Well, this is a new one.

When I was a kid, my parents would pull out the Christmas decorations after Thanksgiving. When I had kids, we'd gradually start decorating when they started asking about it, which was right after Halloween. After they left home, I always made it a point to have the outdoor Christmas lights up to greet my Thanksgiving guests (we usually have the feast at suppertime). I ask my kids to put up the tree and the ornaments when they are here for Thanksgiving. 

I get a kick out of noticing how my neighbors do it. Some just replace Halloween decor with Christmas, either on November first or sometime in December when the skeletons get really dirty. Some even combine the two holidays on their lawn. I don't decorate for Halloween anymore. 

This year, Princess can't come because of her husband's work schedule, and Dr. Dolittle only has one day off, so she and her husband won't have time to help decorate. I guess I better get started on the house prep. I have to move furniture to get the tree up, and I want to mop the floor in between. Hauling heavy stuff from the basement has to be done a little at a time, and during daylight. Outside lights take a couple of days because there are few hours that are warm enough. The logistics get harder every year, but it's still a lot of fun. And it gives me an excuse for not raking leaves until December. 

Nvidia Newsroom:

Nvidia Board of Directors announced today that Jensen Huang has resigned as President, Chief Executive Officer, and a member of the Board, effective immediately.

Colette Kress, current Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of NVIDIA, has agreed to serve as Interim Chief Executive Officer. Kress will continue to serve as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer while serving as Interim Chief Executive Officer until a permanent successor has been named. The Board is initiating a search for a permanent Chief Executive Officer and will consider internal and external candidates. [...]

“Colette has helped lead NVIDIA through a period of extraordinary growth and has a deep understanding of our business, customers, operations and financial position,” said Harvey Jones, Chair of the NVIDIA Board of Directors. “She is supported by an experienced leadership team that has been instrumental in executing NVIDIA’s strategy and advancing its technology roadmap. The Board has full confidence in Colette and the leadership team, and we expect the company’s operations, customer commitments and product roadmap to continue without interruption.”

This might be wishful thinking. Remember all the predictions that Apple would implode without Steve Jobs? That he was the company? I argued, on the day of his resignation, that Apple was likely to continue to thrive post-Jobs, writing, “Jobs’s greatest creation isn’t any Apple product. It is Apple itself.” He built a great company with a deep bench and a highly distinctive, incredibly strong culture.

I’m not seeing anyone say those things about Nvidia. In fact I’ve only seen the opposite — that Nvidia has a weak board and an executive structure with Huang at the top and 60 direct reports under him. Nvidia sounds like it is the fantasy version of Apple that people imagined when Jobs’s health finally failed.

The press release contains no quote from Huang, and his X account is silent.

Nvidia will report its third-quarter fiscal 2027 financial results on Tuesday, November 17, at approximately 1:20 p.m. PT, as previously scheduled, followed by its earnings call at 2 p.m. PT.

They should sell tickets to this one.

Link: nvidianews.nvidia.com/news/nvidia-announces-ceo-transition

I have often expressed how spoiled Christian readers are today. As if we needed more proof of this, how about the fact that in a single month, publishers released not one but two major graphic novel adaptations of Pilgrim’s Progress? Both are well-written, beautifully illustrated, and faithful to Bunyan’s story. Let me help you understand their similarities and differences and tell you which one might be best to add to your library.

Christian’s Quest is written by Tyler Van Halteren and illustrated by Manuel Zepic. It is published by Lithos Kids, which has already released the three-part Little Pilgrim’s Big Journey, an illustrated adaptation of Pilgrim’s Progress for young readers, and The Mansoul Chronicles, which is based on Bunyan’s Holy War. It is a 220-page 7×10.63 inch hardcover that targets children aged 8+, though it is meant to be enjoyed by teens and adults as well. Its illustrations are what I might describe as a clean, polished YA style. The lines are thin and tidy and much of the form comes from shading. The colors tend to maintain a soft, muted, painted look. It lightly updates some antiquated language so that Bunyan’s Slough of Despond becomes the Bog of Despond. Christian is youthful and fresh-faced, and his burden is a bulging pack on a frame. It includes some bonus material: a behind-the-scenes look at how a graphic novel is made, and a study guide that explains and applies each of the stages of Christian’s quest. It also indicates that a sequel, Christiana’s Crown, will be released in 2028.

Pilgrim’s Progress: The Graphic Novel is written by Jeremy Patenaude, illustrated by Brent McKee, colored by Matt Wilson, and lettered by Taylor Esposito. It is published by Crossway as what I believe is the company’s first graphic novel, though it has a long history of publishing books for young readers. It is a 256-page 7×10.25 inch paperback that targets readers aged 14+. Its illustrations are what I might describe as gritty and stylized and perhaps a bit more indie than mainstream. It uses heavy brush ink, dark shadows, and vivid colors. It does not update Bunyan’s antiquated language. Christian is a gaunt, tormented, weathered adult whose burden is a huge stone roped to his back. Its bonus material includes a lexicon of the key characters and locations and reflections on each of the chapters. There is no indication of a sequel that will cover Christiana’s quest.

While these two graphic novels tell the same story and tell it faithfully using dialogue and illustration rather than narration, they tell it using different visual language largely because Christian’s Quest is meant to be accessible to a younger demographic. You might say that Christian’s Quest is a bit more kid-friendly and Pilgrim’s Progress is a bit more adult-friendly, though both could easily be enjoyed by kids and adults alike. After all, who doesn’t enjoy reading the occasional graphic novel? Another key difference is that Pilgrim’s Progress is a paperback where Christian’s Quest is being sold as more of an heirloom object that features cloth binding, gold foil, and a ribbon marker.

Let me show you a few examples of the art from each book.

Christian’s Quest

Pilgrim’s Progress

My Recommendation

Which do I recommend? Either! Both! If your readers are younger, Christian’s Quest is the more obvious choice, and if they are older—teenagers and up—they may prefer Pilgrim’s Progress. But you couldn’t go wrong with either, and you couldn’t go wrong with picking up both.

Where to Buy

Christian’s Quest

Lithos Kids · clothbound hardcover · ages 8+

Buy at Amazon

Westminster Books

Pilgrim’s Progress: The Graphic Novel

Crossway · paperback · ages 14+

Buy at Amazon

Westminster Books

An E.R. doctor???