Happy new year to all of my lovely readers! I hope it will be a fine one for all of you. Here are a few things that I really enjoyed in 2013:

• Fallen London. A lovingly written, kooky, sprawling online game. I played in Fallen London nearly every day of 2013. If you have any interest in interactive fiction, Lovecraft send-ups, inventive takes on steampunk, tongue-in-cheek Victoriana, and general nonsense, give it a go; it’s genuinely free to play, with the totally optional choice to pursue some (very affordable) for-pay storylines. (My profile is here. If you play, feel free to send me a ping in-game!)
• Manga Studio. If you’re an illustrator or comics artist, or just enjoy digital doodling, this is the program that I shifted 90% of my Family Man drawing and coloring over to this year. It has a beautifully responsive brush engine that makes digital drawing a pleasure instead of a chore. It’s also freakishly affordable compared to Photoshop, and much more fully featured than tablet apps.
• This broccoli recipe. Seriously! So good.