Oh my gosh my BRAIN.

Question: how to we gift a book to someone who only reads on Kindle? Reads a lot, but has definitively communicated not to give them physical books. Can I get the book and have it available before Christmas w/o their getting an email about it in advance?

No. 5 #LibFaves25 is THIS IS WHERE WE DIE, by Cindy R.X. He. It’s a bloody, suspenseful “cut off from the world” story w/refs to the Donner Party. The twist at the end is foreshadowed, but still a surprise. Very page-turner, much murder. Recommended by Karen Jensen at SLJ.

Here’s my third entry for #LibFaves25 , HONEYSUCKLE AND BONE by Trisha Tobias. This YA novel combines coming-of-age with horror (ghosts!) and Jamaican lore. The setting is vivid and the plot propulsive, with a satisfying twist at the end.

To begin with, I do not play piano. I took one semester of lessons in college, and prior to that my whole experience was early elementary school. Nonetheless, I have started practicing “easy piano” of a *Vince Guaraldi* piece because I am a fool. 1/2

Thrilled to find THE TROUBLE WITH HEROES on @imaginationsoup.bsky.social's Best Middle Grade Books of 2025 list! Sooooo many amazing titles here - including lots of my 2025 favs! imaginationsoup.net/best-middle-...

I’m late to the #LibFaves25 party, and it looks like tomorrow is Day 5, so I might catch up by the weekend. 😉 I feel like I’d do well to focus on one type of reading, but that’s not how my reading life works, so you get a blend of adult, teen, and kid books, fiction and nonfiction alike.

Hey, Twin Cities. Do you know of any holiday singalong events that are open to the public and also kinda small enough that I might actually connect with some people? It’s okay if it’s church-based, and also if it isn’t.

The ER is a place no one wants to be. I was sent there yesterday by my primary care office in an abundance of caution (again, I’m generally fine) and here’s what I noticed: Most everyone there had someone along who visibly loved them DEEPLY. Just a vibe of care. (1/2)

In Nashville, more than 1,000 people face losing their home each month. Getting evicted can be a huge blow to safety and mental health, especially if you are young when it happens. But the city is working harder than most to fight it. ✏️: @mikeiereiland.bsky.social

I have spent much of today in the ER (I’m fine, waiting for final labs) and thinking of my dad. There is an elderly man who’s been here alone longer than I have, around the age my dad would be, just waiting all afternoon. I checked in at the desk to make sure he hadn’t been dropped off the list.

Once again, I have to advise that you find your local high school and attend their winter choir and/or band concerts. They are inexpensive, the performers are INVESTED, and it’s a really lovely way to build connections in your community.

Who is going to stay up and let everyone know when it actually ends And who thinks there might be a raccoon involved 😉

OMG IT STOPPED

This thread is hilarious and also somehow scandalous…?

Please observe what I did at work today. (The bakery is the play space in the library and, tragically, there was no extant menu.) Now I want a hot milk steamer with cinnamon.

Any left-handed users of Blackwing pencils out there? I’m thinking of buying a set as a gift for a lefty who is a pretty serious artist, but I do not want to give him the gift of smudgy hands. What’s your experience? (I love the pencils but this is a question I don’t have to consider for myself)

This weekend I have bought books from B&N and Thriftbooks, plus some Skype a Scientist merch. Shared links on my gift list to Thriftbooks, Better World Books, Magers & Quinn, and Bookshop. Although I have zero gifts for Eldest so far, I am feeling great (and responsible) abt my holiday shopping!

Our ancient and venerable washing machine gave up the ghost this week. We went into the appliance store yesterday and bought an LG WT8600 set, and now, here between 4 and 5AM, I have insomniac buyer’s remorse (as this ish is expensive). Do you have this machine? Why do you like it, plz?

It’s quiet out here

As you’re preparing for your Thanksgiving meal, remember the skilled work it took to get that food to your grocery store. Tell us your favorite Thanksgiving dish, and we can share some of what we know about the work behind the ingredients.

🚨🚨 WeeooWeeoo 🚨🚨 Black Friday deals at the Squid facts shop are LIVE! Here's the deal: When you buy calendars, stickers, and posters, you get the satisfaction of supporting science education FREE! Wow! What a deal! Who could pass this opportunity up? not me! That's for sure. SquidFacts.net

DO NOT WANT (Traveling for Tgiving for the first time in several years, naturally 🫠)

I! M! L! S! "The ruling nullifies the Administration’s actions to dismantle IMLS and permanently prohibits the Administration from taking such actions in the future. The ruling has immediate nationwide effect." www.ala.org/news/2025/11...

I can’t find the post I intended to reply to, but if you’re looking for a stuffed pumpkin recipe for a gorgeous vegetarian main, Serious Eats is the one. (Note that this is NOT vegan, it has cream and cheese in it.) www.seriouseats.com/stuffed-pump...

A terrific thread about holiday happiness. Multifaceted - different parts will apply to different people - but I appreciate so much the acknowledgement that holidays can be stressful even when you LIKE your family. 🩷

Oh my GOSH, y'all. We asked the girls "what have you learned about yourself as a leader?" and they talked about public speaking, improvising, working through frustration in the moment, drinking water, solving problems, and inclusion. I am CRYING over here, for real.

Bassist with The Beths initially struck me as tightly wound (therefore not chill? Not sure where this falls in the continuum). Also plays recorder evidently. The thing to know is that this band is CRISP, all four of them.

Bassist for Phoebe Rings: quite chill.

Just something to share, maybe a timeline cleanser: this week I have two Storytime sessions in which I’m featuring Michaela Goade’s BERRY SONG, a beautiful picture book about harvest, gratitude, stewardship, and family connections. Makes my heart happy. 🥰 birchbarkbooks.com/products/ber...

If you haven't read Renee Watson's ALL THE BLUES IN THE SKY yet, do yourself a favor and pick one up to read & share with kids. It's beautifully written - and stories about grief are so important at a time when over 10 million children who lost a caregiver in the pandemic are still processing.

A long thread with some stellar recs in it.

@dnord.com can’t explain why THIS wasn’t obvious to me

This is suuuper duper cool.

One girl said “it doesn’t matter if you ban a book because everyone can find that information online” and then I blew their minds by talking about how your search history can be monitored and sold to the government without your permission, but your library borrowing history requires a warrant.

some other familiar grocery store names that are brands for producer-owned agricultural co-ops: Blue Diamond Bob's Red Mill Land O'Lakes Tillamook Welch's

Hey, I need a good borscht recipe. Things to know: 1) I’d prefer a soup that you KNOW and LIKE 2) I like beets; my family is suspicious of them 3) I don’t care about Russian vs Ukrainian; my forebears are in fact German & Polish and I just need to make room for all the incoming farm squash 🤪 TIA

There is no 'congrats' loud or enthusiastic enough for the Penn State grad students, who didn't just win their union today, but did it by an utterly absurd 90 point margin. I'm so proud and happy for them!!!!!

🚨 We’re hiring! @CIDRAP is seeking a Digital Communications Lead to drive strategy, content, and analytics that amplify our global public health mission. Apply here 👉 hr.myu.umn.edu/jobs/ext/371... #Hiring #DigitalComms #PublicHealth #ScienceCommunication

You are the sum of your stories and regardless of where those books stand in popularity or classic reading lists etc, words on a page made you someone a little new and that’s cool as hell

The post office — now 250yrs old! — is amazing. But I'm surprised they're advertising, given that the regime is trying to kill it. Maybe they want people to use it for holiday shipping, find everything delayed + lost, then be all: Damn these worthless public services! Defund! Privatize!

MN DFL trifecta went big and got universal free lunch, as well as increased protections for workers, renters, and the environment, on top of increasing the child tax credit. This is the way.

Teen Vogue took young people seriously. It's impossible to overstate how important, how rare, and how profoundly needed that is.

This is pretty great. Good thinking, comforting and challenging theology, a call to action.

Just a mildly entertaining sequence of skeets from the middle of the end of that baseball game :)

Logging off for the weekend (I don’t even know what day it is). I am working so hard to control the information firehose, and it is still too much for me rn. Thank you for the audiobook recs - I will pick up any others next week. xo

I am wallowing in some despair today, but I did make some muffins and turn them into mummies, so

#Skybrarians, pls recommend me some audiobooks for commuting. I like popular fiction mostly (some literary but take it easy), YA or adult, narrative nonfiction about most anything. Realistic, historical, SFF, humor, witchy magic, essays, biography. Just tell me what you’ve liked lately! 📚

"All present or accounted for." My mom, a veteran of the US Army, drummed into us that this was the proper response, *not* "all present and accounted for." Each member of the unit is *either* physically present *or* there's an account of why they are absent. Relevance? Read on.