As I say every month, I’m shamelessly stealing this idea from Jessica Lahey. She has a recurring monthly date where she reviews all the books she reads that month. Book reviews are important for authors, and I want to get better at doing this.

So. I’m going to review them here and also online, but I’m going to do it a little differently. I’m only going to review the stuff I really liked. I don’t see a reason to spend my time writing about something I didn’t love; it’s just using up more of my energy. So only positive reviews.

These are the books I liked (or mostly liked) from May.

The Soulmate (Sally Hepworth): Hepworth books are hit-or-miss. They’re always well-written, but the plot is sometimes so farfetched that I can’t suspend disbelief. This was one where I also guessed the ending early on. It’s okay that it was forgettable because I enjoyed the act of reading it at the moment, which is a long way of saying that I’ll read her next book, too. They’re all solid four-star reads.

In the Lives of Puppets (TJ Klune): I bought his first book (first book that I read, that is) for everyone. I thought it was amazing. I recommended his second book to a bunch of people. I thought it was moving. I am on the fence about how I feel about this book. It is complicated, and as you’re laughing over the robots’ conversations, the author presents some uncomfortable answers to the questions at the heart of the book: Can we love beings who do terrible things? What if they don’t have free will and are forced to do terrible things? What if they do have a choice and make a terrible one?

A Rule Against Murder (Louise Penny): The books in this series just get better and better and better. This one was even better than book three, and I loved book three. It’s a great mystery, and while I ended the book with a few questions I’d love to discuss with someone else who read it, I leave the story super impressed with Penny. Again and again and again.

La Belle Sauvage (Philip Pullman): I listened to this as an audiobook. Michael Sheen is one of the most talented book readers on earth. I rarely have time to listen to audiobooks, but I would make time to listen to this one again.

What did you read last month?

I’ve said it before: I am terrible at saying no. The whole thing makes me feel guilty because I can usually say yes, just at the expense of my own happiness. So I guess I have no difficulty when I have a clear-cut reason attached to the “no,” such as being out of town. But if I technically could say yes, but I’m not saying yes because we all have limited time, emotional energy, or money, I feel guilty, which makes me botch the no.

So I always pause and read any article about how to say no. And this is a good one.

Beyond the how-to, I liked the idea that there is a difference between selfishness, which feels purposeful, and putting yourself first, which feels healthy when done if necessary.

Putting this here in case it helps anyone else.

Not sure what #MicroblogMondays is? Read the inaugural post which explains the idea and how you can participate too.

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Just when I think that social media has ceased to be social, people peek out to say happy birthday, or discuss an article, or reminisce about college. A friend posted a story that sent all of us down a rabbit hole of connected stories and people who have drifted away (whatever happened to them?). Suddenly, it felt like we were all hanging out in someone’s living room, tossing out facts so someone could pull them together into a cohesive memory.

I love that you can’t write it off. That social media keeps popping back up and reminding you that it can be anything we want it to be. We just have to make it happen.

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Are you also doing #MicroblogMondays? Add your link below. The list will be open until Tuesday morning. Link to the post itself, not your blog URL. (Don’t know what that means? Please read the three rules on this post to understand the difference between a permalink to a post and a blog’s main URL.) Only personal blogs can be added to the list. I will remove any posts connected to businesses or sponsored posts.

I feel like a broken record about the kids leaving because I am a broken record about the kids leaving. I wake up and think, “They won’t be here in a few months.” And my heart squeezes like a fist, sometimes taking my stomach with it.

I go through the day having that thought over and over again. I think about what we need to buy, the forms we need to fill out, and the tasks we need to do. I flip through my datebook, looking at the thin number of pages between now and going. I go to bed at night and lie awake, thinking about what the moment will feel like when I have to leave and drive home.

I know I’m boring. I’ve become one single note, played over and over again. I want to say that one day I’ll become a symphony again, but I don’t know if that is true. I only know that right now, I am a broken record, replaying the same thoughts as day spins into night and back into day.

The Wolvog updated us all day Wednesday and Thursday on the air quality index. It wasn’t as bad down here as it was in New York, but it still looked odd outside. It’s bizarre to think that the fires were a 10 – 12 hour drive away from D.C. That the smoke drifted all the way down the coast. And truly terrifying.

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Stop procrastinating. Go make your backups. Don’t have regrets.

Seriously. Stop what you’re doing for a moment. It will take you fifteen minutes, tops. But you will have peace of mind for days and days. It’s the gift to yourself that keeps on giving.

As always, add any new thoughts to the Friday Backup post and peruse new comments to find out about methods, plug-ins, and devices that help you quickly back up your data and accounts.

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And now the blogs…

But first, second, helpings of the posts that appeared in the open comment thread last week. To read the description before clicking over, please return to the open thread:

• “An Unexpected Conversation” (Infertile Phoenix)
• “Life Makes My Life Meaningful” (No Kidding in NZ)
• “The Early Days of the IF Blogosphere” (Stirrup Queens) — thanks, Jess!

Okay, now my choices this week.

The Road Less Travelled has a post about the wildfires. She writes, “It was supposed to be a sunny day — but when I look outside, all I see is a hazy grey sky.” It is scary to watch destructive events intensifying — the frequency and scope picking up year after year. What will the earth look like — feel like — twenty years from now?

Lastly, No Kidding NZ is back from a month-long trip to southern Africa, and she writes about traveling without kids. I love the story about the other couple they met on the road. “I said to my husband after a couple of days that I was sure they didn’t have children either. It hadn’t been mentioned, almost pointedly, by either of us. In fact, it actually took me a day or two to realise that neither of us had brought it up.” I love the exchange they had and look forward to more stories about the trip.

The roundup to the Roundup: Wildfires. Your weekly backup nudge. And lots of great posts to read. So what did you find this week? Please use a permalink to the blog post (written between June 2 – 9) and not the blog’s main URL. Not understanding why I’m asking you what you found this week. Read the original open thread post here.