A few more instructions on how to live (from Julie Morstad). 💕

Slightly obsessed with this little, wise book. I love Julie Morstad‘s art.

I haven‘t had much time to read for fun this week (& I‘m a little nervous about finishing my #LMPBC book in time, on top of my grad coursework, tbh) but there‘s always time to take in a picture book or two at work.

More photos to come. 💖

“In 1876, Samuel Green, librarian of the Worcester Free Public Library in MA, developed the idea of having librarians assist users in the selection of books to suit their needs.”

Me: “HEY! That‘s my hometown!” 🙌🏻

“Green saw the role of the public library as one of welcoming users by having a pleasant & cultivated female staff.”

Me: Oh, Jesus Christ...

Also me [to my husband]: “Honey, would you say I‘m pleasant & cultivated?”
Him: “No.”

🙈😂

Walk 4/4 done for this week‘s #bookfitnesschallenge! It‘s so much easier when the weather cooperates!

Today‘s my Monday off, so I accompanied my husband while he walked around the park, scouting out locations for his engagement shoot later today. 📸 My favorite moment was when we stopped to rest on a bench. Some brave geese moseyed their way up to us, munching on dandelion heads, each with an eye trained in our direction. So cute & suspicious! 😆

I love Meg Wolitzer, so I was psyched to read this middle-grade, epistolary novel co-written by her & Holly Sloan. A few pages in, I became worried that the authors captured the authentic voices of two 12-year-old girls TOO WELL. I was a little annoyed by them, tbh. But soon enough I was charmed by Bet, Avery & their assorted cast of grown-ups. Each character has so much heart, & they work so hard both to protect their hearts & open them up. 👇🏻

I went to Portsmouth, NH this weekend. Since there was so much to explore, I got in a walk yesterday & one in today. I‘m 3/4 of the way to my goal for the #bookfitnesschallenge already!

I didn‘t buy any books (😵) but I did start a new audiobook on the way home: “The Road to Jonestown: Jim Jones and the People‘s Temple.” Has anyone read it? I‘m not thrilled with the narration yet but am keeping my fingers crossed.🤞🏻

#moonreflections
1. I start my first MLIS course on Monday, which I‘ve been fairly cavalier about. I‘ve excelled in academics my whole life & figured it‘d be a breeze. Upon looking at my syllabus, I was suddenly seized with fear about not being as capable anymore. I‘ve gotta work to let go of that insecurity & land somewhere healthy & balanced.
2. Tagged! I also love the classic Wilde quote. You know the one. 🌸🌚
3. @Jess_Franzino @Chrissyreadit

#weekendreads
1. I just finished 2 books (print & audio!) so I‘m not currently reading anything (aside from poems).😱 I brought My Sister, the Serial Killer with me on our overnight trip to Portsmouth NH, though. I might have time to start it...but probably not.
2. Melmoth for #LMPBC
3. Dumplin‘, which wasn‘t as good as I wanted it to be. It was cute but whole characters were cut & Willowdean rolled her eyes TOO much. 🙄 Anyone else not love it?

Without the lure of coffee, I might never be coaxed out of bed...

I did end up going for a walk today, after-all. Granted, it was to attend Food Truck Friday, where I ate a bunch of tacos & drank a bunch of beer...but I still walked there! 😆 This is a shot of the pond near our house, taken on our walk home.

1/4 walks this week down. 🙌🏻
#bookfitnesschallenge
Now I‘m in bed, about to start reading “To Night Owl from Dogfish.” I‘ve been getting progressively grumpier all week. It‘s time to relax, hardcore. 😴📚

WOW. I loved this, as foretold. 🖤

Thematically, it‘s almost like a very adult, very feminist “Tuck Everlasting” — based on Greek Mythology. There‘s a strong investigation of what makes a “life” & a pursuit of the burning question of whether immortality is a gift or a burden. I love stories about witchcraft wherein magic = work. The strongest, heaviest themes are about the violence that can be done to a woman — even if she‘s a powerful goddess.*

Spending my lunch break in my car today. Finished book 2/4 for the #bookfitnesschallenge. I have to admit, I‘m kind-of happy that, at the start of this new week, I have the luxury of *not* walking today. It‘s rainy & there‘s a whole week ahead of me, so I‘m sitting this one out.

Official Totals (Week 1):
1/4 Books Read
4/4 Walks

Points:
15 (signup) + 6 (sharing) + 5 (1st post) + 4 (additional posts) + 33 (encouragement) + 3 (checkin) = 66 points

1. I love Smashmallows/gourmet marshmallows (esp. chocolate mint). I like gummies. I like chocolate (milk over dark* #philistine). I‘m a BIG fan of wasabi peas.
2. A cup of coffee. Is that an accessory? 😉 & sunglasses — the weirder the better.
3. BUFFY. 🖤
4. My Girl. An American Werewolf in London.
5. Green/blue/gray
6. Coffee ☕️
7. Any/all beach vacations! Neighborhood-wide games of hide & go seek tag.
8. You‘re it! 👋🏻
#SummerSantaGoesPostal

#BFC Check-In (Week One):
4/4 walks complete (half of which were in the rain!)
1/4 books read (middle-grade...but it still counts!)

Also, I‘m piggybacking my Litsy events here but:
5 books ordered for the #SummerSantaGoesPostal swap. One Etsy gift delivered & another shipped today. And one delicious, summery snack acquired. The quest for the perfect wrapping paper continues. I visited 4 stores today but my dream-paper still eludes me. 🤔

Met my walking goal for the #bookfitnesschallenge! Today‘s location: Bancroft Tower, built in 1900.

I‘m so happy that my hometown‘s on the upswing. My whole life, everyone‘s given Worcester a lot of guff — but it‘s honestly a beautiful city, full of character & some of the best people I‘ve ever met.

I also ran into the most Massachusetts tree I‘ve ever seen in my life. 🙈🙄😳

I fucking love this/her. 🖤

Confession: I'm not reading anything right now.

I mean, I'm reading poems in the morning. And listening to Circe in the car. But the latter is just so good that I can't bear to dive into another narrative until it's done!

It feels strange. I carry a bag of books to work with me each day -- just in case (some of which I NEED to start reading for book clubs) -- but they remain untouched.

There's a Full Moon coming in 3 days. I'll blame the sky.

3/4 walks done for the #bookfitnesschallenge! This is a trail called Cascading Waters located conveniently near my workplace. It‘s gorgeous this time of year: brand-new leaves unfurling & falling falls. I feel #blessed to live in New England in the springtime (if not during that other season that shall go unnamed).

I also feel #blessed to work someplace where a Sasquatch-riding-a-unicorn t-shirt (+ a blazer) is considered appropriate attire.

I don‘t know if any of my fellow #witchpleaseswap-pers follow hagclub on Instagram, but they‘re restocking their shop in the next 48 hours & I‘m so eagerly awaiting the lavender bush underwear design that I think I might cry. 😂 I mean, that might be a *little* bit of an exaggeration. But I just think they‘re so cool.

That is all. This has been a magically-feminist PSA. Please continue with your day.

#poemsbeforephones

What a gorgeous poem! 🌸

“hair always calling for rain”
“skin turned skyward wishing for clouds”
“knowing that ash is the language of the dead...”

“anointed”
“protected”
“resurrected”
“glistening”
“shining” ✨

“They have wrinkles, but no wisdom. I took them to war before they could do any of those things that steady a man...I fear I have robbed them not only of their youth but their age as well.”

“In my garden, the green leaves were so new they shone like blades.”

The library where I work is nestled at the very bottom of a tall, tall hill. Strangely, my First Love used to live on the tippetty-top of it. I didn‘t have much time for my #bookfitnesschallenge today, so I decided to see what it would feel like to hike up it again. When I got to the summit, I found that the family who‘d bought his house painted it green. 👇🏻

“Let me be clear:
there‘s nothing wrong with finding rapture in the broke
or the broken.
But what you should ask for is a place on the park bench
where all the bits and pieces are everywhere,
and he should hand you the bottom of a smashed up Coke bottle
like the best kaleidoscope
and you should hold it up to the light together
and watch the colors turn and spin,
and that is more than good enough
until you can get the groceries together.”

I liked this middle-grade fantasy book a lot (despite the fact that my favorite character disappeared at the very beginning). The characters are quirky, the talking bees made me laugh on multiple occasions, & it read quickly. I liked that organization is upheld as an honorable trait; it felt refreshing & different since quirky characters are depicted, more often than not, as charmingly-disorganized & scattered (myself included 🤓).👇🏻

Went on my first walk today for the #bookfitnesschallenge. My goal is to go for a walk 4x/week. I‘ve been putting it off since the sky‘s opened up in my part of the world; it‘s been raining & showing no signs of stopping since the challenge started. Still, I threw on my raincoat & traipsed around my favorite local park on my break. The rain *is* creating some gorgeous blooms. 🌸 I finished my first book, too, while sitting on a lovely stone bench.

“You three are astoundingly ignorant,” he said cheerfully, “but at least you‘ve got an explorer‘s instinct. That will get you far — unless, of course, it gets you killed.”

Happily reading the first middle-grade book I‘ve voluntarily picked up in ages. I was on an award-selection committee a couple of years ago (for grades 6-8) & I got *totally* burnt out on Children‘s Lit. It feels nice to be enjoying such a pure-hearted fantasy again. ✨

Mother‘s Day post (featuring a mother-daughter/literary tattoo)! 👑 I tagged one of my favorite thematic picture books, which always reminds me of my mom, since it depicts a little blonde girl & her mama sharing a love of the ocean on a quiet, moonlit night.

Happy Day to those who are celebrating! Hope your daughters/sons/puppies/kittens/bunnies/snakelets are good to you today! 🖤

— from “what I mean when I say I‘m sharpening my oyster knife” by Eve L. Ewing*

“I mean I‘m here
to eat up all the ocean you thought was yours.
I mean I brought my own quarter of a lemon,
tart and full of seeds. I mean I‘m a tart.
I‘m a bad seed.”

*(inspired by a line from Zora Neale Hurston: “No, I do not weep at the world — I am too busy sharpening my oyster knife.”)
#poemsbeforephones

I love this graphic that @wanderinglynn made to represent the 11 countries & 34 states participating in her #bookfitnesschallenge. Can you see me waving in teeny, tiny Rhode Island? 👋🏻🌊

More details & registration here: https://forms.gle/n3ErATLqPYjdYCwUA
***To participate in #BFC, you must sign-up by day‘s end (5/9)!

It's THE FINAL COUNTDOWN!

The #bookfitnesschallenge by @wanderinglynn starts TOMORROW (5/10), which means that TODAY is your last chance to sign-up!

The idea is to set a book goal (at least 4 books) & a fitness goal, & keep track of points earned over the course of 6 weeks.

The coolest part is the freedom. The “fitness“ goal can be physical or psychological (ie: mindfulness); the sky's the limit, as long as your goal is measurable. Link below!

While I don‘t share a body type with Willowdean, I‘ve also never been “willowy.” (And I could never pull off a pixie cut; that‘s a different issue, entirely, but also very upsetting.) In college, the excessively bro-y roommate of my Freshman Year boyfriend called me “thick but hot.” Or maybe it was “hot but thick.” I choose to believe that it was the former because it‘s slightly more complimentary. Whatever.

*Review/confessional cont‘d below👇🏻

“Some days, the damn dress just won‘t zip.”

#lunchbreak

Listening to Dumplin‘ in the car on my break; though I‘m not currently going anywhere, I‘m always protected by my traveler‘s charm made by @Jess_Franzino ✨

I mentioned in my last post that people have said my husband looks like David Tennant. It‘s not so much anymore (he‘s grown a giant beard) but more-so when he was a fresh-faced youth.

@Heideschrampf & @Johanna414 asked that I provide photograph proof 😅, so here are some old photos. And one recent pic, for good measure.

Also, speaking of my husband — & totally non-bookish things 🙈 — today is his birthday! 🎉 Happy Birthday, David Tennant!

Yesterday, I broke my #poemsbeforepoems streak. I‘d gone 124 days reading poetry in the morning (before touching any technology). But we went on a family trip, & we had to wake up really early, & then I had to explain to my mother-in-law who David Tennant was (because people say her son/my husband looks like him) — so I googled him. 🙈 BUT I later shared some poems with her from the tagged collection & she *loved* them. So it was all worth it.

Mailing packages & taking names!

@MirrorMask Your #LMPBC #LMPBCnC package should arrive to you on Thursday, May 9th. Sorry I‘m tardy! #procrastinatorsunitetomorrow

P.S. This mural on the side of my local post office is really amazing, & someone graffitied over parts of it with not-so-amazing art. It‘s a super-bummer. At least my favorite section was high enough up to survive!

I have exactly one Star Wars-themed photo for the #photochallenge hosted by @Clwojick @TheReadingMermaid & @RadicalReader ✨.

I was 16 when I saw Star Wars for the first time (my best friend, Matt, & my boyfriend at the time made me watch it). Honestly, I didn‘t love it. 🤷‍♀️ My tastes have changed since then, though. I guess it could be time for a rewatch. The photo‘s from Star Wars Reads Day at my last library. I love a good theme.

DYING. 😂🐋💀

I joined the #audiobookfitnesschallenge hosted by @wanderinglynn. My goals are very modest. I committed to reading 4 books in the next 6 weeks (which I'll likely surpass but I didn't want to overreach, as that causes stress which seems counterproductive) & go for a walk 4x/week. Mostly, this is a mental health goal. I want to get outdoors & reconnect with nature after a long, reclusive New England Winter. Moving my body a bit is an added bonus.

#friyayintro
1. I took this selfie the other day after a student told me she thought I was 18. I was feeling pretty good; I‘m 33. 😅
2. The final short story in Tolstaya‘s “Aetherial Worlds,” entitled “See the Reverse.” I‘ll link to it in the comments!
3. Quick family trip to CO (we live in RI) to help my brother-in-law move & see the sights. 👁🏔🌄
I have to work the next day after landing at 5am. 💀
4. Dreary.
5. 🤷‍♀️

I‘ve long-loved this picture book about a little boy who grows up in a “circus family.” He seems to be the “normal” one...but harbors a secret ability to sprout flowers right out of his head when he‘s happy or when the moon is right. His classmates ignore him (despite his secret remaining secret). When a new girl moves to town, everything changes. It‘s too long for storytime but I thought I‘d give it some love during #nationalchildrensbookweek!

#hellothursday
1. I used to read #buffy fanfic as an adolescent. 🙈 I loved unconventional relationship pairings (Willow/Angel). I also frequented a role-playing chatroom where I went by Queen C (because it was fun to play someone so unlike me)!
2. Tagged (I‘ve only been waiting for about 6 years. Nbd.)
3. We get the local paper at work. I read the occasional article.
4. Poetry in the morning if I‘m in a hurry! 😅
5. They‘re cute! But not really.

I‘ve recently become obsessed with a YouTube cooking series called “Gourmet Makes.” This is uncharacteristic. I don‘t cook...& aside from a brief Iron Chef phase when I was in high school, I don‘t particularly care about cooking shows. I‘ve never even seen a single episode of The Great British Bake-Off.

And yet.

I blame it entirely on Claire. I LOVE her. And tonight, I learned that she‘s a #Buffy fan. I swear, I can just sense it on people. 😅

SO. MUCH. KISSING.

I‘m not mad about it. 😍😅
Can‘t wait to watch this on Netflix when I‘m done!

I finished “A Separation” last night, 10 minutes after I was supposed to sign-in to my online bookclub — which is to say, I speed-read. I didn‘t skim; I read every sentence. What I didn‘t do was leave myself a lot of time to process. I‘m *still* processing. This is a SNEAKY book! On the surface, it seems very direct. It‘s written in first person, reads super-fast, the plot is sensational (infidelity, murder), & there‘s a balmy, island setting.👇🏻

If you‘re looking for a complete biography of Steve Martin, this isn‘t it. For instance, he refers offhandedly to his divorce, without ever mentioning that he‘d gotten married. Fortunately, I knew little about Martin going in, not having seen much more than his appearance on Jerry Seinfeld‘s “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” (I know, I know; I‘m a Philistine 😳🙈).

*review cont‘d below👇🏻

I love this. 💖

Rick Moranis once referred to Steve Martin‘s act as “anti-comedy.” How perfect is that?

“In the end, what is a relationship but two people, and between two people there will always be room for surprises and misapprehensions, things that cannot be explained. Perhaps another way of putting it is that between two people, there will always be room for failures of imagination.”

“And my closer: 'Well, we've had a good time tonight considering we're all going to die someday.'“