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Image by Social Butterfly from Pixabay

New Year's Eve this year looked very different than it would have a hundred years ago. No midnight selfies to post on Instagram, no club-hopping between venues with a $50 cover and too many drunk people, no last-minute Tinder dates to try and find someone to kiss when the clock strikes twelve. Despite these new ways to celebrate, New Year’s Eve has always been an important night to mark in the calendar, and people have always done something to celebrate. A more sedated ball, a house party (not the kind with red solo cups), a family evening around the fire, or some champagne with a few friends have been the go-to for centuries. And while cultural norms around drinking come and go, one thing is for certain: our favorite authors have no doubt dealt with some serious New Year’s hangovers at one time or another.

But how would these classic literary figures deal with the first day of the year if they were in their prime this winter? We have some thoughts.

Photo by Wilfried Santer on Unsplash

It’s Jacob Grimm’s birthday on January 4 and we couldn’t be more excited to celebrate. And while we’re not cramming 233 candles on a cake – we tried, they wouldn’t fit – we are partying it up with the unusual fairy tale adaptations Grimm and his contemporaries inspired. So, happy birthday, Jacob Grimm. We’ll be over here by the punch bowl hanging out with Hans Christian Andersen and your brother Wilhelm.

Photo by NordWood Themes on Unsplash.

2018 is here, and that means time to reflect, renew… and read a whole bunch of posts determined to make this year the best year ever. Which is great, really.

But what if you want to do something a little bit different?

If 2017 was the year that saw you get in touch with your witchy side (or even if you did that a long time ago), you might be wondering about how to bring a little magic to your New Year’s celebrations. Of course, for some witches, New Year’s has already come and gone, as the majority of Wiccan traditions consider Samhain to be the start of the new Wheel of the Year. Others may choose to focus their celebrations of renewal and rebirth during the longest night of the year: the Winter Solstice (aka Yule). However, there’s no reason not to celebrate the calendar New Year as well, and we’ve got some great ways to refocus and bring a little witchy goodness into 2018.

[Movie still from Beauty and the Beast, Walt Disney Pictures]

It’s no secret that reading completes us. Studies have shown that reading fiction increases our capacity for empathy, reduces stress levels, and might just help us live a little longer. For 2018, we’re challenging you to reach outside your reading comfort zone – and we’ve come up with a few ideas to get you started. Think of us as your bookish guides on this literary quest.

[TV still from The Good Place, Fremulon]

Holy mother forking shirt balls. The Good Place is back on January 4. The November 4 episode about Derek – remember Derek? – feels like it happened a lifetime ago, so we’re here to catch you up on the literary references from the first season and a half of the show. Surprise! They’re all philosophy texts. We hope you’ve kept up with your reading. You know how Chidi can get.

Caution: spoilers abound!

Kitty Curran and Larissa Zageris are the authors of the upcoming choose-your-path romance novel My Lady's Choosing. These ladies are creative, smart, and incredibly funny. Read their Q&A below!