We’re trying something new! And a little unhinged.
Over the course of the year, Sarah and I would suggest silly categories based on trends we’ve seen this year, gripes in the comments, or just general nonsense that came into our brains. Thus the unhinged bingo card was born.
The 2025 Unhinged Romance Bingo begins today and will conclude on March 20, 2026.
Please save the image to use on your own or click on it for a larger version! If you’d like to share on social media, please use the hashtag #SBTBingo so we can see how your card is coming along! Participants who complete at least one bingo are eligible to win a box of books, though there won’t be any stickers for this one.
Here are some explainers for categories that feel less than obvious:
Start Mid-Series: For when a series is mostly standalones and you can dip in anywhere. This is not meant for continuing a series you’re already in the middle of.
Swiss Army Knife Character: Coined in the comments by Mikey! This refers to a character who seems to have so many different jobs and identities. They’re a small business owner but also a vampire but also moonlights as an taxi driver.
Sprayed Edges: You don’t have to own this version, but any book that has gotten the sprayed edge treatment at some point.
Social Media Made You Buy It: I’m counting the site (or any other blogs, bookish news, etc.) for this one, as I know many of you avoid social media platforms.
Romance Meta-ness: A well-known real life author is named or alluded to in the text. I’m including Jane Austen here.
Am I the Asshole: Any setup or plot moment that could serve well as an “Am I the Asshole” post on reddit.
A Book in a Book: Any book (even non-romance) where there is a book being written or occurring in tandem with the plot.
These squares are meant to be subjective and up to some interpretation. Sarah and I aren’t going to be sticklers and verify each of your selections. The middle space is a free space, meaning any book will qualify there. Also, please use one book per space. No double dipping!
Standard disclaimers apply: Void where prohibited. Must be over 18 and ready to read some excellent books. Open to international residents where permitted by applicable law.
The entry form will close the evening of March 20 at 10pm eastern.
If you need further clarification on any of the categories or want to crowdsource reading recommendations, feel free to ask or brainstorm in the comments section!
If you want to have a little extra fun, be a little more yourself, and be part of keeping the site open for everyone in the future, we can’t wait to see you in our new subscription-based section with exclusive content and events.
Everything you’re used to seeing at the Hot Pink Palace that is Smart Bitches Trashy Books will remain free as always, because we remain committed to fostering community among brilliant readers who love romance.
NMIXX released a video containing both a holiday version of "Blue Valentine" (the same tune and lyrics, but with holiday-style backing music) and a rerecording of "Funky Glitter Christmas." Enjoy!
I have thought a number of films have been riotously funny, but only A Fish Called Wanda made me laugh so hard that I was in very real danger of pissing myself right there in the movie theater. It was 1988, I went to see this movie with my friend Marty Glomski, and — to be fair — I did buy myself a soda to enjoy while I watched the film. Normally such a thing would not be a fraught action, but then there were scenes involving inept assassination attempts, and I ended up laughing so hard and so long that my bladder very nearly couldn’t take it any more. I swear to you I was two seconds from peeing my jeans. I wanted to stop laughing so I could stop spotting. I could not. It was mortifying, and delightful.
I cannot guarantee you will laugh as hard at A Fish Called Wanda. If you did, however, and you fell victim to laugh-related involuntary micturition, just know that you are not alone. There are probably legions of us. John Cleese should have invested in adult diapers before writing this film.
The story of how A Fish Called Wanda came to be is interesting in itself. Back in the 1970s and 80s, when John Cleese wasn’t busy with Monty Python or Fawlty Towers, he had co-founded a company called Video Arts, which created training videos for corporate clients (they were allegedly funny corporate training videos. I’ve not seen any, I can’t say). One of the directors for these corporate videos was Charles Crichton. Having Crichton directing corporate training videos was a little like having Scotty Pippen on your basketball team at the Y. In a past life, he directed films at Ealing Studios, including the Academy Award-winning The Lavender Hill Mob, generally regarded as one of the best British comedies of all time.
What was Crichton doing making training films? Well, look, folks, show business is a tough gig. You’re on top one day and the next you’re trying to spice up a video on how to file reports.
That said, John Cleese was certainly aware who he had on staff, and eventually he and Crichton started scheduling time to think up a comedy crime caper, which would eventually become A Fish Called Wanda. The plan was for Cleese to star and Crichton to direct. One catch: When the film was being pitched, Crichton was well into his middle 70s, which worried the money guys. In order to get the film made, Cleese agreed to be co-director. What did that mean for Cleese? Apparently not much! Cleese was open about not having any experience in feature film directing. He was basically there if Crichton keeled over during filming.
Crichton did not keel over. In fact, for the film Crichton (and only Crichton, not Cleese) was nominated for an Academy Award for best director. Don’t feel too bad for Cleese, he got nominated (along with Crichton) for an Oscar in the screenwriting category. Having landed on top again after years in the corporate training video wilderness, Crichton promptly retired and spent the rest of his life fishing. Good for him.
Plotwise, Wanda is a tale of heists and con-men and women, crosses and double-crosses and one barrister who somewhat befuddledly finds himself in the middle of it all. That could be Cleese’s character, Archibald Leach (film fans will recognize this name, and if you don’t, look it up), a bland tall legal type whose life is lower-wealthy-class boredom. That is, until he meets Wanda (Jamie Lee Curtis), who is not a fish, but is an associate of George Thomason, Archie’s client, who has been recently accused of a bank robbery involving quite a lot of diamonds. Wanda enchants Archie, because she is smart and looks exactly like Jamie Lee Curtis at her hottest. But, I think it should be obvious, Wanda has something on her mind other than climbing Cleese.
That’s enough of the plot. You just need to know that the people involved in the heist are all trying to screw each other, sometimes figuratively and sometimes literally. There is no honor among thieves, which is not great for any of them but is fabulous for us, because Cleese and Crichton, as screenwriters, put absolutely fantastic words into their mouths, and make them to grand and ridiculous things. For a movie that at least initially comes off as a small and maybe kinda square bit of British japery, things get weird fast.
A lot of that weirdness comes in the form of Otto, played by Kevin Klein in a bit of ego annihilation so complete that he won an Oscar for it. When I say ego annihilation, I mean no one who was concerned about their ego in any way could have played Otto as he did, as the ugliest of all possible ugly Americans and the platonic ideal of Dunning-Kruger. The first time I saw this performance, I just thought it was funny; in subsequent watches it becomes obvious just how much good work Kline is doing here. The scene where Wanda chews him out for messing up her assignation with Archie is a masterclass of facial acting. His words in the scene are good. What his face is doing got him that statuette.
Be assured, however, that Kevin Kline is not the only one engaging in ego annihilation here. None of the principals, who aside from Cleese, Curtis and Kline also includes Michael Palin, get out of this film with their dignity intact. Short of Melissa McCarthy shitting in a sink, I’m not sure another film has put so many of their actors through the wringer for a pile of laughs. It’s not about gross-out comedy (speaking of that McCarthy scene), it’s about the humiliation of their characters, unstiffening that stiff upper lip, in the case of Cleese’s character especially.
Which — confession time — is not the kind of humor I usually like! Cringe humor (the kind of humor that makes you cringe in sympathy for the embarrassment the characters are going through, not the kind of humor that is eye-rollingly corny) is actually one of my least favorite forms of humor. I think my sympathetic response for people making fools of themselves is too strong for me to enjoy the comedy of it. It mostly just makes me want to leave the room until the embarrassing parts are over. Not here, though, and I think it’s both the skill of the writing from Cleese and Crichton, and actual abandon to which the actors give themselves, that simply overrides my desire to curl up into a ball at their misfortunes. Wanda isn’t exactly farce but it’s near enough to it that, for me, at least, it’s inoculated against cringe.
Wanda remains one of the funniest films of all time, but it’s okay to note that 80s films are gonna 80s, and this film does that. The plot line about a character’s stutter was at the time and now continues to be the least successful attempt at humor in the film, and there’s a bit that Otto does that straddles the line for casual homophobia. Also, truly, if animal endangerment bothers you, go ahead and skip this one. You won’t be happy, even if I find at least one of those scenes one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen in a theater. What can I say, I’m a terrible human.
I keep coming back to why it was this film made me almost pee myself in public. I think it comes down to the simple fact that very little about this film was what I had expected when I sat down to watch it. I figured it was going to be funny; after all it had a third of Monty Python in it. But I think I went in expecting to chuckle. This wasn’t Monty Python, it was by all indications just a standard issue mid-80s comedy, and again the first several minutes of the film gave the impression that was where things were going.
But then. And then. And then after that. It kept laughing in the face of my expectations, and I kept laughing in surprise. I just did not see it coming.
I felt like trying my hand at a Christmas song, so I did “I’ll Be Home For Christmas,” which was a big hit for Bing Crosby. First I did a pretty traditional version, and when I was done, I thought, why not mess with it a little? So I did a second version, with trap drums and lots of bass.
Woke up at 7 AM. Oliver wants food. Fed us all. Nap time.
Had a nice nap. Overslept a little. I’m trying to wake up to get my clothes in the dryer. Oliver is fussing over me, purring. You were fed this morning. No, you’re not getting more food.
Looked at the Chicago Red Line maps. I need to write down the stops before my stops so that I know when to get ready to get off.
I really want to go back to sleep, but I can’t because I need to go to the post office. Maybe I could nap for a half hour while my clothes dry.
Gracie is barking at Oliver. A quiet morning at home.
Hmm. The Mattis post office is open until 5 PM. I’m thinking of going back to sleep for an hour. Or maybe I’ll stay awake and just sit for a while. The dogs are barking loudly. Maybe I’ll stop at Staples and pick up some printer ink. I’m having some shipped to me, but it’s delayed. And I need to go to Walmart.
Cat (Oliver) in my face. He is not shy about getting attention. Lily tends to go off on her own except when she wants food.
No, I’m going back to bed. Oooh, I’m dizzy. I’ll stop at the (closed) post office later to mail letters. Then I’ll go to Walmart. Slept well until Gracie started pushing me off the bed.
Solstice. I had the lights on at 4:30.
The dogs are outside. I’ll feed them and myself and then shower. Got my hat and gloves and a necklace. I’m waiting anxiously for rings. Oh, that reminds me that I need to stop the mail for when I’m gone.
Maybe I’ll submit a Walmart order for tomorrow. I could mail the cards then too; they won’t get there any faster. And I’ll stay home.
Gracie got my new glasses. The dogs are holy terrors. Got them back. Gracie was like, Oh, you’re upset. Yeaaaaah, I am!
Fed us all. Started reading the book about the making of The Princess Bride. It’s interesting.
Got a recycling bin into the hallway to the basement. I kind of want to go back to sleep, but it’s too early. I’m feeling too tired to do much though. I could submit my Walmart order. I should do some packing. Maybe I’ll post.
Ordered stuff from Walmart, including a wireless trackball to use with my new travel laptop. I should go to sleep early and get up early because I'll have to get up at the crack of dawn on Tuesday to drop the pets off. But I'll go pack some stuff.
The future of the Marvel universe, I don't think it is set, I don't think it should be set. I think you can have a bunch of different ones. To be honest, it's sort of nice to have a few futures that are very probable, like the Days of Future Past or like King Thor... -- Al Ewing
1) In my last post I shared an article about dynamic grocery pricing, and how this was likely to hurt some who could least afford it. The issue of dynamic pricing leaped out to me in this article about Disney's shift to being a luxury experience. The author wrote:
"Over my three-decade-long consulting career, I saw industry after industry use this kind of information to shift their focus to the big spenders in its customer base. Banks, retailers, hotels, airlines, credit card issuers, manufacturers and universities all learned that their richest customers didn’t just spend more than the rest; they spent multiples more. Many companies found that if they didn’t focus on their richest customers, they couldn’t provide competitive salaries to staff members, increase returns to shareholders and attract capital to invest in new products. Whereas in the 1970s and before, the revenue driving corporate profits came from the middle class, by the 1990s it was clear that the big money was at the top."
3) Saw the Pixar movie Elio and can see why it didn't do well. It's a take on The Wizard of Oz but was too focused on its theme and message to develop some of the other important aspects. ( Read more... )
5) First posted at tv_talk, a Bloomberg News article discussing how sports acquisition will be the big driver to streaming services listed the biggest months for signups during 2025 to Apple+. The top 4 were all connected to MLB games leading with Dodgers vs. Yankees (May) 722K. The top series program was 'The Morning Show' with 524K. Slow Horses didn't make the Top 10 list, but then the data stopped in September, and its new season premiere was in October.
It's clear that Slow Horses is hugely popular as a streaming show. But apparently Morning Show is as well but isn't discussed nearly as much. Its writing is also very strong, it has a large cast, and some big names in the mix. Having just seen its 4th season, I can say it is also not slowing down in any way. If anything, the personal stakes for all the characters just keep going up.
To me, the most riveting episode was 4.8 The Parent Trap. The juxtaposition of Alex and Cory's polar opposites in parenting certainly made suggestions about how and why they turned out as they did, but it also connected to how the finale resolved the season. ( Spoilers )
Last night I wrapped up Solo Danceby Kotomi Li, translated from Japanese by Arthur Morris. This short book is about a young gay Taiwanese woman who struggles with both internal and external homophobia, and eventually moves to Japan looking for understanding.
Queer stories from other countries are always interesting to me and it’s a good reminder that progress has not been even all over the world. Much of the book is pretty depressing, because the protagonist struggled with fitting in even before she realized she was gay, and she has some real struggles. She is battling severe depression for much of the book and at several points, suicidality.
The book is touching in that the protagonist’s struggles feel real and she’s someone who is so close to having positive experience that could change her life for the better, but her luck keeps dropping on the other side each time.
I don’t want to spoil too much about the end, but while I was grateful for the overall tone of the it, it is contrived and not very believable. But I did enjoy the protagonist’s travels leading up to that point. It’s not at all subtle, and it packs a lot more plot into the final handful of chapters than the rest of the book, but it was still sweet to see the protagonist’s perspective shift a little through her engagements with other people.
I’m not sure if it’s the translation or the original prose, but the language is stilted and very emotionally distant. The reader is kept at arm’s length from the protagonist virtually the whole novel, and while we’re often told she’s feeling these intense feelings, I never felt it. It was like reading a clinical report of her feelings, which was disappointing.
This is Li’s first novel, and it reads that way. There’s a lot of heart in it, and I appreciate it for that, but it lacks a lot in technical skill. I would be interested to see more of Li’s future work, when she’s had more time to polish her ability, but I don’t regret taking the time with this one.
And the reporting on the acquisition of the Cerne Giant by the National Trust was very very muted and mostly in the local press. Mention of the sale as part of the Cerne and Melcombe Horsey Estates in 1919 in the Bournemouth Times and Director. The Western Daily Press in June 1921 mentions it as having been presented to the National Trust by Mr Pitt-Rivers; and the Weymouth Telegram's account of a meeting of the Dorset Field Club mentioned that the 'valuable relic of antiquity... had been placed in the custody of the National Trust'. There was also a mention in the report of a lecture on 'Wessex Wanderings' in the Southern Times and Dorset County Herald in 1921. No mention of the Giant's gigantic manhood, though references to his club.
My goodness, all I wanted to do was set up e-mail reminders of vehicle tax, which I'd already managed to pay online. I already have my Government Gateway login details all set up, etc. But, no, I had to go through a whole other palaver involving setting up my GOV.UK One Login mobile app with a new account and photo ID and suchlike, before I could set up those reminders.
I'll give it to them that at least they don't change the system every year but a smoother migration to whatever the critical new functionality is than just set up an entirely new account would be appreciated.
(Of course, I have a separate login for the Scottish Government but that seems reasonable. Accessing any US Federal Government services is a pain without a US cellphone number.)
The weekly chat posts are intended for just that, chatting among each other. What are you currently watching? Reading? What actor/idol are you currently following? What are you looking forward to? Are you busy writing, creating art? Or did you have no time at all for anything, and are bemoaning that fact?
Whatever it is, talk to us about it here. Tell us what you liked or didn't like, and if you want to talk about spoilery things, please hide them under either of these codes: or
Finished my fic for Yuletide a few hours before the deadline. I’ll still go back and tweak it a bit.
Looked up fanfiction for The Bacchae early this morning (mainly because I’d bought myself faux-leopard onesie pajamas last week) and these two, from Yuletides past, were especially good:
Bakcheios, orphan_account, Yuletide 2010 (several commenters compared this to Mary Reneault)
Honey and Roses, the_alchemist, Yuletide 2016 (Euripedes-Shakespeare crossover, English history AU!)
“What’s so tragic about [Doom] is that he could be a great guy. If he went in a slightly different direction, he could be a good guy. That’s why he and Reed have such a Capital R relationship. They see themselves as these sort of very similar but very different men.” — Ryan North
Book Beat aims to highlight other books that we may hear about through friends, social media, or other sources. We could see a gorgeous ad! Or find a new-to-us author on a list of underrated romances! Think of Book Beat as Teen Beat or Tiger Beat, but for books. And no staples to open to get the fold-out poster.
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell meets A Tale of Two Cities in H. G. Parry’s A Far Better Thing, a heart-rending fantasy of faery revenge set during the French Revolution.
Most Anticipated SSF Books 2025—The Nerd Daily, BookPage
I feared this was the best of times; I hoped it could not get any worse.
The faeries stole Sydney Carton as a child, and made him a mortal servant of the Faery Realm. Now, he has a rare opportunity for revenge against the fae and Charles Darnay, the changeling left in his stead.
It will take magic and cunning—cold iron and Realm silver—to hide his intentions from humans and fae and bring his plans to fruition.
Shuttling between London and Paris during the Reign of Terror, generations of violence-begetting-violence lead him to a heartbreaking choice in the shadow of the guillotine.
This is A Tale of Two Cities, but with fae magic and revenge!
A detour. A chance encounter. Two women who alter the pages of each other’s story.
Juliet Nightingale is lucky to be alive. Months after a freak accident involving lightning, she’s fully recovered but is left feeling that something is missing from her life. Something big. Impulsively, she decides to take a solo summer road trip, hoping that the journey will lead her down a path that will help her discover exactly what it is that she’s searching for.
Newly single mom Tallulah Byrd Mayfield is hanging by a thread after her neat, tidy world was completely undone when her husband decided that their marriage was over. In the aftermath of the breakup, she and her two daughters move in with her eighty-year-old grandfather. Tallulah starts a new job at the Forget-Me-Not Library, where old, treasured memories can be found within the books—and where Lu must learn to adapt to the many changes thrown her way.
When a road detour leads Juliet to Forget-Me-Not, Alabama, and straight into Tallulah’s life, the two women soon discover there’s magic in between the pages of where you’ve been and where you still need to go. And that happiness, even when lost, can always be found again.
Heather Webber’s books have been mentioned in the comments before. It’s often a blend of women’s fiction, small town settings, and cozy magical realism. This is her latest release and I felt like it flew under the radar.
Gothic sapphic romance meets supernatural suspense on a remote island in the Pacific Northwest, as a night of forbidden passion opens a Pandora’s box of dangerous secrets and dark magic in this sinfully spicy, standalone novel by New York Times bestselling TikTok sensation, Harley Laroux.
SALEM
I wasn’t supposed to be here.
I was supposed to be marrying my fiancé, looking forward to a tropical honeymoon. Instead, I found myself on a ferry headed for historic Balfour Manor on Blackridge Island, in the Pacific Northwest. Now I’m stranded, with a woman I’m irresistibly drawn to.
Rayne holds secrets as dark and mysterious as her old house. Crimson shadows stalk the halls and strange voices call out in the night—but it’s she who haunts me most.
Following a gruesome murder, the island’s true nature is revealed, and every night becomes a fight for survival. Something is stalking the forest, killing indiscriminately . . .
And this time, we’re its prey.
RAYNE
Death has followed me since childhood. My mother’s murder and father’s violent death changed me, teaching me just how cruel the world could be.
I never got what I wanted, until Salem showed up at my door. She’s adventurous, beautiful, and doomed if she stays here. Now, I suddenly have something to the woman who broke down my walls and saw through my mask, who showed me I’m worth loving.
My family has long been buried, but even the vilest of secrets must be dug up again to survive the evil that hunts us. I finally have something to fight for, and I’ll do whatever it takes to save her.
This is a Gothic f/f romance and I believe it gets pretty spooky. I saw a gorgeous special edition of this in a local bookstore.
The Hating Gamemeets Legends & Lattes in this captivating and hilarious fantasy rom-com with a twist about two enemies who must work together to return to their reality.
Courtney’s only goal in life is to have no goals. A reformed overachiever, she’s content with her dead-end job and simple existence. And her “feud” with her neighbor Bryce brings her immense joy. Everything is perfect.
Until Courtney and Bryce are pulled through a portal and flung into a fantasy world where they are met by a prophecy-obsessed sage who claims one of them must be the Chosen One destined to save them all from an unknown Evil One. Neither of them wants the job but also refuse to let the other have the glory. Unfortunately, in their efforts to save the world, they unleash more chaos by accidentally freeing a dragon, summoning an undead army, and almost poisoning their mentor with peanut butter.
To return to their world, Courtney and Bryce—a snarky underachiever and a grumpy hermit—must charm and endear themselves to the people of this fantasy world (or each other) to be able to use magic. With time running out and the threat of the Evil One looming, they must work together to become worthy heroes if they ever want to make it home again. Or else be doomed to eternity in a universe without running water—and with each other—forever.
Two neighbors who don’t get along get transported to a fantasy world. I’ve heard if you like a grumpy meets grumpier romance, this might appeal to you.
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