Notes
So, this week on Lower Decks, we learned that Vulcans have an understanding of the importance of informed consent when conducting social research. ππ»
π I’m reading Sandra Hughes-Hassell’s book, Collection Management for Youth: Equity, Inclusion, and Learning and planning to share my reading notes. I’m trying to decide whether it makes more sense to create a new post for each chapter or just do one for the whole book. Thoughts?
I’ve got big days the next couple of days so what am I doing? Reading past bedtime, of course. (Future Kimberly, please forgive me.)
ππ¬ “She didn’t know much about buildings, but it was clear that this one needed an unbelievable amount of work.
But at the end of it? Something she built up, rather than cut down.” Travis Baldree, Legends & Lattes
Finished reading: An Island Princess Starts a Scandal by Adriana Herrera π
So good! Manuela is going to marry a wealthy man, for the good of her family. But first, she’s going to spend six weeks in Paris, having Sapphic adventures.
As with all the best romances, this book is about two people who make each other grow as much as it’s about falling in love.
π₯π₯π₯π₯π₯ Hotter than steamy, very explicit.
Highly recommend.
There are few feelings as good as canceling a bunch of library holds because your family already owns all the books. π
π There are still spots available for online attendance at Public Librarianship in Contentious Times, a conference hosted by the University of Michigan School of Information and the Michigan Library Association. School librarians should find this relevant to their work as well and are welcome.
Pro tip: too tired/anxious to introduce yourself at a social event? Wear a bookish shirt and wait for people to come ask you about what you’re reading.
πππ» Happy Star Trek Day! I just read Teaching in Trek: A Look at the Education System of the Future by @joepraska@universeodon.com.
I love thinking, reading, & writing about this stuff. This is great timing as I watch Keiko O’Brien start the school on DS9. Thanks for writing this, Joe!
Finally watched the Amsterdam episode of Ted Lasso and just really missed Amsterdam the whole time. It was a really cool place to be and I’m sorry that between the weather and transit strikes we didn’t get into the city more. Also, gezellig is kind of like Dutch hygge.
About a year and a half ago, I wrote about my first writing craft book. In case you didn’t believe that I was excited, I recently found my journal from 7th grade and in it I write about that very book.
πΊππ» Finished my rewatch of Star Trek: The Next Generation today. It felt much less intense watching “All Good Things…” now than when it originally aired, probably because I can visit my Enterprise-D friends whenever I want.
π π» Read Now is the time for grimoires: It isn’t data that will unlock AI, it is human expertise by Ethan Mollick (One Useful Thing).
This is the most helpful take on generative AI that I’ve seen: create a prompt that is basically a computer program written in prose instead of code.
Fan Studies Network North America is October 11 -15 and open for registration! I’ll be facilitating a conversation among FanLIS scholars about fan tagging practices and ways libraries can use their collections to engage fans.
ππ³ Started reading the introduction to Jules Sherred’s Crip Up the Kitchen: Tools, Tips and Recipes for the Disabled Cook and I might cry.
“The kitchen is the worst room in the house if you are disabled. I’m about to change that and make life easier for everyone.”

ππ Read Shadow and Bone author Leigh Bardugo: βPeople sneer at the things women and girls loveβ by Sian Cain (The Guardian).
She really is my hero.
ππ Read Falling in Love With the Avengers, Americaβs Most Toxic Work Force by Leigh Bardugo (New York Times, gift link)
I love Leigh Bardugo so much.
π¬π “I hunker down with books when I need time to process what’s happening in my own life.
Books give me the space to breathe.”
- Kelly J. Baker, Final Girl: And Other Essays on Grief, Trauma, and Mental Illness
Currently reading: Final Girl: And Other Essays on Grief, Trauma, and Mental Illness by Kelly Baker π
Austin Kleon says to climb your creative family tree. Kelly is like an intellectual big sister, so I’m starting with her. (Katie Rose Guest Pryal is another.) π
Finished reading: From Bad to Cursed by Lana Harper π
Loved it even more than Payback’s A Witch. Full review coming later this week.
ππ¬ “Disaster and hero, monster and martyr, beauty and beast . . . Choose your own dichotomy. Because it doesn’t matter. We were always built to be both.” Lana Harper, For Better or Cursed