The last few books I've read I found that the protagonists have not exactly been the brightest stars in the sky. Missing obvious clues to what's going on, trusting overly suspicious people with information that they shouldn't share, blindly walking into dangerous situations or making foolish choices just to further the plot along.

Has anyone got any recs for smart protagonists - not necessarily book smart but sensible, and not that they don't make mistakes or mess up, but who don't make errors in frustratingly foolish ways (like hearing a suspicious noise and leaving without your phone or telling anyone where you are going!).

I prefer fantasy or historical fiction but I'll give anything a go!

Tell me about your bookmarks! Are you the sort of person who uses whatever is closest? Like a receipt, scrap paper, pen, peg, hair tie or whatever fits between the pages?

Do you dog ear the page, leave the book flat face down, or just rip off the pages you've already read because who even needs them anymore?

Or are you the sort of person who has 1 billion bookmarks but always uses the same one (like me)?

My go to bookmark is the one my fav local book store gives out with purchases and a baby pink one that say "i like to yap about books" in hot pink on it that was given by a friend!

Happy Wednesday everyone! I'm back with my usual three W questions, I'd love to hear from folks.

1. What are you currently reading?
2. What have you recently finished reading?
3. What are you planning to read next?

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This may be a controversial discussion topic, but next week I'm embarking on a major inventory (and declutter) of all my physically owned books and I have a slight quandary so would love to get other peoples opinions.

Normally, if there's a book I own but don't feel the need to keep I donate it to charity or drop it into a little free library. It's easy enough to do and gives others a chance to discover books they may not have otherwise known about OR been able to afford. But I also own some books that I don't feel right sharing in any way, including LFLs, because they promote bigotry. In particular, I'm thinking about the Racist Wizard Books by The Infamous Terf. I received all the books as gifts when I was a kid and am sick of having them in my house, but I also don't want to further their reach by adding more into circulation. To be clear: this isn't about censorship (if you want to read them that's your choice) but about not wanting to personally put them into someone else's hands.

So the question: How do you get rid of books you own, but ethically hate and don't want to help circulate?

I'm reading the book Waiting on a Friend and just finished the book Lesbian Love Story. These books pair together so well especially the last chapter of Lesbian Love Story which highlights the work of lesbian's during the AIDS Crisis to care for their gay friends. Waiting on a Friend is about a lesbian who can see ghosts grieving her best friend who died of AIDs, hoping to see his ghost even though it seems his spirit moved on without her. Obviously it is a more paranormal take on the love between lesbians and gay men during the pandemic but the love and community she lives in is so clear in the novel.

I'm just recommending a duel read to anyone considering reading either and wondering if anyone has recommendations of nonfiction and fiction Pairings that they've come across.