This week Mallory saw Star Wars and yelled about it, and her writeup was so compelling that I elected to stay at my in-laws’ house for a whole extra day and night in order to go see it at their fancy local movie theater/cafe/bar with my husband and brother-in-law. (Had the three of us pooled our collective Star Wars knowledge we would still not have amounted to one whole fan, but we all found it highly enjoyable.)

Nicole and I listed some of our favorite freelance pieces this year. Read up! There may be a quiz.

Don’t miss this wonderful essay by Claire Jimenez on language loss:

Obviously I am not at home in the language of my own home. What does that even mean?

In English, I speak fast. I’m loud, perhaps even annoying, depending on who you ask. In Spanish, I feel like I am perpetually blushing: polite, apologetic, and scared.

Li Sian Goh on the only two good Nancy Mitford novels.

fierce and ferocious both
first i light up, then blammo
there i am
blammo
mmzzmp

JAYA IS A TREASURE: “Little Women is my mom and Redwall is my dad and my siblings are all of Elena Ferrante’s novels and someday I’m going to marry The Bell Jar and you won’t be invited because you never liked books anyway, not like I do.”

It is New Year’s Eve Eve! Frankly I doubt that any of your NYE plans can possibly compete with my thrilling evening of Lebanese food, champagne, and kdramas, but if you feel like it please tell us how you’ll be ringing in 2016.