Finished reading: If You Dare by Kresley Cole 📚

Want to read: Love in the Time of Self-Publishing: How Romance Writers Changed the Rules of Writing and Success by Christine M. Larson 📚

Finished reading: The Devil of Downtown by Joanna Shupe 📚

Another excellent Gilded Age historical romance.

🔖📺 Read The Donald Trump I Saw on The Apprentice.

For 20 years, I couldn’t say what I watched the former president do on the set of the show that changed everything. Now I can.

Woof. I don’t think stories like this will move the needle for Trump supporters, because I don’t really think anything will move the needle for Trump supporters.

But I kind of hope they turn some non-voters into voters.

Finished reading: Here We Go Again by Alison Cochrun 📚

This made me bawl. I love a childhood best friends to enemies to lovers story, and this one is about English teachers and their mentor English teacher and love through decades.

Auto-generated description: A book cover featuring two people standing behind a blue car in a desert setting with the title Here We Go Again by Alison Cochrun and a quote praising the romance in the story.

Oh the irony of being unable to go to the pharmacy to pick up your (my) migraine meds because you (I) have a migraine. (Please do not recommend migraine treatments at this time, thank you.)

Today:

  • woke up way too early
  • read about Romance Writers of America filing for bankruptcy and the absurd way they’re trying to blame it on Courtney Milan 🔖📚
  • had my first mammogram (later than I ought) (they used cute stickers to mark my sebaceous cysts)
  • caught up on Season 3 of Bridgerton 📺

🎮 Played Assemble with Care.

I’m really feeling wholesome games lately, especially those with a warm pastel color palette and soothing music. In this game, you fix people’s stuff and inspire them to fix their relationships.

On sale on Steam for $3.19 through June 11, iOS & Android for $3.99.

A GIF of a 1980s-era red single tape deck opening, a tape being inserted, and then closing.

Finished reading: The Prince of Broadway by Joanna Shupe 📚

I loved it. A delightful heroine, a debutante with dreams of owning a women-only casino. The bitter casino owner she’s chosen to mentor her. Excellent stuff.

Edited auto-generated description: A black cat is sleeping on a couch, surrounded by colorful pillows.

Midnight is very sleepy.

Finished reading: The Essential X-Men Volume 3 by Chris Claremont 📚

Read as single issues and only the Uncanny X-Men books, not the annuals, but this is the easiest way to track reading the comics.

That feeling when you went to the pool with children and you only had snacks for lunch and your knee hurts and you’re ready for bed at 3:30. Hashtag relatable. Am I right?

Finished reading: The Rogue of Fifth Avenue by Joanna Shupe 📚

Gilded Age New York, a hotshot lawyer, and a responsible eldest daughter who finds her responsibility chafing. What’s not to love?

Whoops, I was too busy actually paying attention to FanLIS to take notes. Also, it turns out virtual conferences are much less exhausting when you’re not liveblogging them.

I’m attending FanLIS this morning. This is my favorite little academic space: the intersection of fan studies and library & information science. I probably won’t be live-posting but I’ll take some notes to share.

Finished reading: The Essential X-Men Volume 2 by Chris Claremont 📚

Again, read as single issues in Marvel Unlimited, but this is the best way to track. It’s a powerhouse of a run with both Dark Phoenix and Days of Future Past in it.

Finished reading: Never Judge a Lady by Her Cover by Sarah MacLean 📚

This has my favorite of Sarah MacLean’s heroes. Give me a guy who is clever and made his own way over a titled rogue any day. (But I like to read about titled rogues, too.)

📚 Reading The Dark Phoenix Saga (not for the first time) and I had forgotten how heavily this whole deal, especially Scott talking to Dark Phoenix about love, influenced Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Dark Willow storyline.

🔖📚 Read Jamaica Kincaid and Kara Walker Made an Irreverent, Charming Kids’ Book by Stephen Bell (Harper’s Bazaar).

I’m super curious to see the book. The article only contains one sample page. It’s gorgeous and I look forward to seeing more.

🍿 Watched UHF on the big screen today, when I’d only watched it at home before. Early on I seemed to be the only person laughing but maybe people were feeling shy or something because they laughed more as the movie went on. It’s a funny movie every time.

Finished reading: Essential X-Men - Volume 1

I read these as single issues in Marvel Unlimited, but this is the easiest way to track them.

Currently reading: The Best There is at what He Does: Examining Chris Claremont’s X-Men by Jason Powell 📚

Started watching X-Men 97 📺 which reminded me that I love the X-Men, so now I’m reading this and reading the comics mentioned alongside. Super fun.

Want to read: A Web of Our Own Making by Antón Barba-Kay 📚

My kid told me, “A cross between a piglet and a pug is a puglet.” When I replied, “Good night,” meaning to indicate that it was time to sleep and not to talk, he said, “I just wanted to give you that very valuable information.” I love him the most.

Finished reading: No Good Duke Goes Unpunished by Sarah MacLean 📚

I love every Sarah MacLean heroine.