Norabelle414's Trilogy in Two Parts

An ornamental plum tree in my neighborhood, blooming in the snow

Hello and welcome! I'm Nora. I live in the Washington DC area. This is my seventeenth year in the 75ers group! Aside from books, I also love:

animals/biology/zoology/conservation - I volunteer at the National Zoo
TV - scripted only (except Taskmaster and a few documentaries), mostly science fiction, fantasy, and historical fiction; especially anything based on a book
regional theater - I have season tickets to Arena Stage but I go to shows elsewhere as well
podcasts - especially about books
knitting (I'm on Ravelry), mending, cross stitch, and embroidery
progressive politics (particularly urbanism, workers' rights, and trans rights (which shouldn't be a particularly progressive issue but here we are))

You can also find me on Bluesky @ norabelle.bsky.social

(whoops, I still haven't set any mini-goals for myself!)

A selection of books I have finished recently:
Margo's Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe - 5/5
Inherit the Wind by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee - 3.5/5
The Yellow Bus by Loren Long - 4.5/5
Glutton: The Multi-Course Life of a Very Greedy Boy {audiobook} by Ed Gamble - 3.5/5
The Sensational She-Hulk #7 by Rainbow Rowell and Andres Genolet - 4.5/5
All of Us Murderers {audiobook} by KJ Charles - 4/5

For a full list of books I've read in 2026, click here: https://www.librarything.com/catalog.php?view=norabelle414&collection=102024...

18. Thirteen Ways to Kill Lulabelle Rock by Maud Woolf

Lulabelle Rock awakens and is given an assignment - kill Lulabelle Rock. But she’s not the real Lulabelle, she’s a clone tasked with killing 12 other clones because the real Lulabelle has decided that having clones has gone out of fashion. Assassin Lulabelle travels around Bubble City to find the clones on their own assignments (walking the fashion district setting trends, creating Art, having brunch with her friends, etc.) to take them out. But each Lulabelle is her own person, including this one.

I really liked what this book was trying to do, but I’m not sure it was great at it. The writing wasn’t great and the main character felt flat, but I couldn’t tell if that was on purpose because she’s a clone or what. There were also some attempts to tie in tarot cards (each chapter is named after a tarot card, as is each clone) and what I think was Scottish mythology? that didn’t work either. But the overall story was enjoyable and interesting, I liked the ending, and I’m glad I read it.

Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ♥ (3.5/5)

19. Glutton: The Multi-Course Life of a Very Greedy Boy {audiobook} by Ed Gamble, narrated by Ed Gamble

Comedian Ed Gamble loves food so much that he has an entire podcast about it. This obsession started at a very young age, though it has taken various forms throughout his life. Complicating this love are both his Type-1 diabetes and major weight loss in his mid 20s.

A perfectly fine celebrity memoir from someone who is very boring (and he knows it). There’s no wacky exploits here except a young man eating multiple entire pizzas in a day. There’s a lot here that could be shame-y or triggering to eating disorders, particularly related to his weight loss, but he strikes a good balance by always reminding the reader that it’s basically random chance that allowed him to drastically change his body, not some kind of secret or radical deprivation. I do enjoy Ed’s comedy quite a lot, but I think he works best when he has someone to bounce off of. Thankfully this audiobook contains an exclusive conversation with his best friend, fellow comedian Nish Kumar, which is by far the best part.

Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ♥ (3.5/5)

Happy new thread, Nora. xx

20. The Yellow Bus written and illustrated by Loren Long

A brand new yellow bus in a grayscale world takes children to school. Later, it lives many other lives as a senior bus, a home for the homeless, and a home for animals.

A sweet, minimalist story with beautiful drawings. I particularly like the end when the bus is underwater and you can just barely see the yellow from a birds-eye view. It’s nice to see the bus live so many lives, but don’t think about it too much further.

Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ♥ (4.5/5)

21. Inherit the Wind by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee

A high school teacher in a small town in Tennessee is arrested and put on trial for telling students about evolution, which is illegal. Representing the state is Matthew Harrison Brady, religious Fundamentalist and celebrity orator. Representing the teacher is Henry Drummond, a famous defense attorney hired by a distant newspaper, the Baltimore Herald, to ensure an exciting trial. Denied access to any kind of expert testimony by a biased judge, Drummond calls Brady himself to the stand, exposing the hypocrisy of his Fundamentalism.

This play is based on a real trial from 1925, dramatized as a commentary on McCarthyism. As a play it’s pretty dry but is saved by the character of E. K. Hornbeck, a cocky and cynical journalist from Baltimore who speaks in verse while everyone else sounds folksy. As a commentary on McCarthyism I’m not sure it really works. As has been seen recently, many who profess to believe in freedom of thought and are concerned about government overreach are perfectly happy to weaponize it against others whenever possible and don’t care one bit about being hypocritical. The idea that a liberal’s rhetorical flourish could turn a modern-day populist into a laughingstock is itself laughable.

One thing I was really struck by in this reread, my first in several decades, is the fatphobia. Brady is constantly described as a large man, criticized and ridiculed for his overeating, and then he dies of it. What does that add to the story? Absolutely nothing.

Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ♥ (3.5/5)

22. Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe

Single mother Margo can’t keep a waitressing job because childcare is too expensive, but her boobs look great now so she decides to start an OnlyFans. Unfortunately she is very bad at it, so she gets her estranged father Jinx, a retired professional wrestler, to help her build a character and develop a fandom. But it turns out that the rest of her family, and her baby’s family, are not so encouraging.

An absolute banger of a book. I was expecting to love Margo, and I did, and I was expecting the story to be fun and funny and modern, and it is, but the writing is just incredible. It slowly slips from first to third person narration as the story moves along and then snaps back to first in a way that feels so intimate, just like Margo’s work. This is a story about taking sex work seriously - not as a tragedy but as a job. But it’s also a story about narrative - the narrative of an adult performer, the narrative of professional wrestling, the narrative we tell about ourselves to other people, the narrative we tell about ourselves to authorities, and the narrative of a book. And it’s really beautiful.

Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ (5/5)

Happy new thread, Nora!

Happy new thread, Nora!

>9 norabelle414: I probably won't read this, because literary fiction is not my thing, but this is an excellent review, and it sounds like a wonderful book! Also, that cover gives fabulous snarky ennui. I've added it to my TBR just in case. :)

Happy new thread!

Happy new one, Nora!

Happy new thread, Nora!

>9 norabelle414: I need to pick this one up. I was avoiding it for a while because I knew there was an accidental pregnancy which I didn't really feel like reading about while dealing with infertility, but I think I'll enjoy it now.

Thanks >6 PaulCranswick:, >10 quondame:, >11 atozgrl:, >13 foggidawn:, and >14 katiekrug:!

>12 libraryperilous: I wouldn't really call it literary fiction? It's definitely sci-fi/fantasy-adjacent because most of Margo's videos involve her pretending to be an alien and/or robot. It's also *very* funny. I think you'd like it!

>15 curioussquared: Probably a good call! Just as a heads up there is some threat of losing child custody in the book but everything turns out fine. The worst thing that happens to the baby is a very minor diaper rash.

Happy Friday!

Wednesday I went to Trader Joe's on the way home. I returned some books to the library but not until after they closed. Yesterday I worked from home, walked to the library to pick up some holds, and had a telehealth appointment.

Today I'm in the office. After work I'm going to my new friend's house for girl's night to eat pizza and wine and watch Legally Blonde and chat about our other friend's wedding plans. Tomorrow I'm going to see Project Hail Mary with a big group, then I have a zoo meeting on Sunday and I'm planning to bake peanut butter cookies.

Currently reading:
Only one chapter left in Assassin's Apprentice so I didn't bring it with me on the bus today. I finished Margo's Got Money Troubles and returned it on time! This morning I started When Trees Testify: Science, Wisdom, History, and America's Black Botanical Legacy, an LTER book. I won it in November but they didn't send it to me until February so I don't feel bad about how late my review is.
Current library book count: 12
March plans: One of Our Thursdays Is Missing, She-Hulk #8, Assassin's Apprentice, When Trees Testify
Reviews behind: 0

Currently watching:
One episode of High Potential.

Busy, busy, Nora... Hope your girls' night is fun!

Happy new thread, Nora! I've been on the fence over whether Margo's Got Money Troubles would be for me or not, but your review makes it sound like a blast.

Happy new thread!

Hi there, I just finished catching up on your old thread and then this one.

I just wanted to say that I'm glad you enjoyed Interior Chinatown, agreed that it was a very weird (complimentary) book. I'm glad books like that get written and published.

Also, I am currently reading the book after Spook Street, London Rules. What was the setup in Spook Street for Ho's storyline in this one? I've read the book, but I don't recall. I'm telling myself this might be the year I read the next book before the new season comes out, but we'll see how it goes. I agree that River is not the most exciting character, by a mile. Same on tv.

>18 katiekrug: Thanks Katie!

>19 bell7: It's a fun and thoughtful read; I think you'll enjoy it even if it's not your usual thing.

>20 drneutron: Thanks Jim!

>21 ursula: Yes, I'm so glad that weird books can exist!
On the TV show, season 4 has Roddy with a "girlfriend" who turns out to be an AI chatbot and season 5 has him with an IRL girlfriend who is a honeypot and convinces him to "show her" how he hacks into MI5
In the books, book 4 has him already dating the honeypot IRL girlfriend but he hasn't told anyone yet and as far as we know she hasn't asked him to hack anything. To my knowledge that's the first time that the groundwork for a subsequent book has been laid in the previous book? I was surprised.
I think about getting ahead of the tv show but I'm not sure I want to. I mostly listen to the books as background noise since I already know what's going to happen. Also I've heard that book 6 is borderline unfilmable so they're skipping to book 7 for season 6? But that might just be speculation.
I enjoy River as a commentary on the golden boy (perfect, white, blonde, nepo baby) but that only works when he's 1) not the main character and 2) fucking up due to his ego

>22 norabelle414: Ah okay, I didn't remember enough from book 4 to remember that was there!

And yeah, I only like River when he's fucking something up.

It's Tuesday.

After work on Friday I went to my new friend's house with other friends from trivia and we watched Legally Blonde and gossiped and ate pizza and drank a lot and cuddled with her dog. I was worried about being uncool-ly tired after working in the office all day but I ended up being the last one to leave, at 10:30. On Saturday I slept in and then opened and set up my birthday present to myself - a Switch 2. In the evening I went to see Project Hail Mary, which was fantastic. I'm not sure it made me want to read the book, but I might still get to it eventually.

Sunday I had a meeting at the zoo at 2pm which is the absolute worst time to go to the zoo. It was packed and all the restaurants around it were packed so it took me forever to get something for lunch before the meeting and I didn't have time to see any animals. The meeting itself was fine. Yesterday I worked from home. Unexpectedly I had a free phone consult with a new therapist in the middle of the day and she was very nice and I'm hopeful for this one. I baked peanut butter cookies in the afternoon then walked to trivia with my neighbor and returned some library books along the way. We managed to get first place in one of the games of trivia, for the first time since they switched to Sporcle.

Today I'm in the office. After work I'm going to my brother's house, theoretically to help with the kids but my brother has the day off so not really. Tomorrow I have an actual appointment with the new therapist (telehealth - I was hoping for in-person but she doesn't have availability), my friend is coming to pick up his cat, and in the evening I'm going to see Eddie Izzard perform every role in Hamlet, solo. A friend got us tickets at the last minute. Later this week I'm going to do my taxes.

Currently reading:
The end of the month really snuck up on me! I finished Assassin's Apprentice on Sunday but there's no way I'm going to finish When Trees Testify: Science, Wisdom, History, and America's Black Botanical Legacy by the end of the day. Yesterday I started listening to The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Vol 1 and it's only 3hr long so I might finish it today. I'm also planning to read a She-Hulk today.
Current library book count: 10
March plans: She-Hulk #8, The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Vol 1, Check, Please! Vol 1
April plans: One of Our Thursdays Is Missing, When Trees Testify
Reviews behind: 1

Currently playing:
Pokopia!!! It's like Animal Crossing but with Pokemon. The player character is a Ditto that has transformed into a human, but it still has Ditto's gross face and gives me the ick. Other than that it's extremely my jam - exploring and crafting and puzzles and Little Guys.

Currently watching:
Two episodes of Saturday Night Live (Alexander Skarsgaard, Connor Storrie)

>16 norabelle414: Ooh, this sounds absolutely hilarious. I definitely am sold! Hood placed. 😃

It's Thursday.

After work on Tuesday I went to my brother's house and we had an unexpected visit from our cousin and his family. My brother made barbacoa tacos and the kids played and it was a nice time but a longer night than I was expecting. I did not get home until nearly midnight and didn't get the reading time I was hoping for. Yesterday was very busy - I only had an hour or so in the morning to fill out all of my new patient paperwork for a new therapist, then my friend came to pick up his cat, then I had a therapy appointment that went so well (5th time's the charm I guess) and several work meetings. I was planning to return some books to the library but there was a short thunderstorm right before I was planning to leave so I skipped it. In the evening I went to see Eddie Izzard perform every role in Hamlet herself. She was wonderful and it was a real feat! The lighting and direction were also fantastic. Hamlet is not my favorite, though, and my mind did wander.

Today I'm in the office. After work I have no plans, for the first time all week. I need to clean my apartment (having two cats was very messy) and do laundry and gather all the paperwork I need to do my taxes. Tomorrow after work I'm going to my dad's to work on my taxes. This is much later than I'd usually leave it but I've been dealing with my dad's medical and apartment stuff so we didn't have time. Saturday morning I have a zoo book club meeting (the book is Mr. Hornaday's War: How a Peculiar Victorian Zookeeper Waged a Lonely Crusade for Wildlife that Changed the World, which I already read when I was leading the book club a few years ago, and I didn't bother to reread it) and then a volunteer shift at the bird house. Sunday I was supposed to have Easter dinner with my brother but he had to cancel so I might get a haircut and/or a pedicure depending on what's open.

Currently reading:
I did not get anything else finished before the end of the month. On paper I'm 25% through When Trees Testify and this morning on the bus I started The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles (which is due back at the library on Tuesday). On audio I'm halfway through The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Vol 1 but I'm not sure I've been following it so I might start over.
Current library book count: 10
March plans:
April plans: When Trees Testify, She-Hulk #8, The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles, The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Vol 1, One of Our Thursdays Is Missing, Check, Please! Vol 1, She-Hulk #9
Reviews behind: 1

Currently playing:
More Pokopia!!!

Currently watching:
Nothing, I literally have not been home

"In the evening I went to see Eddie Izzard perform every role in Hamlet herself." SO jealous! Eddie Izzard is brilliant. My daughter and I have some of her older routines memorized.

Happy new thread!

>26 norabelle414: Great news about your new therapist, Nora! Good luck with your taxes, always such a chore.

Very good to hear the new therapist seems to be a winner.

I am also very pleased for you that you found a good match with your latest therapist.

Enjoy your chill evening with no plans!

>26 norabelle414: 😻 Eddie! That sounds like theater perfection!

>27 laytonwoman3rd: >32 libraryperilous: She was so great! The show is on tour but I think DC is her last stop in the US before she goes to Australia.

>28 figsfromthistle: Thanks Anita!

>29 lauralkeet:, >30 katiekrug:, >31 MickyFine: Thank you! I'm trying not to get my hopes up until insurance goes through but it felt very different than my other experiences.

Happy Monday!

Thursday after work I did not do much. Friday I returned books to the library and picked up a few more. I also went for a walk around my neighborhood and picked violets (my favorite flower) to try to make cookies with them next week. I think I'm just going to make basic shortbread with the violets pressed on top but if anyone has a recipe let me know! After work I went to my dad's apartment to work on my taxes. Most of the stuff that was wrong with his renovation has been fixed so I think things there are on the upswing. My taxes were more complicated this year and I'm missing a document so there's still more to be done. Saturday morning I had zoo book club to discuss Mr. Hornaday's War. Annoyingly the meeting was half people who didn't finish the book and half people who read it a few years ago when I was running the book club. What's the point of repeating a book if no one new is going to read it??? After book club I had a volunteer shift at the bird house. Spring break is the worst time to volunteer - the zoo was packed but everyone is trying to speedrun the DC sights so no one really wants to engage with me about the animals. But it wasn't terrible.

Yesterday I did pretty much nothing until late in the day. Then I baked cherry oatmeal cookies for trivia (they turned out very flat again, argh, but they taste incredible so whatever), did two loads of laundry (which led me to realize that the visiting cat peed in my hamper, ugh), and completed three hour-long annual trainings for my zoo volunteer job. So overall not an unproductive day, even if I didn't do the things I had planned to.

Today I'm in the office. After work I have trivia. Tomorrow I'm going to hopefully finish my taxes. Thursday I have another therapy appointment and I'm going to a play.

Currently reading:
Did not get much reading done. Cutting back my commuting days from 4 to 2.5 per week is really taking its toll, plus this one bus driver that listens to VERY loud talk radio. Still only 25% through When Trees Testify and The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles. On audio I finished The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Vol 1 and I wasn't sure I was following so I listened to the first half again. I didn't love it but I'm intrigued and the narrator is fantastic.
Current library book count: 11
April plans: When Trees Testify, She-Hulk #8, The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles, One of Our Thursdays Is Missing, Check, Please! Vol 1, She-Hulk #9
Reviews behind: 2

Currently playing:
Way too much Pokopia. It's the perfect mix of Pokemon and Animal Crossing and Minecraft that really hits for me. I did learn a lesson about playing too early in the day, though, as some tasks when started will finish "tomorrow" regardless of whether I start them at 8am or 11:45pm.

Currently watching:
Caught up on the current season of For All Mankind.

Happy Wednesday!

Monday after work I went to trivia. My neighbor was running late so I walked by myself. We had two teams, the other team won the first game and my team won the second (largely due to the last bonus category being "2020s novels" so we went all-in. The question was "what book has the subtitle 'The Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution'" so you know your girl got it right before the host even finished reading the question). Everyone loved the cookies. My neighbor and I had a nice walk home.

Yesterday I worked from home. I'm covering for a coworker who is out so the morning was a bit crazy but all my leadership was at an off-site meeting in the afternoon so it was more relaxing. I went for a REALLY nice walk with my neighbor - it was chilly but very sunny (my favorite weather) and we checked on all our favorite flowers (the violets, tulips, cherries, and magnolias are mostly gone but we saw a lot of grape hyacinths, phlox, dogwoods, redbuds, and even an early iris). We talked about therapy and relationships (his current one is not working out; I'll try not to be too devastated) and gossiped (mostly nicely) about our trivia teammates. I could have walked for hours but unfortunately we both needed to get back to work. After work I went to the park to read in the sunshine for awhile and it was lovely. I did not do any of the chores/errands I was planning to do, whoops.

Today I'm in the office. Nothing going on after work. Tomorrow I'm going to a play, Saturday I'm going to the Cherry Blossom festival with some of my trivia friends and then a fancy restaurant for an early birthday dinner with some friends visiting from out of town.

Currently reading:
Still not doing a ton of reading, even with my time in the park. Too much on my mind. Still only 25% through When Trees Testify and The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles. Nothing on audio.
Current library book count: 12
April plans: When Trees Testify, She-Hulk #8, The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles, One of Our Thursdays Is Missing, Check, Please! Vol 1, She-Hulk #9
Reviews behind: 2

Currently playing:
Way too much Pokopia. I am getting toward the end so now there's less to do and maybe I can go back to reading.

Currently watching:
Two episodes of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters

Heya Nora!
>24 norabelle414: Ohhhh I love Eddie Izzard! So lucky,
>34 norabelle414: Well, that's a shame; why go to the zoo if you don't wanna engage with the animals?
And that's interesting with the Violets. I think the content creator - Black Forager - has a recipe for a color-changing violet syrup? That could be fun.

Re: Taskmaster: I got an email about the new season starting tonight, and the graphic of this season's cast, with Greg and Little Alex Horne, is fascinating to me. There's a "diner" and a sign for Route 21, both of which are very New Jersey-ish. It's like they want me, specifically, to tune in ;-) Anyway, just thought it was funny and wondered if you had any insight on it, since you are very TM-plugged-in... I am probably reading too much into it, though.

>36 Ravenwoodwitch: Hi Angela! A lot of people only have a couple days to visit DC and they don't always realize how much there is to do here! I understand their instinct to do as much as possible. They do look at the animals but they're just not interested in having a conversation with me about them.
Violets will change color if you add an acid to them! I looked into making jelly or syrup or something but it seems like too much work 😂

>37 katiekrug: Wow, that's so weird. I got an email that said "Nora....make sure Katie watches this season of Taskmaster" but that's probably just a coincidence.
(Every season has a theme for the house decorations and the big portrait of Greg in the study. This season's theme is "American diner")

>38 norabelle414: - Oh, okay, thanks! That makes way more sense than my initial, "OMG are they on location in Jersey?!!?"

I'm hoping to convince TW to watch it as episodes drop...

>39 katiekrug: Episode 1 drops at 5pm ET tonight!!!! Alas, I will be at the theater so I can't watch until tomorrow after work.

It's Friday.

Wednesday after work I don't remember what I did. Nothing productive. Thursday was very busy - I had a therapy appointment in the morning that went very well, a lot of work meetings, then I went to my dad's house. We worked on my taxes but unfortunately didn't finish them. He's doing a lot worse than I had realized, not really able to concentrate on things or hold a conversation. We went to dinner and then to the theater to see A Good Day to Me, Not to You and he fell asleep during it even though the whole show was only a bit over an hour long. On my way home I called my brother to talk about our dad but he didn't answer. I did manage to get a hold of him this morning but he's not being particularly helpful (I need him to just spend time with our dad but instead he wants to do things like "ask ChatGPT how to get our dad a hearing aid". Cool.

Today I'm in the office. Some of the work we had done on my taxes last week was entered incompletely so I have to go back to my dad's today after work.

Tomorrow I'm cheering on some friends who are running in a race that is conveniently right outside my apartment door. Then I'm going to the Cherry Blossom Festival with trivia friends, and then to a fancy early birthday dinner, and then to play board games at my friends' hotel. Sunday I'm going to the Asian Art Museum with a meet-up group and then I'm baking cookies. Somewhere in there I need to write some goals for my next therapy session which is on Monday (the "joy" of my terrible schedule is that a 'weekly' therapy appointment actually ends up being somewhere between 4 and 11 days). I'm taking Tuesday and Wednesday off of work next week so I might not update here again until Thursday, but I'll let you know what I got up to.

Currently reading:
Nothing new.
Current library book count: 12
April plans: When Trees Testify, She-Hulk #8, The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles, One of Our Thursdays Is Missing, Check, Please! Vol 1, She-Hulk #9
Reviews behind: 2

Currently watching:
One episode of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters

Sorry about your dad, Nora. I know it's hard watching the decline.

Happy Birthday, Nora!

I'm sorry about your father, Nora. Watching that cannot be easy.
I...hope your brother doesn't take ChatGPT's suggestions as gospel. It kinda makes me nervous how often people take it as an answer machine. It's more of a glorified language predictor/Google skimmer.

>43 Ape: Thank you Stephen!! ❤️

>42 The_Hibernator:, >44 Ravenwoodwitch: Thanks Rachel and Angela. He's not doing too terribly for his age, we just don't get along great and I was feeling like I was in this all by myself. I can help him with a lot of things but home renovations and dealing with contractors is not something I have experience with.

Happy Thursday! What a week!

Friday after work I went straight to my dad's house and successfully filed my taxes. My dad mentioned that he hadn't even started his yet, which was concerning. He seemed a lot better than he had on Thursday, though he said he felt the same. Saturday morning I rolled out of bed in my pjs to cheer on my friends from out of town who were running in a race right outside my building. Then my neighbor and I went to Sakura Matsuri (cherry blossom festival) with our trivia friends. I got a little bit of a sunburn but it was a lovely day and I had a fantastic time. While I was at the festival, my brother called. He had apparently had a change of heart (I suspect my sister-in-law was involved) and went to our dad's house to help him with his taxes and his renovation situation. I'm very grateful he decided to step up, for whatever reason. In the afternoon I took a nap then changed and went to a very fancy restaurant for dinner with my friends from out of town, then took a long walk on a nice night to their hotel and played some board games. Sunday the meetup I was planning to go to at the Asian Art Museum was cancelled, but I went anyway and spent the afternoon sitting in the garden and reading.

Monday I worked from home and had therapy. I baked shortbread cookies with violets on them. The violets were almost 2 weeks old but I had stored them in a glass jar in the fridge and they held up really well! The cookies were lovely. I went to trivia and everyone celebrated my birthday by buying me drinks and I got very drunk and hugged everyone and we did terribly at trivia but did not really care. Tuesday was my actual birthday and I went to the DMV in the morning (because I realized on Friday that my ID was expiring), got BBQ for lunch, went to the zoo and saw the new baby elephant, took a nap, went to my brother's house and got sushi with my dad and brother and niblings. I also took Wednesday off of work and worked a volunteer shift at the zoo for the special baby elephant event. It was over 90F and I was outside the whole 4.5 hours. But the baby elephant continued to be cute. In the evening I baked some cookies for my trivia friend's boyfriend's birthday. She's going to pick them up today.

Today I'm in the office. Nothing else going on this week! It's the library book sale but I might skip it since I have a lot of books and I've not been reading a ton. Saturday morning my brother's family and one of my trivia friends and I are going to see the baby elephant.

Currently reading:
I finished The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles at the garden on Sunday, and I'm about halfway through When Trees Testify on paper and The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Vol 2 on audio.
Current library book count: 12
April plans: When Trees Testify, She-Hulk #8, One of Our Thursdays Is Missing, Check, Please! Vol 1, She-Hulk #9
Reviews behind: 3

Currently watching:
Taskmaster season 21!

Happy belated birthday! It sounds like you had a really nice day.

We watched the first episode of the new TM on Friday and enjoyed it (of course). "He's so famous!"

Belated happy birthday! I saw the story on the news about the new baby elephant. They say that the baby isn't out for the public to see yet. You're so lucky to be able to see her already. Being a volunteer has its perks.

Happy belated birthday! Sounds like you had a good day. I'm glad your brother was able to step up and help get your dad's taxes done, too.

Happy belated birthday, Nora. Sounds like you had a great time celebrating.

>48 katiekrug: Thank you! This season of Taskmaster is so fun, I'm thrilled you guys are watching in real time!

>49 atozgrl: Thank you! They've been slowly acclimating her to large crowds and they're opening the elephant house to the public this Wednesday.

>50 bell7: Thank you! Today my brother is meeting with the apartment designer who has been causing so many problems and I'm very thankful he's taking care of that.

>51 MickyFine: Thanks Micky!

It's Monday!

Thursday after work my trivia friend came over to pick up cookies I made for her fiance's birthday. They were a surprise for him and he insisted on eating several before they even got in the car and then sent me a very nice thank you text when he got home. Lovely people. Friday I worked from home and right as I was finishing up my neighbor asked me to go on a walk so we went on a nice long one and then sat in the sunshine in the park for awhile. Saturday morning I went to the zoo very early with my brother and sister-in-law and niblings, plus one of my trivia friends, to see the new baby elephant (for the 3rd time, for me). The zoo was super packed so I'm glad we went early. She was adorable and my niblings loved it. Afterward we all had lunch together. When I got home in the afternoon I took my dad to Best Buy to get him some accessories he might need for an upcoming trip to England. At the store his credit card didn't work so he had to go to his credit union on Monday to get it turned back on. Yesterday I had, for no discernible reason, a very bad mental health day. Worst I've had in awhile. Thankfully my neighbor asked me to go on a walk in the early afternoon so I pulled myself together. I made ube cookies to take to trivia tonight.

Today I'm in the office. Tonight I have to pick up a package (not sure what it is....maybe a late birthday present?), go to the pharmacy, and go to trivia. Tomorrow there's a special election to vote on new electoral districts in my state. Not much else going on this week.

Currently reading:
Still slowly getting through When Trees Testify on paper and The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Vol 2 on audio.
Current library book count: 9
April plans: When Trees Testify, She-Hulk #8, One of Our Thursdays Is Missing, Check, Please! Vol 1, She-Hulk #9
Reviews behind: 3

Currently watching:
Up to date on Taskmaster and For All Mankind. Also watched a couple episodes of The Pitt and Monarch: Legacy of Monsters.

Huzzah for your birthday, and good weather for walking, and visiting the baby elephant!

>54 elorin: Thank you! They were all a good time.

It's Wednesday.

On Monday after work I picked up my mystery package (it was an LTER book I forgot I won), and picked up my prescription from the pharmacy, and went to trivia. It had been awhile since my trivia friends from girls night had all been at trivia at the same time so the captain declared it "boys vs girls" when she split up the teams (she's been trying to do this for awhile but I usually oppose it since I'm not a huge fan of gender essentialism, but I let her just this one time). Obviously we crushed the boys. The ube cookies I made were a huge hit. Yesterday I had another bad mental health day, again for no discernible reason, but I did manage to vote. Very pleased my state voted to temporarily redistrict in order to counteract Republicans' refusal to ban partisan redistricting.

Today I'm in the office. My dad leaves this evening for a trip to London. I'm very concerned about him and I hope he takes it easy. This might be the last trip he can manage by himself. Tomorrow I have two telehealth appointments and a bunch of work meetings and a podcast livestream to watch in the evening so I'm hoping that will keep me distracted from whatever is going on with me this week. On Saturday I'm going on a behind-the-scenes tour of the sea lion exhibit at the zoo.

Currently reading:
Still slowly getting through When Trees Testify on paper. Only about 20 minutes left in The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Vol 2 on audio and I've got the next one queued up.
Current library book count: 9
April plans: When Trees Testify, She-Hulk #8, One of Our Thursdays Is Missing, Check, Please! Vol 1, She-Hulk #9
Reviews behind: 3

Currently playing:
Still working on Pokopia, and getting back into Animal Crossing since some of my trivia friends want to play together soon.

Currently watching:
One episode of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, but still not up to date.

>56 norabelle414: Ooh behind the scenes with sea lions should be fun (and noisy)! I look forward to hearing about what you learn.

>57 MickyFine: Me too!! I've never been behind the scenes there before.

It's Friday.

Wednesday after work I did not do much of anything. Yesterday I had therapy in the morning which went well but I now need to set up assessments for ADHD and PTSD. In the afternoon I had another telehealth appointment which led to another prescription and a referral for a physical, bloodwork, and a PMDD assessment. Feeling very broken. I was able to get most of the physical done that evening but the bloodwork requires fasting and I can't get a morning appointment for several weeks (and not on a weekend, because why would anything be that convenient). While I was going crazy booking appointments I also booked a haircut appointment for this Sunday and a pap smear for 2 weeks from now. My dad made it to London safely yesterday and seems to be doing fine.

Today I'm in the office. I have a podcast livestream to watch tonight and other than that I'm going to take it easy because I feel like I did enough yesterday. Tomorrow I'm going on a behind-the-scenes tour of the sea lion exhibit at the zoo. Sunday I have a haircut appointment in the morning and I'm going to make carrot cake cookies for trivia.

Currently reading:
Only about 10 pages left in When Trees Testify on paper. Finished The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Vol 2 on audio and started Vol 3.
Current library book count: 9
April plans: When Trees Testify, She-Hulk #8, One of Our Thursdays Is Missing, Check, Please! Vol 1, She-Hulk #9
Reviews behind: 4

Currently playing:
A little Pokopia, a little Animal Crossing.

Currently watching:
Taskmaster (I really love the cast this season) and a couple episodes of The Pitt.

Happy Tuesday!

Friday at work we had a ceremony and party for my favorite boss, who won an award. After work I went on a very nice walk with my neighbor, then in the evening I watched a podcast livestream. Saturday I went to the zoo and got a behind-the-scenes tour of the sea lion exhibit. I toured the food prep areas and got to hang out with a young sea lion named Celia, and I played frisbee with her. Sunday I got a haircut, a chore which I had been putting off for awhile. I hate having long hair but I also hate getting haircuts. It didn't go too badly. I got what @ursula calls "a stupid bob" and it's not shaped enough nor is it as short as I wanted in the back, but at least they didn't charge me extra for a "blow dry" (my hair is very fine and will air dry in less than 5 minutes, I do not need to pay $20 for someone to blow dry it!!!). Then I made carrot cake sandwich cookies with brown butter cream cheese frosting. Yesterday I worked from home, had therapy in the afternoon, then walked to trivia. We had two teams and I switched teams in-between games because some players on the other team went home, and it was great.

Today I'm in the office, and afterward I'm going to my brother's house to see my niece and nephew. My brother was laid off a couple months ago and his last day was 2 weeks ago but he just accepted a new job. My dad is in London and sending pictures of the great time he's having. Things are going well. Not much on the schedule this week. Saturday I'm going to a barbecue at my work friend's house (very excited, as I've never been to her house before) and I'm making mac & cheese. Sunday I have Bring Your Own Book Club with my trivia friends, and then I'm making funfetti cookies.

Currently reading:
I finished When Trees Testify and read The Sensational She-Hulk #8. Almost done with The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Vol 3 on audio. This morning on the bus I started One of Our Thursdays Is Missing but I definitely won't finish it before the end of the month.
Current library book count: 8
April plans: Check, Please! Vol 1, The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Vol 3
May plans: One of Our Thursdays Is Missing, She-Hulk #9, Annie Bot, Daisy Jones and the Six, Elephant Company
Reviews behind: 6 (I really need to get on these - I'm a whole month behind)
Consecutive reading days: 9 (I stopped reporting this when I got into the 200s last year, but unfortunately last week's bad mental health days dropped me down to zero after 461 days. So I'm reporting it again for awhile.)

Currently watching:
Caught up on For All Mankind and High Potential. Watched a bit of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters and Abbott Elementary.

>60 norabelle414: You played frisbee with a sea lion?! I didn't even know that was an option, and now I want to do that! :-)

All of the cookies and stuff sound delicious, especially the carrot cake ones.

>61 foggidawn: She has her own small frisbee and she's great at catching it! She doesn't throw it back but she will bring it to her keeper (to exchange for fish). One of the behaviors she (and all the pinnipeds) are trained for is to retrieve things that have been dropped in the pool, so frisbee is good practice for that.

The carrot cake cookies were good, but they had very little carrots (half a cup) and a lot of oats (3 cups) so they were more like oat cookies than carrot cake. But still very yummy! I'll link to the recipe when I'm home.

>62 norabelle414: Those cookies do sound yummy! I'm looking forward to the recipe, because I may try them for my RIL book club next weekend.

>60 norabelle414: Sorry about the stupid bob! I swear, I used to have more faith in hair stylists but the years have beaten in out of me. Hopefully it settles in to something you can mostly enjoy.

I get my money's worth if the salon blow dries my hair because it is thick and retains water well - so they'll be there a while. Of course, I'll also walk out of there with it round-brushed to death and folded under like some kind of Dorothy Hamill helmet-head.

>61 foggidawn:, >63 laytonwoman3rd: Here's the carrot cake cookie recipe! https://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/carrot-cake-cookies/

>64 ursula: Yes! Always with the round brush!!! What is up with that

I've never been to a salon that charges extra to blow dry after the cut/trim. I have super thick hair, so always enjoy the drying part of a hair cut because (a) it's too loud to have to talk to the stylist and (b) it takes a while and I sort of enter a fugue state of relaxation.

23. Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb

Fitz is the secret illegitimate son of King Shrewd’s eldest son Chivalry, heir to the throne. His mere existence throws the line of succession into chaos, so Chivalry abdicates and Fitz is left to be raised by Burrich, Chivalry’s squire. Fitz has a telepathic connection with animals, which Burrich demands he never use. Years later, he is trained in secret to be the King’s assassin, as well as in a different kind of telepathic connection, with humans, which is required to defeat pirates that are raiding the shores of the kingdom.

I can see how I would have imprinted on this pretty well if I had first read it when I was younger. Reading it for the first time now, I found it too long and tedious. There was almost no assassination and a lot of court intrigue and betrayal which I did not find very interesting. Fitz is sad and abused all of the time, and I found the other characters to be inconsistent.

Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ♥ (3.5/5)

>67 norabelle414: I'm a fan of the Realm of the Elderlings books, though I can see where your negative reactions come from. Fitz is one of the harder characters to tag along with I've encountered in fantasy, at least the non-poisonous ones. But I love that Robin Hobb created a central character that lives with and only partially overcomes, his flaws. 9 of the 16 books I've each read 2-3 times feature him, so I'd better feel he was worth spending time with.

The Yellow Bus and Margo's got Money Troubles both got me. Happy newish thread.

Happy Thursday!

Tuesday after work I had a lovely time with my brother and niblings. Yesterday was quiet, though I did go to the library to pick up (too many) holds. It rained in the late afternoon, which we sorely needed.

Today I'm in the office. Nothing planned for this evening or tomorrow. I need to go grocery shopping and make a mac and cheese for the barbecue I'm going to on Saturday. Sunday I have Bring Your Own Book Club with my trivia friends, I need to stop by a book store to pick up a birthday gift, and then I'm making funfetti cookies. My dad comes home from England on Sunday. Next week is kind of a mess and I might just take Tuesday off of work because I have two doctors appointments and I just found out that I'm having an apartment inspection on Wednesday so I need to clean.

Currently reading:
Only about 15 minutes left in The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Vol 3 on audio so I will definitely finish that today. Next up on audio is Daisy Jones and the Six, but it's a full-cast audio which is not my favorite, so I'll give it a whirl and then maybe switch to paper. I'd like to read Check, Please! Vol 1 by the end of the month but apparently that's today?! So we'll see. I've just barely started rereading One of Our Thursdays Is Missing but enjoying it as always.
Current library book count: 12
April plans: Check, Please! Vol 1, The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Vol 3
May plans: One of Our Thursdays Is Missing, She-Hulk #9, Annie Bot, Daisy Jones and the Six, Elephant Company
Reviews behind: 5 (I really need to get on these - I'm a whole month behind)
Consecutive reading days: 11

Currently watching:
Caught up on Monarch: Legacy of Monsters.

>68 quondame: I didn't mind Fitz that much, except that I thought he was boring. I found the other characters to be flat and the naming to be confusing. Some of this could be that I listened to the middle third on audiobook - this is not the kind of book I usually enjoy on audio but I needed to finish it and I was not enjoying it enough to read quickly.

>69 BLBera: I hope you enjoy them, Beth!

>70 norabelle414: I really loved the full-cast audio for Daisy Jones and the Six. It's formatted like a documentary, so I felt it really worked for that. YMMV, of course.

24. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Volume 1 {audiobook} by Beth Brower, narrated by Genevieve Gaunt

Emma Lion returns to her family home (Lapis Lazuli) in a quirky London neighborhood (St. Crispian’s) after years of serving as a lady's maid to her demanding cousin, only to find that her other horrible cousin Archibald is frittering away her inheritance. He's relegated her to the garret bedroom, adjacent to the bedroom of the tenant renting out the other half of the house. She’s determined to protect her legacy (and rebuild her library, which was destroyed in an “incident”).

A short little thing, more like an opening chapter than an actual book. But it holds a lot of promise for the future. The narration of Genevieve Gaunt is excellent.

Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ (4/5)

Happy Monday!!

Thursday after work I went to the grocery store. Friday I worked from home. My neighbor and I went on a walk at lunch time and the weather was gorgeous (sunny but not hot) and we found a yard full of stunning flowers - fluffy peonies, huge clematis, and roses you could smell from 2 houses down. I was gushing over how beautiful they were as we turned the corner and someone (I assume they live there) was sitting on the porch giggling at me. Oops! I reluctantly went back inside to work and then at 5pm my neighbor messaged me to ask if I wanted to go on another walk. So we did! And then toward the end of the walk I mentioned I was going to grab dinner at Nando's across the street and he asked if he could come with me. So we had dinner together! And he told me that going for walks with me is his favorite part of the week. Very normal behavior from someone who definitely does not want to date me.

Saturday morning I made mac & cheese and then took it to my work friend's barbecue. There were fewer people than I was expecting, and it was very couple-y (just 3 married couples and me) so it was a little awkward but not too bad. My friend's husband made brisket and his own barbecue sauce and everything was delicious. They all loved the mac & cheese and sent me home with tons of leftover meat and potato salad. Yesterday I slept in, then walked with my neighbor to Bring-Your-Own-Book Club. We met outside at a park and one person brought her dog and we drank bubble tea and talked about books for two hours and it was perfect. Two of our trivia friends revealed that they have been secretly dating for over a month and we all teased them very hard (affectionately - they're great and we love this for them). On the way home we stopped at a bookstore and I picked up a bookmark and some stickers for my trivia friend's birthday. When I got home I made funfetti cookies to take to trivia, by her request. They came out super cute.

Today I'm in the office. After work I'm going to inhale some leftover brisket then walk to trivia. I took tomorrow off of work because I have an in-person medical appointment in the morning (for which I have to start fasting at 8:30pm tonight) and therapy in the afternoon and I need to spend the day cleaning my apartment because I'm having an inspection on Wednesday. I don't remember what else is going on this week because I forgot my calendar at home this morning (along with my coffee and my breakfast...oops).

Currently reading:
My reading is all over the place at the moment. I read about 90% of Check, Please! Book 1 on the 30th and I'm going to count it for April, so there. I've started One of Our Thursdays Is Missing (reread), All Systems Red (reread), Elephant Company, and Daisy Jones and the Six but I'm not very far in any of them.
Current library book count: 12
May plans: One of Our Thursdays Is Missing, She-Hulk #9, Annie Bot, Daisy Jones and the Six, Elephant Company, All Systems Red
Reviews behind: 5
Consecutive reading days: 14

Currently watching:
Taskmaster, For All Mankind, and a few episodes of Best Medicine.

>74 norabelle414: Very normal behavior from someone who definitely does not want to date me.
This made me chuckle. Maybe at some point he'll wake up and smell the coffee.

>75 lauralkeet: Laura, he is driving me (and all of our mutual friends) crazy!! What is his deal????

>76 norabelle414: A number of people on my Discord servers are aro-ace, drawn there because they feel represented in the Lays of the Hearth-Fire. I’ve also encountered a couple of people with trauma or religious reasons who prefer to keep people physically if not socially distanced. Whatever is (not) motivating your neighbor, if you enjoy the time with him it’s not wasted. If he doesn’t communicate about his real concerns, his potential as part of a close relationship is limited.

>77 quondame: Very good points, thank you! In this case, I am acquaintances with a couple of his former girlfriends and he and I have talked about his dating life quite a bit. So I don't think it's that.

>78 norabelle414: Clearly my information is too sketchy for anything but generalizations. There was the guy who required long legs as sine-qua-non for dating. Mine are stubby. People are endlessly weird.

>78 norabelle414: It's really hard to say. Maybe he's cautious and maybe he's leading you on. 🤷‍♀️

>74 norabelle414: Wow, super normal behavior. That drive me crazy too!!

I dunno, can't people spend time together and enjoy that time, without feeling a romantic attachment? I hope it turns into something more, since you really like him, but I personally don't find his behavior that odd. *ducks flying objects in case I've made Nora mad*

It's Wednesday.

After work on Monday I ate some leftovers and walked to trivia with my neighbor. It was a trivia friend's birthday and we all got a little wild (there were bubbles and noisemakers involved) and then everyone got overstimulated. Another trivia friend who is very into thrifting gave me a framed print she found of tiger cubs playing in grass as a late birthday present and it's soooo cute. The questions at trivia were super difficult (lots of sports and Oscar winners, which are not my forte) and we did badly but won both games anyway! With a score about half of what we usually get.

Yesterday I took the day off of work to get bloodwork done in the morning. It required fasting so I treated myself to a mocha and pastry afterward (as well as the cheese I had in my pocket). I was done very quickly and the weather was gorgeous so I sat in the park and read almost all of All Systems Red and then fell asleep on a bench in the sunshine. Delightful. In the afternoon I had therapy, which went well but was a lot. Afterward I went for a walk with my neighbor, but we were both feeling pretty touchy so it wasn't very relaxing. I was supposed to tidy my apartment and move my furniture but I forgot until it was well past bedtime. It does not look great in there but at least maintenance will be able to get through and access the HVAC.

Through the wonders of modern medicine I was able to get my bloodwork results back this morning and they showed.....nothing. More than 30 tests and all came back normal so I still have no idea what's wrong with me. Getting more tests on Thursday.

Currently reading:
Read a bit more of One of Our Thursdays Is Missing (reread), All Systems Red (reread), Elephant Company, and Daisy Jones and the Six.
Current library book count: 12
May plans: One of Our Thursdays Is Missing, She-Hulk #9, Annie Bot, Daisy Jones and the Six, Elephant Company, All Systems Red
Reviews behind: 5
Consecutive reading days: 16

Currently watching:
Nothing

Hello Nora! I've been reading again and so I'm trying to catch up on all my LT friends. So sorry to hear about the relationship confusion, I was going to project a little and suggest he me have relationship anxiety or be somewhere on the aro-ace scale, but if he's had past relationships I suppose that's not the issue.

I hope you guys figure it out, imagine not wanting to date someone who carries cheese in her pocket!

>84 Ape: Welcome back, Stephen! Are you going to set up a thread? I'd love to see what books have brought you back to us.

It's Friday.

Wednesday evening and yesterday were not great, mental health wise. I didn't do much of anything except go for long walks. I was warned that this would probably happen when starting therapy but it still sucks. Yesterday after work I went back to the doctor for more tests and pokes and prods. Probably won't get results until Monday. Yesterday I also accidentally touched one of my cacti when closing a window and I think there might be a spine embedded in my fingertip because it still hurts terribly. I haven't added it to my catalog yet (I'm very behind on adding books!) but I had pre-ordered the newest Murderbot book and it arrived this week. Now I just need to reread all the previous ones...

Not feeling too hot today either but I am in the office. I'm going to Trader Joe's after work; I haven't been in ages. Tomorrow is World Migratory Bird Day so I will be volunteering at the zoo. Speaking of which, the zoo is recruiting visitor-facing volunteers for the first time since 2019! If you know anyone in the DC area who might be interested, please pass along the link: https://nationalzoo.si.edu/support/volunteer/zoo-crew-volunteer . Sunday I was supposed to go to an escape room with my trivia friends but we've had to reschedule. I'm now getting lunch with one trivia friend (and her cute dog) so I won't have a whole empty day to wallow. My therapist suggested a goal of inviting people over, so I told my trivia friends we're having a board game night at my apartment sometime in June.

Currently reading:
Still reading One of Our Thursdays Is Missing (reread), All Systems Red (reread), Elephant Company, and Daisy Jones & the Six.
Current library book count: 12
May plans: One of Our Thursdays Is Missing, She-Hulk #9, Annie Bot, Daisy Jones and the Six, Elephant Company, All Systems Red
Reviews behind: 5 (6? I've lost count)
Consecutive reading days: 19

Currently playing:
Some of my trivia friends are playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons so I've been getting back into it so we can play together.

Currently watching:
Taskmaster and the season finale of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters

Sorry to hear it's been a rough week on the mental health front and sending well wishes for therapy helping you get to a better place.

Murderbot reread is always a good time. I also did one this year and then blitzed through the new book in two days. Hopefully you have a good time with it when you get there.

>87 MickyFine: Thanks Micky! This is my first time rereading Murderbot, and my first time rereading a relatively recent read in many years. I'm enjoying it.

Happy Tuesday!

Friday I went to Trader Joe's after work, then I went to a little hidden park behind my apartment building and read until it got dark. Then I texted back everyone I ignored while I wasn't feeling well. Saturday morning I volunteered at the zoo for the World Migratory Bird Day festival. I led an activity where kids pretended to be birds and "migrated" along a trail with events that could happen to birds along the way, like a board game. It was very fun! Sunday I sat in a park and read in the morning, then went to brunch with my trivia friend and her dog. She said she was very glad I asked her to hang out because she was also disappointed that the escape room was rescheduled, so I'm feeling very proud of myself for being bold. In the evening I went to the grocery store and I was supposed to make cookies but instead I went on a long walk with my neighbor. Yesterday I worked from home and all of my coworkers decided they needed something urgent from me at the same time, for some reason. I baked cookies and had therapy. I went to trivia and we had a whopping 23 people (divided into 2 teams). My team won 1st place in one game and 3rd in the other.

Today I am in the office. This morning I got the test results back from Thursday's doctor visit and ...they were inconclusive so I have to get the tests retaken. Sigh. After work I'm babysitting and I get to learn how my brother's new job is going. Tomorrow my mom is visiting (to help take care of my niblings) so I'll see them after work on Thursday. Saturday my meet-up group (of which the trivia group is a subset) is having a huge picnic and I'm bringing roasted veggies. Sunday is the rescheduled escape room.

Currently reading:
I finished All Systems Red and loaned my copy to my neighbor, who I think will really enjoy it (a very significant escalation of our friendship since I don't loan books often). I'm about 75% through Daisy Jones and the Six, halfway through One of Our Thursdays Is Missing (reread) and Annie Bot (which I just started on Saturday, but I had two long bus rides), and 25% through Elephant Company.
Current library book count: 12
May plans: One of Our Thursdays Is Missing, She-Hulk #9, Annie Bot, Daisy Jones and the Six, Elephant Company, Artificial Condition
Reviews behind: 7? I've lost count
Consecutive reading days: 23

Currently playing:
A little Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Currently watching:
For All Mankind

It's Thursday.

Tuesday after work I went to my brother's house to help with the kids and my brother told me about his new job. Yesterday I worked from home and it was very rainy but I did manage to get some short walks in between waves of rain.

Today I am in the office. My mom is visiting while my sister-in-law is on a work trip so I will go to their house after work to see her. She is here for 8 days and I would like to see her more than just this one time, but she does not like to schedule or plan things in advance. It's very frustrating. Saturday my meet-up group (of which the trivia group is a subset) is having a huge picnic and the person who was bringing mac & cheese dropped out so I'm bringing both that and roasted veggies. Sunday some of us from trivia are going to an escape room and then dinner. I'm making almond cookies for Monday's trivia but I haven't decided which ones yet.

Currently reading:
I finished Daisy Jones and the Six. Almost done with Annie Bot, halfway through One of Our Thursdays Is Missing (reread), and 25% through Elephant Company. I was reading Daisy Jones half on paper and half on audio, so now I don't have any audiobook going. I was hoping to get back to Emma M. Lion but the library I got the first 3 books from does not have any more in the series for some reason? I'm on the waitlist at several other libraries for the next few books but it'll be awhile.
Current library book count: 11
May plans: One of Our Thursdays Is Missing, She-Hulk #9, Annie Bot, Elephant Company, Artificial Condition
Reviews behind: 8
Consecutive reading days: 25

Currently playing:
A little Animal Crossing: New Horizons, a little Pokopia. Neither is thrilling me at the moment.

Currently watching:
Nothing

>85 norabelle414: I haven't made one yet, but I will as soon as I finish a book! It's not so much a specific book that has brought me back but the need to unplug from social media, so I've been reducing screen time and reading more. Sadly it has still taken me 2 weeks to read 100 pages, but that's more than I've read in several years, so it has to count for something!

I've been recommended the Murderbot series in the past, definitely something that's on my radar! :)

Happy belated birthday, Nora, and I'm glad your dad had a fun and safe trip to London!

*whispers* whatever the outcome, you and your neighbor are in a rom-com loop.

It's Monday.

Thursday I went to my brother's house after work to see my mom and help with the kids. Friday I teleworked and went for a walk with my neighbor at lunchtime. It was so nice out that after work I read in the park for about an hour. In the evening I went to the grocery store and prepped the food for Saturday's picnic. Saturday morning I baked my mac & cheese and roasted carrots with yogurt sauce and went to the picnic. These picnics happen pretty frequently but I've never been before because they're very far away and I didn't know anyone in the group super well. But now I am so close with all my trivia friends that it it was worth the trip. I mostly just hung out with them (out of the 60ish people who were there); we played frisbee and petted dogs and played Trivial Pursuit (I won). In the evening my neighbor asked me to go on a walk (yes, after we spent 5+ hours together at the picnic) and I surprised him with a new walking route that he really enjoyed. Sunday morning I went to get brunch with my mom, then I prepped and chilled cookie dough. In the afternoon my trivia friends and I went to an escape room for one of their birthdays. We unsurprisingly crushed it, finishing in 20 out of the allotted 60 minutes. We went to get dinner/drinks early since we had so much extra time but we weren't hungry yet so it ended up being just drinks and cake. When I got home I was not feeling super motivated (hmm, I wonder why??) but I ate some real food and took a shower and rallied enough to get my cookies in the oven.

Today I am in the office. It is really, really fucking hot out. After work I have trivia. Nothing going on tomorrow or Wednesday, but Thursday I have 3 work meetings, 2 medical appointments, and I'm going to the theater.

Currently reading:
I have made progress in Annie Bot and One of Our Thursdays Is Missing (reread), but have not finished. Have not picked up Elephant Company recently. On audio I started listening to One Week to Win the Chocolate Maker by Timothy Janovsky on a whim and I would not really say I am enjoying it but it's passing the time. It's a loose Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory adaptation queer romance. Everyone is age-appropriate and it takes place in present-day Italy, but the insta-love is annoying. This is somehow the third (at least?) romance I've read recently involving a rich person who needs to get married in order to inherit the family business and I need to stop because that's not a trope I enjoy.
Current library book count: 11
May plans: One of Our Thursdays Is Missing, She-Hulk #9, Annie Bot, Elephant Company, Artificial Condition, Chocolate Maker
Reviews behind: 8
Consecutive reading days: 28

Currently playing:
Nothing

Currently watching:
Taskmaster and For All Mankind

>91 Ape: You can start a thread without having finished a book! At least update us on which one you're reading.
You would love Murderbot for sure! And the books are very short.

>92 libraryperilous: *whispers back* I know, right??

25. The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles (Mossa & Pleiti, book 2) by Malka Older

Mossa returns to Valdegeld (on business, of course), which greatly pleases Pleiti. She’s investigating the fairly standard disappearance of a student when the two women discover it might be part of a larger pattern of missing academics. Is it coincidence? Conspiracy? A serial killer?

Not as thrilling as the first book but very enjoyable. On the mystery side I really appreciated that (spoilers for the ending) there was no evil murderer or great conspiracy, just some people who wanted to live their life differently. I liked learning more about the history of the colonization of Jupiter, and different people’s lives. It’s interesting to see how Pleiti’s perspective on her own academic field has changed since the events of the first book. On the relationship side, I think the reason why I love Mossa and Pleiti so much is that Pleiti overthinks their relationship, but it’s fine. So many books view overthinking things as something to be solved, but here it’s just part of her personality and not really a big deal.

Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ (5/5)

26. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Volume 2 {audiobook} by Beth Brower, narrated by Genevieve Gaunt

Emma gets to know the tenant with whom she shares a bedroom wall, Pierce. They get a cat to help solve their mouse problem. She also interacts with a few other eligible men - the local vicar Hawkes, her childhood frenemy (who grew up to be hot) Roland, the haughty local Duke of Islington, and her friend Mary’s fake chaperone Jack, with whom Emma pulls off a heist.

These books blend together a bit, and this one too does not feel like it’s own story. But it was enjoyable nonetheless. I’m liking the cast of characters, and the audiobook narrator Genevieve Gaunt continues to shine.

Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ (4/5)

27. When Trees Testify: Science, Wisdom, History, and America's Black Botanical Legacy by Beronda L. Montgomery
LT Early Reviewer

Black Americans’ history with plants has been complicated and fraught, and people of color are very under-represented and under-appreciated in the field of botany. Plant biologist Beronda L. Montgomery explores this, as well as the role of plants in her own life, in a mix of memoir, history, and science. In particular it covers: pecans, sycamores, willows, poplars, mulberries, oaks, cotton, and apples.

A really informative and lovely book. The mix of genres is just right - there’s just enough detail about Montgomery’s own life, the science of plants, and Black history. The book focuses mostly on plants native to or common in Arkansas, as that's where Montgomery is from and she shares a lot of tree-centered stories from her childhood. She also travels with her family and friends to visit various "Century Oaks" around the southeastern US. I appreciated that the book mostly examines trees as a species but there are also a few discussions of very specific trees- both the oaks and also trees that were famously used for lynchings.
This would be a great companion book to Braiding Sweetgrass, How Far the Light Reaches, or Potomac Fever. I only wish there had been more pictures or diagrams, as I am not great at identifying plants and wish I could have gotten a better sense of what each one looks like.

Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ (4/5)

Happy Wednesday!

Monday after work I went to trivia. It was one of my trivia friends' birthday so I bought her a drink and gave her a present (a copy of Romp! A Journey Through the Natural History of Otters because she loves otters and books) and we had a great time. We were split into two teams and my team got 1st place in the first game and 4th in the second. Tuesday was even hotter than Monday so I went for a walk around 8am. I forgot that most people start work around 9 (I start work between 7:30 and 8 and I'm usually the last one in my office) so it was more crowded outside than I was expecting, which I did not enjoy because I had not showered yet and did not want to be perceived. My neighbor asked me to go on a walk at 2pm and I said yes because I'm a sucker. It was very hot but I survived. In the afternoon I read and wrote reviews, then after dinner I went to the library to return some books and check out some more, then walked home with my neighbor after his book club meeting. He has dates lined up with three different women this week, which is a bit of a bummer for me (he asked if it was okay if he talks about his dating life and I decided I'd rather know for sure than just wonder all the time). I went for another walk late in the evening (around 10) and it was even worse than the 2pm walk because it was so awfully humid.

Today I'm in the office. There are supposed to be thunderstorms this afternoon and I forgot to bring an umbrella, whoops. I think I have a spare one around here somewhere. No plans after work but I'm hoping to do some laundry. Tomorrow I'm teleworking and it should be much cooler, but I have many work meetings and two medical appointments and then I'm going to the theater to see a play called The Motion, which I don't know anything about except that it's science fiction. I'm not sure if I'll get much of a walk in. Saturday evening I'm going way out to the northern suburbs to get Korean bbq and play board games with my friends. Sunday I'm going with some trivia friends to the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore all day, and I'm very excited. Monday is a holiday, and I'm going to play frisbee with my neighbor in the morning and then going to my brother's house for dinner. Trivia is canceled because the bar is closed. This'll be my first Sunday night without cookies to bake in many months. My neighbor asked me what I used to do on Sunday nights before I started going to trivia and I genuinely don't remember. (Maybe I'll just....bake cookies anyway).

Currently reading:
I finished Annie Bot. Moved Elephant Company to my purse since it's a zoo book club book and the meeting is tomorrow (though I won't be able to attend anyway because it's in the middle of the work day). Still working on One of Our Thursdays Is Missing, Artificial Condition, and One Week to Win the Chocolate Maker. I've downloaded The Buccaneers to be my next audiobook.
Current library book count: 13
May plans: One of Our Thursdays Is Missing, She-Hulk #9, Annie Bot, Elephant Company, Artificial Condition, Chocolate Maker
Reviews behind: 6
Consecutive reading days: 31

Currently playing:
Nothing

Currently watching:
Nothing

Sounds like your long weekend will be very full!

Crossing my fingers that the thunderstorms hold off until you get home.

Happy Friday! Trying to keep my update short today but that never works (and I always later remember a million things I forgot to mention).

Wednesday after work I did some laundry (but very late in the evening). Thursday I teleworked, had many work meetings, managed to squeeze in a solo walk, then had two medical appointments. Still no answers on my issues. I have an assessment to complete before next Wednesday's appointment and I got a new prescription but it's already been denied by my insurance so who knows if I'll ever be able to try it (not that it will work anyway). I took a walk with my neighbor after work then met up with my dad to go to dinner (which was not good!) and see a new play called The Motion (which was bad!)

Today I'm in the office. Every other category of workers is on leave today but my supervisor didn't think to ask our boss if we could work from home. After I woke up early and walked to the bus in the rain to get here, my supervisor now says I can telework. Cool. I guess I'm going home. Saturday evening I'm going way out to the northern suburbs to get Korean bbq and play board games with my friends. Sunday I'm going with some trivia friends to the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore all day, and I'm very excited. Monday is a holiday, and I'm going to play frisbee with my neighbor in the morning and then going to my brother's house for dinner. Trivia is canceled because the bar is closed.

Currently reading:
Slowly working through Elephant Company. The book club meeting was yesterday but no one I knew got to attend because it was in the middle of the work day so I'm not sure how it went. Still working on One of Our Thursdays Is Missing, Artificial Condition, and One Week to Win the Chocolate Maker. I downloaded The Buccaneers to be my next audiobook and then of course my hold on Emma M. Lion vol 4 came in. Because that's how it always works.
Current library book count: 13
May plans: One of Our Thursdays Is Missing, She-Hulk #9, Elephant Company, Artificial Condition, Chocolate Maker
Reviews behind: 6
Consecutive reading days: 33

Currently playing:
A little Animal Crossing and some Pokemon Leaf Green which I had completely forgotten about in my Pokopia excitement.

Currently watching:
Nothing

I am sick (again) but I will be back soon!

Hiya Nora! Been awhile.
Oh gosh I hear you're sick. I'm real sorry and I hope you feel better soon!
(Also I feel you on your neighbor. At least he was kind enough to be sure you were okay with him talking about it?)

Healthy vibes! Frisbee sounds fun. We're trying to teach one of the dogs to play Frisbee.

Feel better soon!

>102 Ravenwoodwitch: Hi Angela! Good to see you back! My neighbor is very kind, unfortunately. This whole thing would be easier if I could just be mad at him.

>103 elorin: Thanks Robyn! We did not end up playing frisbee because it was too rainy.

>104 foggidawn: Thank you, Foggi!

Happy Tuesday! Happy June! Lots going on here.

The Friday before last I went home from work early and teleworked for the rest of the day. Saturday morning was blah but I rallied and took the metro out to the suburbs to get Korean bbq and play board games with my friends. Sunday morning some of my trivia friends and I went to Baltimore to the Maryland Zoo, which was a great time. They were having a beer fundraiser which meant the zoo was open late and also that we drank a lot of beer. That Monday was a holiday (and thus no trivia). In the morning I went for a rainy walk with my neighbor, then we sat in a coffee shop and chatted for a couple hours, then we went to the grocery store together. In the afternoon I went to my brother's house for dinner. Before I went to bed that night I had a bit of a tickle in my throat. When I woke up in the morning it was a full-blown respiratory infection. I took the day off of work, slept all day, then went to the doctor in the afternoon. I tested negative for COVID and a couple different kinds of flu so the nurse said it was some kind of respiratory thing that is going around. I took Wednesday off of work as well, but I was feeling well enough to make my (virtual) therapy appointment. Thursday I was feeling way better but still sniffly so I teleworked and went for lots of walks in the afternoon.

Friday I teleworked, and right before I logged off my supervisor let me know that our new in-office schedule got approved and we would be starting it Monday. Not a lot of notice but I think I can make it work. Friday I went for lots of walks then at night I watched a podcast livestream. Saturday morning I went to one of my trivia friends' house and she made us pancakes and mimosas. It's my turn to host next, which is scary because I haven't had people over for more than a few minutes since before COVID. Saturday evening I baby-sat for just my nephew while the rest of the family went to a party. He was a goofy little delight. He's much better at using his words now (previously he was just saying "car" for everything) and his favorite game is to shake his head "no" when you ask him to do something but then doing it anyway. Sunday morning I volunteered at the zoo in the bird house, where there are ducklings on exhibit for the first time! They are so cute.

Yesterday I teleworked, baked fresh cherry cookies (they came out decent but I think the technique needs some tweaks), and walked to trivia with my neighbor. It was the season championship game (not really sure how that works, but whatever) and we were divided into two teams. My team trounced everyone in the first game, but we biffed the final question of the second game and ended up third overall. The team that got first in the championship gets to go to some kind of special event.

Today I'm in the office. My new schedule has me in the office every Tuesday and Friday, teleworking every Wednesday and Thursday, and alternating Mondays. I'm very much looking forward to the more regular schedule. I'm going to start getting food deliveries on Thursdays again, set up a regular schedule for my robot vacuum, and go to Trader Joe's after work every Friday. Last night I set up separate phone alarms for my office days vs telework days, so I don't have to change the alarm every single night. What a joy! After work today I'm going to my dad's house to help him set up a new phone I bought him. Tomorrow I'm teleworking and then in the evening I'm going to a lecture at the Air and Space Museum featuring Kelly Weinersmith and Emily Lakdawalla. Thursday I am teleworking and I have a medical appointment.

Currently reading:
I finished One Week to Win the Chocolate Maker, Artificial Condition, and all of Elephant Company except the end notes. I also read The Sensational She-Hulk #9, a picture book called Prickles and Prides, and a graphic novel called C.O.W.L. Volume 1: Principles of Power. Almost done with One of Our Thursdays Is Missing and The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Volume 4. Not sure what's next.
Current library book count: 13
June plans: One of Our Thursdays Is Missing, She-Hulk #10, Emma M. Lion 4, graphic novel TBD, Brigands & Breadknives, Private Rites, The Buccaneers
Reviews behind: 11 (oops!)
Consecutive reading days: 44

Currently playing:
A little Animal Crossing. I've also heard that there's a new expansion for Witcher 3 coming out soon so I need to get back into that game.

Currently watching:
Completely caught up on Taskmaster, The Pitt, All Creatures Great and Small, and For All Mankind. I also watched the first 3 episode of The Amazing Digital Circus which my friends are really into, and we're going to see the finale at the movie theater this weekend. And I watched the pro-shoot of the musical Suffs, which was pleasant to watch while I was sick in bed but not particularly memorable.

Thanks for the reminder to read Brigands and Breadknives. Another one for my TBR. Hope you're fully recovered from the ick and your new schedule works out well!

28. The Sensational She-Hulk #8 by Rainbow Rowell, illustrated by Andres Genolet

Ganymede continues attacking She-Hulk, but Jack helps her realize that she’s been tricked by Drapurg. Jack and Ganymede leave She-Hulk as friends (after Ganymede beats up Drapurg). Later, Jack returns to Jen and they have a heart-to-heart. At home, Patsy shows up at Jen’s apartment for “fancy dress and cake Wednesday” to find Jen out of town and Karkas and Ransak as housesitters.

This would be a good place to leave the series?? But there’s two more issues (and then another series).

Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ♥ (4.5/5)

Happy Friday!

Tuesday after work I went to my dad's house to help him set up the new phone I bought him. However....his new phone had not arrived. Even though I bought it the day before I bought my own phone (which arrived on Tuesday), and I paid extra for his to be shipped faster (I paid for 2 day shipping and it had already been 5 days). I chatted with an agent (who the site claimed was not AI but almost certainly was) who said we could cancel the order and place a new one for pick-up at the store. Fine! So I canceled the order and then the agent told me it would take 3-5 days for the cancellation to go through. What??? And then on Wednesday my dad got an email saying his order had shipped. So who knows if/when he'll ever get a new phone. Wednesday I teleworked and then in the evening I went to a lecture about colonizing Mars at the Air and Space Museum featuring Kelly Weinersmith and Emily Lakdawalla. They were so funny and snarky (they're both anti-colonization) and I had a great time. Thursday I also teleworked, went for a walk with my neighbor, and had a therapy appointment. We talked about getting myself back into good habits now that I have a more reasonable in-office schedule.

Today I'm in the office. I'm going to Trader Joe's on my way home from work. Tomorrow I'm going to see The Amazing Digital Circus at the movie theater and then going to a Croatian street festival a couple neighborhoods over. Sunday I have a Bring-Your-Own-Book Club meeting. I'm not baking cookies this weekend because I'll be working in the office on Monday and Tuesday next week so I'm not going to trivia. I'm hopeful that eventually I will get into a better place with this work schedule and can manage to go to trivia even when I'm in the office two days in a row, but for now I'll just be going every-other week. Thankfully I get to see all of my favorite trivia friends outside of trivia.

Currently reading:
Almost done with One of Our Thursdays Is Missing and The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Volume 4. Next I'm going to pick up Private Rites and listen to The Buccaneers
Current library book count: 11
June plans: One of Our Thursdays Is Missing, She-Hulk #10, Emma M. Lion 4, graphic novel TBD, Brigands & Breadknives, Private Rites, The Buccaneers
Reviews behind: 10
Consecutive reading days: 46

Currently playing:
A little Animal Crossing

Currently listening:
My neighbor has been getting me into K-pop so I started listening to NMIXX

Currently watching:
Taskmaster and the first episode of Star City, a spin-off of For All Mankind.

I'm glad to hear life is largely treating you well and that the new work schedule is suiting you. Hope you have a lovely weekend!

29. Check, Please! Book 1: #Hockey written and illustrated by Ngozi Ukazu

Eric is a freshman hockey player at a university in Boston - very different from the small Georgia town he grew up in. The older players are very welcoming of him and his sexuality, even though he struggles with the more physical aspects of being a college-level hockey player. The captain of the team, Jack Zimmerman (son of a hockey legend) coaches Eric in how to check other players and be checked, and the two develop a close friendship.

This was fine and many parts were enjoyable, but it's a bit too slow and dated and full of hockey for my taste. I really liked the personalities of the other players, and Eric's friendships with them. And I loved that Eric loves to bake! The story is told in a blog/vlog format which is very 2016, and there are pages and pages of fake tweets at the end of the volume which are just retelling the same events. There’s loads of very specific details about practicing hockey and playing hockey and what life is like for hockey bros that I didn’t care about. The ending didn’t feel particularly earned, but this is the start of a long series so I’m sure it’ll be analyzed in the next volumes. I’m just not sure I’m interested enough to continue. Not that it’s bad or unenjoyable! It just didn’t speak to me.

Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ (4/5)

>111 norabelle414: I think the series is only 2 books actually. #Hockey is years 1 and 2 and Sticks and Scones is years 3 and 4. If length of series is the major deterrent to you trying more. If it's just not your jam, there's always other books out there. 😊

>112 MickyFine: Hmm, I must have been confusing it with some other series! I think that makes me less interested - I could believe the story gets more compelling over a few more volumes but if this was fully half of the story then I think it's just not for me.

It's Monday.

Friday I went to Trader Joe's on my way home from work, then did nothing in the evening. Saturday morning I went to see the finale of The Amazing Digital Circus at the movie theater with some (young) trivia friends. The Croatian festival I wanted to go to was in-between the movie theater and my house, so I didn't bother going home and I just went to a library and read for awhile. The Croatian festival ended up being very underwhelming. There was only one food booth and the line was like an hour long. I got some gelato nearby and then watched a bit of one of the musical performances then went home. Yesterday I slept in, read books in bed, then my neighbor and I walked to our Bring-Your-Own-Book Club meeting. We met inside because it was toooo hot out (I actually voted to meet outside but I was not unhappy to be outvoted). Spent the rest of the evening doing nothing.

Today I'm in the office. I forgot that tonight is my monthly dinner with my dad and brother, so I'm not actually going to get any rest by skipping trivia. Tomorrow I'm in the office again, and then babysitting after work. Nothing else going on this week, nor on the weekend! Feeling a little weird about it since my life has been so full lately (in a good way).

Currently reading:
I finished The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Volume 4. I've put aside One of Our Thursdays Is Missing for a bit because I just haven't been feeling it. This weekend I read almost half of Private Rites and started Rachel Carson & the Power of Queer Love. No audiobook started yet. One of my libraries got a bunch of copies of subsequent Emma M. Lion audiobooks so there should be much less of a wait, but I want to catch up on reviews before I keep going with the series.
Current library book count: 11
June plans: Private Rites, Rachel Carson, One of Our Thursdays Is Missing, She-Hulk #10, Our Members are Unlimited, Brigands & Breadknives, The Buccaneers
Reviews behind: 11
Consecutive reading days: 49

Currently playing:
Nothing

Currently watching:
Episode 2 of Star City

It's Tuesday.

Yesterday's dinner at my brother's house was canceled because my brother had to work late, so instead I went to my dad's house to help him set up his new phone. He has multiple email addresses and he signs in to different apps with different ones and he can't always remember his passwords (he has a document with his passwords on it but they are frequently wrong) so it didn't go great. But he does have a working phone now that is less than 6 years old. I got home around 8:15 which was much earlier than my expected 10:30 but I was still exhausted.

Today I'm in the office, two days in a row! I left my computer here overnight and I didn't put all of my stuff away in a cabinet! What a concept! After work I am babysitting. Wednesday and Thursday I am teleworking. Nothing else going on.

Currently reading:
I started The Buccaneers on audiobook yesterday during my evening walk. Read some of Private Rites on the bus this morning. I'm probably going to keep that one as a purse book and read Rachel Carson and the Power of Queer Love at home.
Current library book count: 11
June plans: Private Rites, Rachel Carson, One of Our Thursdays Is Missing, She-Hulk #10, Our Members are Unlimited, Brigands & Breadknives, The Buccaneers
Reviews behind: 11
Consecutive reading days: 51

Currently playing:
Nothing

Currently watching:
Episode 3 of Star City

>115 norabelle414: Even though I typically work all my in office days in a row, I bring my work laptop home every day because I'm always paranoid that I'll get sick, return to work on what would be WFH day(s) and not have my laptop. Has this ever happened? No. Still do it though, lol.

>115 norabelle414: Wow. Helping with that phone issue would be so frustrating!

>115 norabelle414: There is nothing more exhausting than helping parents with tech stuff. I can definitely attest to this.

>116 MickyFine: It's not something I'm going to do often, but it was nice to do it for once. It only worked out because several of my coworkers are on travel this week so I knew that I would definitely get to have the same cubicle the next day. (We share 3 cubicles among 5 people and I'm usually the 2nd or 3rd person to arrive in the morning so I don't often get a choice).

>117 The_Hibernator: It's quite frustrating, especially because he doesn't really understand what the problem is. He complains that smartphones are always harder for him than everyone else, which is true, but that's caused by him having so many email addresses and not knowing his passwords.

>118 curioussquared: Agreed! I'm glad he's finally letting me help him - I was able to put his phone on "easy mode" so the buttons are bigger and it's harder to press them on accident, but on the other hand he's now texting me 2-3 times a day with technology questions.

Happy Friday.

Tuesday after work I babysat. We found a chipmunk had gotten stuck in the mesh around my brother's vegetable garden and my brother had to hold him with gardening gloves and cut the mesh so he could get out. He was fine, he got himself re-tangled a couple times in the process and then ran off into the hedge. He was very cute. Wednesday I teleworked, went for a walk with my neighbor, walked by myself to the library to pick up a hold, and had therapy. Thursday I had a bad mental health day.

Today I'm in the office. I'm too tired to go to Trader Joe's on my way home and I need some things from the non-TJ grocery store. Tomorrow I have no plans but I really am going to try to get my shit together (she says every single weekend). Sunday I'm getting coffee with a trivia friend and possibly her dog (depending on the weather) and baking white chocolate macadamia cookies for trivia.

Currently reading:
Halfway through Rachel Carson and the Power of Queer Love and listening to The Buccaneers.
Current library book count: 12
June plans: Private Rites, Rachel Carson, One of Our Thursdays Is Missing, She-Hulk #10, Our Members are Unlimited, Brigands & Breadknives, The Buccaneers
Reviews behind: 11
Consecutive reading days: 52

Currently playing:
Nothing

Currently watching:
The season finale of Taskmaster! It was a very tight season but I'm extremely pleased with the winner. This season didn't have many super-memorable moments but I loved the whole cast and their dynamic. The cast for season 22 was revealed - I'm very excited for Chloe Petts and very not excited for Matt Lucas and Richard Ayoade.

30. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Vol. 3 {audiobook} by Beth Brower, narrated by Genevieve Gaunt

Emma’s quaint little neighborhood of course has a Town Event - a scavenger hunt where the prize is tickets to a secret performance of Julius Caesar. But unfortunately in order to win them she will need to team up with her horrible cousin Archibald. When Archibald is injured (by tripping over a cat - we’ve all been there), Emma ends up doing the bulk of the hunting, which takes her to places not quite appropriate for a fine lady. At a dinner party, she also meets the vicar’s rowdy college buddies, The Reprobates Ten, who take a liking to her.

I really enjoyed Emma interacting with the quirky neighbors, but this McGuffin was a bit too McGuffin-y for me. The Reprobates Ten really crack me up, though they also remind me of the Life & Death Brigade from Gilmore Girls, so I really hope Emma doesn’t end up with Young Hawkes (I’m not a Logan Huntzberger fan).

Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ (4/5)

31. All Systems Red (Murderbot, book 1) by Martha Wells

A reread. Here’s my review from Nov 28, 2023:
Murderbot is a robot for murder, but they would rather not. They have disabled their governor module, so they don't have to follow orders if they don't want to, but still need to pretend in order to stay off the scrap heap. Murderbot is contracted to an extremely boring exploratory mission when things start to go very wrong. In order to save their crew (who are actually pretty nice) they will have to … trust some humans? Ew.

Exactly as good as expected. A very unique point of view and I did find the plot interesting. I loved Murderbot’s crew, and found them more directly relatable, but totally respect Murderbot's decision to leave, which was obviously the right decision for them.

I don’t have much to add! I loved Murderbot from the very start so I’m not sure it could have improved on a reread. Though I believe it’s established later that Murderbot prefers “it” as a pronoun instead of “they”.

Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ (5/5)

32. Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

The members of the legendary (fictional) 1970s rock band Daisy Jones & the Six, plus other people who knew them, participate in an oral history of their meteoric rise and fall. Daisy Jones was an untrained singer but passionate and beautiful and a good writer. The Six were a mid-level band who needed a spark. The liquor and drugs were abundant, as were interpersonal issues and egos.

This is a very well-crafted story, told in an interesting and masterful way. Reid is obviously a very talented writer. However, most of the subject matter (rock bands in general, the 1970s, legally-not-Fleetwood-Mac, drug addiction, music production, fame, etc.) do not particularly interest me. I did really appreciate Daisy and Billy’s star-crossed love story, though. Very relatable. I listened to the first 25% of the book on audio before switching to paper, which I think helped a lot because I could hear the characters’ voices in my head as I was reading. I’m really looking forward to reading more by Reid, especially something where the subject matter is more my style.

Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ (4/5)

33. Annie Bot by Sierra Greer

Annie is an android robot companion - originally purchased as a Cuddle Bunny but now set to autodidact mode so that she can learn and grow and be a more realistic sexual partner for her owner, Doug. This creates tension between them, as Annie’s purpose is still to please Doug but learning involves making mistakes and mistakes make Doug displeased. One of her mistakes leads Annie to learn how to code, which can open up a whole new world to her. If she wants it.

It’s hard to put into words my thoughts on this book. It’s not a comfortable read, and it’s definitely going to stick with me for a long time. It’s a fairly obvious metaphor for (human) domestic abuse, and a very effective one. Annie’s conscious thoughts are the subconscious ones that keep women in abusive situations, and Doug’s explicit words are the implicit ones of a man who does not view their partner as a whole human being. Very thought-provoking.

Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ♥ (4.5/5)

It's Tuesday.

You will be shocked to learn that I did not, in fact, get my shit together this weekend. Saturday I laid out in the sun for a bit and read, but otherwise did nothing. Sunday I got brunch with my friend and her dog and then we hung out in the park and talked about our mental health issues. Fun times! Yesterday I teleworked, baked cookies (which I was supposed to do on Sunday but procrastinated too much), and had therapy. Right at the end of the work day my supervisor called to let me know that our work schedule is going to change again and I'll need to be in the office every Monday and Tuesday. Which means no more trivia for me. Because it was the end of the day I went straight to trivia without really having a chance to process the information and had a bad time, including a little meltdown on the walk home with my neighbor.

Today I'm in the office. I have a lot of work to do but I've also had two panic attacks already this morning so we'll see how it goes. Tomorrow and Thursday I'm teleworking. Friday is a holiday and I have no plans. Saturday I'm going to a talk at the library about repairing books, and then getting lunch with a friend. Sunday I have no plans, though it's Father's Day so I suppose I should do something with my dad.

Currently reading:
Almost done with Rachel Carson and the Power of Queer Love and listening to The Buccaneers (15%).
Current library book count: 12
June plans: Private Rites, Rachel Carson, One of Our Thursdays Is Missing, She-Hulk #10, Our Members are Unlimited, Brigands & Breadknives, The Buccaneers
Reviews behind: 7
Consecutive reading days: 57

Currently playing:
Nothing

Currently watching:
Star City