I can't believe we lost Dolly and Tim in the same day (he passed late last night apparently).

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to tell me your favourite Tim Curry show/movie/musical/game, and give a book rec based on that piece of media.

I also read Tim's memoir, Vagabond earlier this year, and definitely recommend it.

I've been reading some books recently that I wanted to discuss with others but the forums have been empty! so now I'm here to influence you all to read these books so we can chat 🗣️ and give others the opportunity to share too!

here are my recs, which are both great for rounding out women in translation month: Abigail by Magda Szabó - I know this is my 48392nd time recommending it but it's coming on fall here so now is the perfect time to pick this up!! a mysterious boardinghouse, a statue that grants wishes, found family, Hungary on the brink of war, heartwarming character development.

Elena Knows by Claudia Piñeiro - this book stopped me in my tracks and forced me to have a long think about bodily autonomy, my relationship with my mom, and the small violences we encounter and inflict every day. it's a heavy book so please check warnings!

what books do you enjoy and wish you had more people to talk with about?

The other day one of my 6 year olds asked me if I could do anything for a job, what would I want to do. For context, I’m a stay at home mom. I do have a Master’s degree in MFT (therapy) but our twins were born right as I was finishing, and I’ve never used it. And it’s been so long, I’m not sure it’s my calling anymore.

Anyway, when I answered, I said my dream job would be a librarian. Or really, just to work in a library. And it made me really sad because I think that possibility just isn’t there. I’m in my mid 30s, I have no plans to do any more schooling (damn you student loan debt), and librarian jobs are so coveted and hard to get.

So my questions are:

• Librarians, are my job goals dead? Is there any possibility for me to shift into the library world?

• What’s your dream job? Are you doing it already or pursuing it?

I would love to hear what jobs out there make your heart go “weeeeee”! 🩷🙌🏻

Just something I was pondering this morning. I feel there is a good deal of popular, contemporary literature that has a fairly generic voice, where the prose of one author could be swapped out with the prose of another without any noticeable difference. I also think a lot of writing advice for new writers tends toward erasure of voice and pushes authors to a more commercial, generic quality. Which is all fine, as far as it goes--I read and enjoy a lot of those books.

However, the books that seem to stick with me more are those in which the author has a distinctive voice. A book where you read a couple of pages and the writing itself, the voice of the author or narrator or what have you, makes you say "OK, now this is something I'm going to enjoy" before you ever even get into the story.

Which do all of you prefer? A strong, distinctive narrative voice or a more generic style where that sort of thing disappears into the background?

Hi my daughter is about to be 3 and very advanced. She’s known her alphabet since she was 13 months. And she can say the sounds of every letter. So I’m curious if she may be ready to learn to read? I have a friend who learned at the age of 4 before she even went to kindergarten. But I didn’t learn until first grade in public school.

My daughter loved books just like mommy and I would really love to continue to foster her advanced little mind and her academic abilities if she’s up for it.

If 3 is an okay age, does anyone here have any resources, thoughts, experience?