Notes
Finished reading: Bombshell by Sarah MacLean 📚
Sarah MacLean is just so good. This is like… A 3.5 on the romance.io scale? The language is slightly (but only slightly) euphemistic; it’s pretty clear exactly what’s happening where.
Listen I don’t repost a lot from or on social, but Muppet History is out here doing good work and making me feel seen.
Apparently my mid-life crisis is mostly watching Derry Girls and thinking, “Yes! That’s exactly what it felt like to be a teen girl in the mid-to-late 90s” while wishing everyone understood that a combination of En Vogue and Enya is the perfect soundtrack. 📺🎵
Finished reading: Love, Come to Me by Lisa Kleypas 📚
This has a steam rating of 🔥🔥🔥.
A very early Kleypas. Be warned: the hero is a Confederate veteran. Apparently, he opposed slavery but fought for the Confederacy anyway.
Yay, my doctor ordered antibody tests and a thyroid ultrasound. It’s such a treasure to have a doctor who trusts you when you describe your symptoms.
Finished reading: When We Flew Away: A Novel of Anne Frank Before the Diary by Alice Hoffman 📚
Full review forthcoming.
Got lab results today, my thyroid numbers look great but I feel very specifically like a Kimberly whose thyroid is not functioning properly & my other labs look like those of same Kimberly so maybe hashitoxicosis? Talking to my doctor Monday.
🔖 Read The Comfort of Drawing Batman by Austin Kleon.
Austin Kleon’s newsletter is the one that I let come to my inbox even after I’ve switched all the rest to RSS. You should read the preview of this and if you like it, do the 7-day trial so you can read the whole thing.
Finished reading: When Grumpy Met Sunshine by Charlotte Stein 📚
Super cute, very hot. 🔥🔥🔥🔥 on the romance.io scale.
I just feel like we need to be more specific than saying things like “In the 1900s” or “In the mid-1900s.” Could we not give a decade? If I see “mid-1900s” I’m all, “1905? 1906” not “1966.”
Finished reading: This Will Be Fun by E B Asher 📚
Full review forthcoming.
Finished reading: Indigo by Beverly Jenkins 📚
This is so good. I learned more about abolitionism from this romance novel in a more engaging way than any history class I’ve taken would be able to achieve. Highly recommend.
It has been an exhausting week, in a good way. I’m so thrilled to be working with excellent colleagues who are themselves thrilled to have me there.
Finished reading: Hers for the Weekend by Helena Greer 📚
Loved it! This releases August 27. Expect a full review soon!
Finished reading: Gentle Rogue by Johanna Lindsey 📚
I don’t want my 7-year-old to really understand Interview with the Vampire, obviously, but I did tell him that Taylor Swift is in a feud with an imaginary vampire.
Finished reading: The Knowledge Gap by Natalie Wexler 📚
Read this to prepare for collaborating with teachers at work who want support finding books to work into our literacy curriculum. It’s especially interesting as someone who started her teaching career in the era of No Child Left Behind.
🔖🍔🥤 Read The Enduring Mystery of Cook Out.
A Cook Out Junior Tray with a cheeseburger (mayo only), double fries, and Coke was the first meal I had after giving birth, and it was the best meal I’ve ever eaten. (I can’t remember if I also got a shake.)
Finished reading: Tender Rebel by Johanna Lindsey 📚
💀🪦 I wish I could have gone to Funeral Services Education Camp.