A Closed and Common Orbit By Becky Chambers ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I adore the universe Chambers created and how she uses non-human characters to examine humanity. She somehow depicts the worst of humanity without resigning to it. And shows the best of humanity at its most obtainable. #booksky #bookreview #scifi

Not the best place for a nest. We relocated nest and babies to a shallow planter and put them in a tree. Here’s hoping momma bird finds them.

Theo of Golden by Allen Levi ⭐️⭐️ The first 20%of the book was good, but it quickly became mired in contrivances and stereotypes many of which undercut the messages of kindness and generosity. Once I was tuned into to the issues, I saw them everywhere and couldn’t enjoy this. #booksky

“Having a body is weird and I’m scared” -Stephen Colbert @colbertlateshow.bsky.social

The Amazing Generation By Jonathan Haidt and Catherine Price ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Explains the challenges teens face with abundant screen time and scarce real life experience building friendships & trying new things. Has a graphic novel style treatment and a fictional story aimed at younger readers. #booksky

A friend asked if I knew where she could get giant scissors for a ribbon cutting for the #freelittlelibrary her scouts put up at the school. What a wonderful life I must lead to have people think of me for such a need. Indeed I did know. The girls were stoked! #librarysky #booksky

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet By Becky Chambers ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Chambers explores humanity through the lens of the other. She questions beliefs and reveals great universal truths—all in such a fun, approachable way. Chambers is becoming a favorite author. #booksky #bookreview #scifi

Name your top 15 TV shows ever, gut instinct only. Battlestar Galactica Pushing Daisies Avatar the Last Airbender A Different World My so called life Freaks and Geeks The Office Stranger Things Star Gate Universe Six Feet Under Dexter Fresh Prince Saved by the Bell The Expanse Eureka

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Narrated from the PoV of a child’s AI companion, we explore a future that would be wholly dystopian if not for the unfailingly optimistic, mission-driven lens of the solar powered Klara. Philosophical, intellectual, minimal exposition #booksky #bookreview

These are Alphonso mangoes and the first in this year’s Great Mango Scheme where 4 people chip in to purchase one case each of five different varieties of mangoes to sample. I think we may have ruined regular grocery store mangoes with this scheme.

PYTHON'S KISS By LOUISE ERDRICH ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I’ve long loved Erdrich’s writing and this short story collection was no exception. Wide ranging themes with unique, cleverly drawn characters. Beautiful prose. Vivid moments. I hope a few of these turn into their own novels. #booksky #bookreview #books

A shocking new poll result: Many Americans somehow don't have a favorite dinosaur. And only 6% give the correct answer (triceratops). Check out YouGov's new polling on Americans and dinosaurs: yougovamerica.substack.com/p/whats-your...

Behold! My first ever asparagus! Plant is about one year old. Only got some lacy leaves last year. Here’s hoping this is the beginning of a great spring tradition! #gardening #growyourown

May be haunted now…

The horse op-ed is an instant classic. I can't tell you how much joy this piece gives me. It should be taught in every introductory writing class in no small part because the horse arguments are so compelling. "I have noticed that human children get to eat cake. But I am bigger than the children."

The Secret Keeper of Jaipur By Alka Joshi ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This strong follow on to The Henna Artist explores a post colonial India balancing tradition, reputation, caste, religion, & wealth. With more then a decade having passed, this stands as a new tale with some familiar faces. #booksky #bookreview

I just finished book one. I better get to reading the series! #booksky variety.com/2026/tv/news...

Dungeon Crawler Carl By Matt Dinniman ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Unique premise. Action packed. Hilarious. This is the fastest I’ve gotten through a book in a while. Pure entertainment. Witty. Satirical. With plenty of intrigue and surprises. A great distraction from all the horrors of reality. #booksky #bookreview

The Henna Artist By Alka Joshi ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Fantastic historical fiction. Every character has depth & dimension making for a great read. I enjoyed the interplay between reputation, wealth, caste, talent, tradition and religion as our main character, Lakshmi navigated this world. #booksky #bookreview

You guys! Project Hail Mary was so good! It followed the book well—hitting every important plot point. Rocky was more cute than creepy. The kids (13 and 10) loved it. A great family movie date! #Booksky #moviesky

I’m kinda a big deal Wordle 1,735 2/6 🟨⬛⬛🟩🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Great anecdotes connected to key lessons and philosophies that can be broadly applied to any industry that serves people. Guidara focuses on his steps to success and leaves aside the drama. #bookreview #booksky

Sharing today’s airing of grievances. After the kids go to bed, Zelda tells me about all that’s wrong with the world.

The Digital Library Protection Act, or HB 5236, prevents publishers from imposing unfair restrictions on illinois libraries when licensing eBooks, digital audiobooks, and other electronic literary materials. For more info (+ how to contact your state rep): www.ila.org/advocacy/rea... #librarysky

Dr. Richard Kyte, Professor of Ethics and Director of the D.B. Reinhart Institute for Ethics in Leadership at Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wisconsin, talks about how intentional community building through third spaces like Rotary could be the cure to the loneliness epidemic. #MWPETS #Rotary

Standing ovation for Olayinka “Yinka” Hakeem Babalola Rotary International President for 2026-2027 who talked about transformation, inspiration, and belonging in his key note address at Midwest PETS. Babalola is a member of the Rotary club of Trans Amadi, Port Harcourt, Nigeria. #Rotary

A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I really love this series. Through the relationship between Dex and Mosscap we explore moments that reveal all the magic and deep flaws of what it means to be human I want to climb into the pages and live in this world. #booksky #bookreview

Do strawberry pop tart flavored peeps perform differently in a vacuum?

Tís the season for peeps in a vacuum chamber. #ScienceSky #EduSky

Sweet dreams Lincoln ❤️

The good guys don’t ban books.

A Psalm For the Wild-Built By Becky Chambers ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Can a story be both unassuming and profound? This gentle narrative nudged me along so kindly leaving me with a better sense of hope for humanity and wanting to be more gentle with myself. I too want to visit a tea monk. #Booksky #BookReview

Free maple tree tapping demonstration with the local park district. We learned a lot including how to tap a tree, how much sap it takes to make syrup, and that a lot of the syrup in stores is mostly corn syrup. Sampling the sap was a new experience for us all. #TheOutpost #🌱sky

Goodreads: here are some books we recommend! Me:

Alchemy of Secrets By Stephanie Garber ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Whimsical, romantasy with a unique magical system and an immersive setting. I love the concept and sense of suspense. The main character is not much of a critical thinker and some questions go unanswered so we miss some closure. #booksky #bookreview

halt! this is a bookish checkpoint. Last book: I'm Starting to Worry about This Black Box of Doom by Jason Pargin Current: A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers Newest on TBR: Python’s Kiss by Louise Erdrich Next: Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara #booksky 💙📚

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Starter Villain By John Scalzi ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This book was so much fun! A straight-faced, yet hilarious take on the absurdity of super villain tropes. Why do villains have cats? Is a volcano a good lair choice? What happens when your minions unionize? #bookreview #booksky

While I’m glad federal immigration agents are leaving Minnesota, I’m so disappointed to see them return to Illinois. Here’s hoping we learned lots from our friends to the north. www.fox32chicago.com/news/family-...

World war Z By Max Brooks ⭐️⭐️⭐️ If you want a thought experiment on how a zombies epidemic might impact a complex world system, this is for you. Many of the vignettes are an indictment of the greed and selfishness of humanity. These evolve to include humanity’s virtues as we progress. #booksky

What Have We Done by Alex Finlay ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Entertaining thriller that kept me guessing. Multiple narrators. Some really interesting characters, but we don’t spend much time in their pov. Book club rated lower than me. But it did make for lively conversation

We’ve been talking to the kids about values, civic engagement, and community. Both wanted to join no kings and made their own signs—deciding what messages to share. They got a ton of positive reinforcement from the crowd too. Such a great energy and so nice to see such a good sized turnout.

Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Great characters and thoughtful composition. The second half makes up for the slower pacing in the first half. Her prose is fantastic. Found family, historical fiction, women in stem, self discovery. Yes, I cried. #booksky #bookreview

It’s almost banned books week! Whether it’s The Lorax, Maus, or I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, reading books with challenging ideas and difficult themes better prepares us to recognize and deal with challenging situations in our lives and feel compassion for those facing similar challenges.

Fantasticland by @mikebockoven.bsky.social ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Great premise! Theme park Employees isolated by a hurricane form rival tribes that violently clash. Structured as a series of interviews, we explore a tale that’s horrificly compelling. I’ll be thinking about this for years. #booksky #bookreview

Stephen Colbert and Anderson Cooper interview from 2019 about practicing gratitude in the face of grief. Source for the full interview: youtu.be/YB46h1koicQ?...

Starter Villain By John Scalzi ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Light, funny, and the right amount of ridiculous. This novel takes the villain tropes we love and spins them into hilarious absurdities. ✅ Volcano lair ✅ Shadowy Villain network ✅ Pet Cats ✅ Stolen Nazi Treasure ✅ Dolphins trying to unionize ✅ Lasers #booksky

I highly recommend people read Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. It was one of my favorite reads from last year and the movie comes out in March. Warning: Some spoilers in the trailer. #booksky

The Heartless Sky (Zodiac Academy 7) By Caroline Peckham & Susanne Valenti ⭐️⭐️ Peckham & Valenti must be paid by the page. So much filler. So little editing. Characters became caricatures and we crossed from whimsical into the absurd. Fans of this one are loyal fans indeed #booksky #bookreview

A judge paused Canada’s ban on books with explicit content “It contained more than 200 titles, including “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” “Brave New World” and more. … additional books … inaccessible to K-9 students, including… “Nineteen Eighty-Four” and …“The Great Gatsby.” #booksky #librarysky