Great to see @lisascottoline.bsky.social when she visited Boston recently: perfectretort.blogspot.com/2025/11/lisa... #Booksky

The Tree for Boston heads south from Nova Scotia! www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/12/m... @novasc0tia.bsky.social @mayorwu.boston.gov

Sean Duffy, the U.S. secretary of transportation, on Tuesday refused to say when he would roll back the restrictions on flights at 40 busy airports.

They’ve laid off so many people that the government is now getting its economic data from DoorDash.

Questionably legal!

The Librarians by Sherry Thomas is a fascinating mystery with lots of surprises. My review: perfectretort.blogspot.com/2025/11/the-... #booksky

Polls are open in Boston until 8 pm. Please remember to vote! #GOTV @ruthzee.bsky.social @wutrain.bsky.social

As we noted a few days ago, Trump appears to be defying court orders. He threatened to withhold food stamp benefits for roughly 42 million Americans until the government shutdown ends, even though a federal court has ordered his administration to continue the aid payments through the month.

Patel in 2023: “I’m just saying Chris Wray doesn’t need a government funded G5 jet to go to vacations. Maybe we ground that plane. $15,000 every time it takes off. Just a thought.” Any guess what Patel flies in?

Ruth M. Arthur's books captivated me as a child - they were a blend of past and present, with a hint of the paranormal (Margery Gill was the illustrator). One favorite was The Saracen Lamp. tinyurl.com/bdf22dnd #Bookvember #booksky

www.bostonglobe.com/2023/04/13/l... #Hobart #Booksky

Yesterday's launch post for Dean Street December, coming soon! librofulltime.wordpress.com/2025/10/31/c... #booksky @deanstpress.bsky.social 📚💙 #deanstreetdecember25

Six Degrees of Separation – from We Have Always Lived in the Castle to Summer of Fear (mistresses of the macabre: Shirley Jackson and Lois Duncan) tinyurl.com/mrxrbz9s #Booksky

For the #1925Club, I read The Dower House by Patricia Wentworth, one of her early standalones before the creation of Miss Silver perfectretort.blogspot.com/2025/10/the-... #booksky

For decades, the White House’s 42-seat movie theater was a refuge for the commander in chief. Now it is gone, demolished this week along with the rest of the East Wing as part of President Trump’s efforts to construct a $300 million ballroom.

In today's Bookseller Magazine 😊 #sarawoods #december #neweditions

FOLLOW THE MONEY: Billionaires and corporations with business in front of the Trump administration are coughing up millions to build Trump's BALLROOM. What are these companies getting in return? I'm pushing for answers.

Breaking News: The U.S. military accepted a private donation of $130 million to help pay troops during the shutdown. The move is highly unusual and a potential violation of federal law.

Any L.M. Montgomery fans? My review of Emily Climbs for the #1925Club - tinyurl.com/3b32vde8 (And I think I want this woman's hairstyle, not to mention her attitude!)

On the Ramblings today! My first post for the #1925club - my thoughts on some GA crime here! kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com/2025/10/20/l...

A record 154,000 public school students in New York City were homeless during the last school year, according to data released Monday. It's grim evidence that the city’s worsening housing crisis is wreaking havoc on its youngest and most vulnerable residents. nyti.ms/43rE1II

It's time for the #1925Club, for which I have read too many books (and am still reading). Thanks to @stuckinabook.bsky.social and @kaggsy59.bsky.social for their organisational panache. Starting with a visit to Virginia.

On that note, a centenary edition of Richard Aldington's modernist long poem A Fool i' the Forest has just come out. renardpress.com/books/a-fool...

Moreover, even though the whistleblower story contains real news—he hasn’t talked before and he’s making his case publicly—here’s how the CBS News website is playing the two stories at this hour: Kushner leads, whistleblower story is below 10 other stories under “more news.”

It's time for the #1925Club and my first offering is Greenery Street by Angela Thirkell's little brother: tinyurl.com/4wm5xn22 @stuckinabook.bsky.social @kaggsy59.bsky.social

The corrupt spending by this administration is out of control. 

$175M for private jets for the same person who has slowed down funds for disaster relief and national security. 

And during a government shutdown when millions stand to lose their healthcare. It’s shameful.

#NoKings in Boston

Trump’s ice goons pull guns on an unarmed guy on a bike in Rogers Park. Terrorizing neighborhoods

"Through the first months of Trump's new trade regime it is U.S. companies that are footing the bill for his tariffs, and passing on some of it to the consumer - with more price hikes likely..." www.reuters.com/world/us/how...

Ah yes, air traffic controllers must show up for work without pay, but Congress can take the day off. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says he’ll be making “necessary cuts” to the department, because nothing fixes staffing shortages quite like firing more people.

Any (new or unknown) Dorothy Dunnett fans in Boston? The annual gathering is being planned for November 8th.

Day 11 of the Republican Shutdown. Donald Trump is back on the golf course. House Republicans have cancelled votes for a third straight week. And Democrats are continuing the fight to protect your healthcare.

I’m at the #Betsy-Tacy Convention in Mankato, MN. #VisitDeepValley (ps-I added BTT to that shelf!)

Walmart and Navy Federal Credit Union were investigated for scamming consumers, but now they’re thanking Donald Trump for letting them off the hook. Instead of lowering costs like he promised, Trump is standing in the way of cheated Americans getting their money back.

Ladies and gentlemen, the meritocracy

So exhausting..

FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez explains the serious financial interest media conglomerate Nexstar has in sucking up to Donald Trump, including on matters like Jimmy Kimmel's suspension.

For the past 53 hours we have been trying to identify the man who was racially-profiled and abducted by ICE agents in East Somerville this past Saturday — his family and co-workers have now come forward to identify him as Magdaleno Pineda Avelar. More here: www.cambridgeday.com/2025/09/20/s...

I resist ‘the lights are starting to go out’ metaphors, but if a generation becomes unable to learn things…

Inflation is so bad these days that taking a $50,000 cash bribe can't even get you indicted. SAD!! Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Stephen Colbert: “Tonight we’re all Jimmy Kimmel…. With an autocrat, you can’t give an inch. If ABC thinks that this is going to satisfy the regime, they are woefully naive, and clearly they've never read The Children's Book If You Give a Mouse A Kimmel.”

In honor of Robert Redford and because Paul Newman, this week I reviewed The Sting (1973) which is both an exceptional film about conmen and also an exceptional study of cinema as a con itself. The Sting has such a brilliant structure of misdirection and distraction by way of Newman's baby blues 🗃️

Stayed up late to read Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, which I loved! Is the movie good?

A top official at the IRS sued the agency on Thursday, claiming that officials unlawfully leaked employment data to news outlets including Fox News, which then published an incorrect report that she had been fired.

I have now progressed to the second House of Niccolo book - The Spring of the Ram by Dorothy Dunnett (sadly, not set in Bruges but in Florence and Trebizond) tinyurl.com/4p6x5a9f

After the final of the US open, Tr*mp will declare the war on tennis.

Trump gets booed at the US Open today.

I'm attending Michelle for Mayor's event, “Election Eve Rally!” - sign up now to join me! #wutrain www.mobilize.us/michelleforb...

TAPPER: “Before you made the decision to end vaccine mandates, did your department do any projections for how many new cases of diseases there will be in Florida?” DESANTIS/FLORDIA SURGEON GENERAL LADAPO: "Absolutely not.” 🤔

Thank you, Mayor Wu! www.bostonglobe.com/2025/08/19/m...