Reading Challenge: August 2025

So... Summer Camp 2025 didn't go too well for me, but I did manage to write little articles for three prompts. Ongoing health stuff meant I had to focus on self care. I didn't even manage to read as many articles as I normally do, though I'm working through the remainder of my notifications now.   I did have a nice cruise to Norway during the last week of Summer Camp, and managed to do a couple of things. I spent a lot of time in my cabin napping, but thankfully I had a great view out of the window!   My plans going forward for the rest of 2025 include a whole lot of self care, but I also want to do some more creative things. I'd like to get some articles finished, including the Serukis rewrite that has been in progress for a year and a half.  

  Apologies for the short comments on each of these articles. I really wanted to take part in the reading challenge, so here it is even though I am nowhere near my best.

The Biscuits of the Gentle Hand by Snow Celeste

 

You cannot make these with an angry heart or hands they won't turn out.

— StillnessandSilence

  StillnessAndSilence wrote a lot of beautiful articles this Summer Camp, many of which brought me close to tears. This one in particular is a wonderful tribute article to someone important, and I love that it includes a recipe as well.

Emoshrooms by Imagica

 

Because in the end, the spores give you what the world no longer does.

— Make Lore, Not War

  Imagica wrote some of my favourite articles this Summer Camp, but obviously I had to show off the mushrooms here. All hail the creepy mushrooms!

House of Still Water by Rin Garnett

 

This is the House of Still Water. A monument to past floods and memorial to those who lost their lives to them.

— Those2Nerds

  Another article that made me cry this Summer Camp. A touching memorial for those who have been lost.

Wyrmscale by Gilly-May Hartill

 

The lichen sticks to rocks like clumpy paint, and in periods following rainfall, it glows iridescently, bathing rocks and trees in a yellowy-golden glow.

— Gillymaya

  The words 'thick milk' haunted me throughout the whole month. Love a lichen, though.

Heliography by Demongrey

 

When aimed at a person or object cloaked in illusion - whether hidden or beautified - the heliograph ignores the magic and records the truth.

— Demongrey

  I really love how Demongrey has taken a technology that exists in our world (photography) and tweaked it to their own.

Dula-dulas by Chris L

 

Dula-dulas means "super slippery" and that definitely applies to these axolotl-folk.

— Sgt. Kill Flayer

  I love the axolotl people. Kitoypoy has made a really unique culture here where the juvenile forms are non-sapient.

Ale Engines by Adam Tingley

 

A dire problem in need of a drastic solution. How do you get good ale from the storage room of a tavern all the way to the bar itself?

— WreckerDwarf

  Reading about the contrast between the old technology and the new brought me joy. The old way sounds more fun!

Magic Brush Inn by Blue Fairy 74

 

Sometimes the letters on the sign dance, sometimes they glow, and sometimes they have little faces that smile or scowl.

— Blue Fairy 74

  Imagining this place is fun, especially the way it changes all the time and the riot of colours that exist.

Cuisine of Neptune by Annie Stein

 

In some of these households, poorly behaved children will swipe the water to push the food away from their parents and towards their own greedy mouths.

— Nnie

  I always love a cuisine/food article, and this one is especially fun because of the challenges of underwater dining.

Pied Piper by E. Christopher Clark

 

Though he put on a good show when performing, those who truly got to know him knew what a struggle it was to keep a smile on his face.

— ECCBooks

  It's always fun to see what twists ECCBooks puts on well known stories. This one made me sad, but I liked it a lot.