16 isn’t bad at all!

The problem I would have with what you’ve proposed is using a reward system makes me feel like I’m doing homework instead of a fun hobby.

If I have bought books in too large a stack to handle, I do one of two things:

1. Donate the books I’ve owned for 5 years and never read because clearly I’m not that interested in them.
2. Find a buddy to read with - I’m part of a few book clubs, but I’m sure someone online will also share your taste! That way you’ll feel like you have a deadline to finish by for the discussion.

I thought the transformation of the friendships - Jude and Wilhelm into a romance, and Jude and everyone else as vaguely estranged - felt incredibly realistic. The beginning of the story where they are all very close is wonderful. But most close friendships like that don’t really last past one’s 20s, especially when they have the diverse life experiences that these four men do.

While I thought some of the trauma was weirdly unnecessary, in general I think it aimed to deliver reality. Maybe I liked it more because I’m already quite the nihilist, but what is anything for? Mostly nothing.

Wow, I love this! I wonder what this costs. I live in a small city and our tiny airport would definitely benefit from this, but like many cities our library is painfully underfunded.

I wish more people knew about Hoopla. I’m too impatient about waiting to use Libby anymore, but having free audiobooks just on-demand has been amazing.

Do you think, like Plath, your depression is why you are very much lacking in empathy for others?

SAME! Usually I try to give it at least 100 pages, but The Maid was DNF after about 20.

I’ve heard Mona Awad talk about how difficult it was to sell the concept initially. “Bunnies explode and they turn into boys.”

Unexpectedly, A Touch of Jen was super weird. I knew it was about a strange couple collectively obsessed with a woman, but I did not know it would take a hilarious, campy, horrific turn in the last third of the book.