It's a warm summer evening here in mid-Michigan & I'm enjoying a quiet respite watching the fireflies blink on & off in my backyard.

After reading the 1st couple of chapters, I skimmed the rest. If you've read Attia's "Outlive" you pretty much know what to expect here: exercise, sleep enough, eat a plant-based diet & you'll likely live longer. Topol reports the science as it exists today with some guesses about what's coming. 💙📚

This is not a mystery story the way we usually think of them. It is much more a meditation on grief & coping with the sudden death of someone close. With a mystery story sort of wrapped around that. Very "wink-wink-noddish" but very much more than that. 💙📚

A retelling of the war in heaven from "Paradise Lost". Satan & Yahweh are manipulated by another denizen of Heaven, Abdiel, to distrust each other & violence ensues. Told from multiple perspectives, it's a provocative read about loyalty, hubris, & free will. 💙📚🪐

Last book in "The Salvagers" trilogy. It's space opera with a magical twist. White does a good job fleshing out the characters while keeping the action moving. This is not a series to read out of order. Events from previous books are constantly referenced. A good memory helps. **1/2 of ****. 💙📚🪐

A few signs from Lansing, MI. Nice turnout already @more people streaming in. #nokings #50501

I'm sure Agatha is subconsciously learning as she naps on Mark Bittman's "How to cook everything vegetarian". Expecting great things from her in the kitchen. #catnapping #cats

Well this unexpected & a little off-putting. First time ever that I opened a seed packet only to find no seeds. Not even one. Another trip to the garden store is in order. #herbs #garden #planting

Re-read it for the 1st time in about 45 years. It didn't age well. Lots of talk, much of it incomprehensible. In the end, it did move the story forward, but it was slow getting there. Wondering how they'll make a movie out of it. 💙📚🪐

A reimagining of Pinocchio. Here Victor is a real boy & no one else is human. Victor and his mechanized friends must rescue his father from evil automatons. Assorted adventures ensue. I have mixed feelings about the book. Quite imaginative but never really gels. **/****. 💙🪐📚

Two new trees in the backyard courtesy of the city of Lansing. Past time to replace lost tree canopy in the city. 🌳 #trees

Very disappointing. 2nd in a trilogy. Loved book 1. This one was just way too long & boring. Vonvalt & Helena journey to Sova only to be led on a merry chase that goes on & on & on. The last 1/3 picks up a bit when Claver, evil to the core, appears then stumbles again. Hope #3 is better. 📚💙🪐

Agatha will miss the moving boxes after they're gone. #caturday #catnapping

Preliminary injunction granted against dismantling of Institute of Museum and Library Services. Very strongly worded opinion demolishing administration's pitiful defense. ecf.rid.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show...

A sobering assessment about our chances of limiting global warming to 1.5 or 2.0 degrees C. Everything points to capitalism as culprit. Read this book with "The Price Is Wrong". Both tell the same story. Hard not to despair when confronted with the power of capital. 💙📚 #climate

A win in the ongoing fight to save IMLS from the thugs at DOGE. www.artnews.com/art-news/new...

So happy to discover one of my very favorite authors @emilymandel.bsky.social on Bluesky.

Liz survives The Storm that claims her family & many, many others and moves into the bookstore she loves. Civilization crumples. Maeve appears. Together they try to build a life. A YA dystopia, not without its faults but an impressive debut by an undergraduate(!) author. **1/2/**** 💙📚🪐

I would be behind him for only his assertion that there should be a 100% tax after someone earns their 1st billion. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/15/u...

Yes, I'd love to help you fold the laundry. #cats #cathelpers

What are waiting for? Let's play! #kittygames #cats

Dread Lord Gavrax wakes up with no memories, including his name. Slowly he pieces his life back together while trying to become someone new. Do our memories make us who we are? Without them can we start over? Interesting premise. **/**** 🪐📚💙

Am I not the prettiest kitty this morning? #cats #prettykitty

When did Whitmer lose her nerve? This is pitiful. #michigan #whitmerdisappears www.politico.com/news/2025/04...

American Library Association & AFSCME sue administration over assault on Institute of Museum and Library Services. #libraries #imls www.ala.org/news/2025/04...

#nowspinning #vinyl #piano

The Tigers score 3 in the bottom of the 9th to sweep the White Sox! #detroittigers #Detroit #win

Thank you, Dana Nessel, for standing up for Michigan libraries. #libraries #shamefulGOP #handsofflibraries #imlsforever www.nytimes.com/2025/04/04/a...

I'm at Capital City Film Festival to see "Vampire Zombies from Space" & may be, by several decades, the oldest person here. #movies #ccff

Library destruction is underway. History is being sanitized.

Fabulous turnout at the Capitol in Lansing. Garlin Gilchrist was the star of the day. He lit up the crowd. #50501 #michigan #resistance #handsoff

The demise of a once proud university.

Hand-off rally now in Lansing. #handsoff #50501 #michigan

Ready for the protest. #handsoff #lansing #michigan

Who is that mysterious stranger on the deck? #groundhogs #cats

Funding for Ohio libraries used to be the envy of the country. Another giant step to advance ignorance among the populace. #libraries #shamefulGOP #librarieschangelives

Do not forget the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Every single school should have a school library & a school librarian, to help every single child find the books that will make them readers, and give them all the lifelong benefits of literacy. Libraries & librarians change children's lives FOREVER! #SchoolLibrarianDay #SchoolLibraryMonth

And the Tigers win the home opener against the White Sox, 7-4. Nice way to start baseball season in Detroit. #Detroit #detroittigers #win

Detroit Tigers home opener. A beautiful day for baseball in the Motor City. #Detroit #detroittigers

Today they're killing off the Institute of Museum and Library Services. After they've screwed libraries can this be far behind? #librarieschangelives #libraries #reading

Occasionally a novel comes along and with amazing presience imagines a future world startling similar to the one we inhabit. "Deluge" by Stephen Markley is one of those rare books. Only the disfunctions he describes happen in the 2030s. We are getting them in the 20s. 💙📚🪐

Ditched all my streaming services & now get my movies & TV series from the library. In my world, waiting for the DVD to be released is not an earth-shattering event. And, hey, I can always read a book while I wait. #librarieschangelives #i💙mylibrary #libraries

Hana Babic becomes a Minnesota librarian after surviving the Bosnia war. The death of her friend Amina threatens to reveal secrets that could destroy Hana's quiet life. An excellent suspense story; Eskens brings the cruelty of the war home. He also captures just how badass librarians really are. 💙📚

From the always clear-headed Paul Krugman's column thus morning. Full post: open.substack.com/pub/paulkrug... #liberationdaynonsense #tariffsbackfire

Agatha has found a warm place on an unexpectedly cold morning this first day of April. Those radiators were put there just for her, right? #cutecats

Agatha lulled to sleep while Rod Stewart sings standards. #catnapping

Poor baby was trapped in the basement for hours. Demands lap time as penance.

Subtitle says it all. Focus is on electricity production since it accounts for 75%-ish of GHG emissions. Tightly argued, somewhat technical, but essential reading. In a nutshell: When capitalism is the problem, you can't count on it to save the day. 💙📚

Sigh. The Tigers lose their opener. Well, last year it took until August for them to hit their stride. Hopefully not so long this year. www.freep.com/story/sports...