button
Think about what people can fit in their mouths.
March: Book One (graphic novel), John Lewis, et al
JOHN LEWIS: I was the sixth speaker that day, and Dr. King spoke tenth. Of everyone who spoke at the march, I’m the only one who’s still around. Yes?
JACOB: Why do you have so many chickens?
The Refrigerator Monologues, Catherynne M Valente
The thing I hate about being dead is you can't move on. I was in love with him when I died, so I'll be in love with him till the sun burns out.
And...
What's the use of all that rage you got if you don't take it out for a spin?
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: Squirrel You Know It's True (graphic novel), Ryan North
RATATOSKR: Death's a part of life, you know?
SQUIRREL GIRL: Like death from old age, maybe, and even that sucks!
RATATOSKR: Grow up. You gotta clear out the deadwood sometimes. Otherwise we'd all still be running around with dinosaurs.
CHIPMUNK HUNK: And that would've been amazing!
SQUIRREL GIRL: Stop trying to talk up death, you jerk!
Bookburners: The Complete Season Two, Max Gladstone
Saving him, she'd lost six weeks, four days, nine hours, and four minutes of life--you could fall in love in that time, in less--and gained as many nevers. Which would she choose? Never hiking to the North Pole? Never drinking until she threw up in Paris? Never reading Finnegans Wake, never skating on a frozen river? There you are, Liam, she thought after the eighth sniper fell. I give you these, my nevers, and your life. I hope you're happy.
A Taste of India, Madhur Jaffrey
They look like black tadpoles. They are swiftly dispatched and their inedible portions thrown to the family rooster, who seems delighted, in his own nervous sort of way.
Empire of Storms, Sarah J Maas
And Aedion smiled like the wolf he was as he lifted the Sword of Orynth and unleashed himself upon the line of soldiers raising weapons on the left, Lysandra lunging to the right with a guttural snarl, and Aelin rained down flames of gold and ruby on the world.
Butter: A Rich History, Elaine Khosrova
I'm no anthropologist, but attention is a means of preservation.
The Uncanny Inhumans: Civil War II (graphic novel), Charles Soule
MAXIMUS: The entire city's sealed up tight as a drum.
TRITON: Above the waterline, anyway. No one ever thinks about what's happening beneath the surface.
MAXIMUS: Yes, Triton. Very deep. I get it. You're a very deep aquatic fish-person.
The Uncanny Inhumans: IVX (graphic novel), Charles Soule
BLACK BOLT: This world is a loud, clanging place. There is achievement--pride--in setting yourself apart from all that volume. Silence is...transcendence. To the world, you are your shadow. You are snowfall, an hour before the dawn. You are a locked room, and there is no key. You are silent. Do you understand?
My Rice Bowl: Korean Cooking Outside the Lines, Rachel Yang and Jess Thomson
It's hard to uncook a noodle.
Run For It: Stories of Slaves Who Fought For Their Freedom (graphic novel), Marcelo D'Salete
The quibaungo is a big monster with a mouth on the back of his neck. Be careful. He swallows up anybody who gets lost in the wilderness, cica.
The Homemade Vegan Pantry, Miyoko Schinner
It's about slowing down enough to imagine, even if only ever occasionally, that as you stand at your kitchen counter, you are really in Tuscany preparing a meal to be enjoyed under an arbor heavy with grapes--maybe some hand-thrown pasta with a simple, rustic sauce, a caprese salad, and a carafe of refreshing wine.
Pacific Rim: Tales from Year Zero (graphic novel), Travis Beacham
PENTECOST: In all our eons, we've seen continents frozen and the sun blotted by ash--and we're still here. A decade after K-day and we're still here. I've never believed in the end times. We are mankind. Our footprints are on the moon. When the last trumpet sounds and the beast rises from the pit--we will kill it.
Sorghum's Savor, Ronni Lundy
There's a scraping of the chairs as everyone settles in. Johnnie reaches out in front of me for a golden biscuit so hot she tosses it from one hand to the next before she breaks it open, breaks off a chunk of white steaming fluff and crust.