Wondering what to do with all those Amazon, Borders, and Barnes and Noble gift certificates you got this holiday season? Allow me to make a suggestion.

Those of you who are my friend on Facebook or follow The Magical Buffet on Twitter know that this past Sunday I got to see Anthony Bourdain from the television show “No Reservations” give a lecture and attend a meet and greet with the author/television personality. I wasn’t sure I was going to write about attending the event, but I’ve had so many people ask me what the event was like that I figured it would be easier to write about the whole experience here than to send out many, many emails. Seriously, you guys really want the Bourdain dish!

It’s not that I never think of Russia, except that honestly I don’t really think about Russia. Nothing against the country, just for some reason, they never really cross my mind. That’s why I was thrilled to be given the opportunity to review “Russian Magic: Living Folk Traditions of an Enchanted Landscape” by Cherry Gilchrist. I was hoping that I would come away with a refreshing understanding of a country that I had obviously overlooked. I was right.

Nick Valentino, author of the newly released novel “Thomas Riley”, visits The Magical Buffet while on his promotional blog tour! Click on in to learn about the beloved genre of Steampunk.

How does Rebecca manage to write a review of “The Way of Beauty” by Francois Cheng while talking Terry Pratchett and Angelina Jolie? There’s only one way to find out.

For those of you who follow the exciting world of “tech” news, you may have been hearing a lot of noise about how on December 1, 2009 The Federal Trade Commission will require bloggers and celebrities to clearly state when they receive cash or “payment in kind” for endorsing a company’s products or services. This seemed as good of time as any to let you in on how I, and in turn The Magical Buffet, operate. Prepare to probably not be surprised.

Back in 2007 I received an email from a woman named Rose Rosetree, who offered to do an article about face reading for The Magical Buffet. Since that well received article, we’ve had her back for an interview, and she even had me as a guest blogger on her “Deeper Perception Made Practical” blog in 2008. It seemed like it was past time to catch up with Rose and see what she’s been doing.

One day I would really like to attend the Esoteric Book Conference in Seattle. Fortunately, author, publisher, and all round cool guy John Coughlin was nice enough to give us the rundown of this event.

This week celebrate the freedom to read!

How do I love thee “The Return of the Dead”? Let me count the ways.