I was talking with a friend about how we both never leave the house, but after we got off, I felt guilty because I hadn’t gotten the mail in at least a week. I decided that I was going to put on my big girl panties and get the mail like a grownup.

But there were two crickets — CRICKETS — on my car: a small brown one and a big green one. I almost returned to the house, but a wave of guilt again hit me. I was going to get the mail. But I would enter the car from the passenger side to avoid the crickets.

They watched me from atop the side mirror while I drove.

My low tire pressure light went on.

The big green cricket hopped off and landed (likely) on the driver’s door. Just waiting for me to put air in my tires so it could jump into my hair and kill me.

I pulled up to the post office and pretended that I was checking out something on the passenger side, so I looked halfway normal to the people who were all parked and sitting in their cars for some reason. I casually slipped out the side door, grabbed the mail, and returned to enter through the passenger side, pretending I was just chilling in a parking lot. Don’t mind me. This is totally normal to enter through the side door and slide behind the wheel.

Josh told me he would meet me at the gas station to put air in the tires so I could avoid the big green cricket. But right when we met at the gas station, the skies opened up, and it began pouring. He slid into my front seat, and we sat for a half hour, watching the rain thump down against the windshield. “This is why I never go out. If you never go out, you never encounter situations like this.”

So true.

There was a tiny break in the rain, so we drove over to the air pump, and Josh unscrewed the cap on the first tire. The sky was just joking. Two seconds later, the sky opened again and dumped on him. Within seconds, his clothes were plastered to his body. He wins an award for saving me from the tenacious big green cricket. I mean, he never found him, but I’m sure he was lurking somewhere. The little brown cricket crawled behind the side mirror, so I’m sure he was plotting something.

In any case, this is why I never leave the house.

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

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Mental Floss had a list of the least popular names — number 1000 on the SSA list — from 1880 to 1932. And while I think “Lockie” is ready to hit the top 100 list, it made me think about what it means to have a least popular name. Most of us are near the middle, and my name was #7 the year I was born. But Marlena was 989. And the most Marlenas there have ever been was in 1978 when it was #429. It’s a world of few Marlenas. What does it mean to move through the world as a Marlena? Not an unusual name for the place you live but an unusual name anywhere in the world?

You can put your name into the SSA site and see its popularity over time.

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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’ve been compiling life advice for the twins. Whenever I think of something they should know, I jot it down in a digital note. Of course, after I do that, I realize that a rambling letter from their mother is not the best way to convey important life advice. This probably isn’t the first time they should be hearing some of these things, but in some cases, it is.

I should have started earlier.

But would it have meant anything if not read with one foot out the door?

Some of it is practical, such as how to not make enemies in the dorm laundry room:

Get back to your laundry at least five minutes before it’s due to be finished.

Other items are more amorphous:

Apologize when you should apologize. Just because someone isn’t bringing something up doesn’t mean it’s over. It may mean they’re just not bringing it up and letting it grow inside their head. Apologize so that fire has no oxygen.

I would drop them in individual notes to open randomly, but they probably need all these thoughts from day one. So I’m putting them together to read and use and pass along.

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 June.

Death of a Bookseller (Alice Slater): I started out loving this book. Interesting situation with vivid writing and great characters. But somewhere along the way, it moved from pleasurably creepy into just creepy, full stop. I can’t recommend it, but I also liked parts of it. It’s complicated. But only read if you’re looking for something super unnerving.

Bad Summer People (Emma Rosenblum): They were all the worst people, which made this the best possible fun. Like White Lotus in Fire Island homes instead of Italy. The book has gotten much buzz because some characters are based on real people in a Fire Island town. So you may feel a bit dirty reading it, but it’s so enjoyable.

The Endless Vessel (Charles Soule): What an incredible book about love and mattering and connection. It will make you think, cry (that last page!), and smile. What more can you possibly want in a story? This was a top read of the year for me.

The Wishing Game (Meg Shaffer): To enjoy this book, you need to go into it understanding that nothing about the situation is realistic or healthy. Like relationships you’re supposed to admire and cheer for are dysfunctional and inappropriate. BUT I still loved being in this world while I was in the world. It’s best described as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory but with a book instead of candy.

Death Comes to Marlow (Robert Thorogood): If you like Richard Osman, you will likely enjoy Robert Thorogood. Three friends, running around Marlow, solving crimes and crossword puzzles. I am so happy whenever another one of these books comes out, similar to Osman.

What did you read last month?

P.S. I think I’m going to skip the Roundup this week. See you again this weekend.

I read a beautiful term: dream bankruptcy. I liked it, especially as I read the description of when someone may want to declare dream bankruptcy: “The person has become so attached to their dream that they fail to adapt, even when reality provides evidence that the dream isn’t workable.”

The article explains it is less about the dream and instead looks at “the impact a dream has on our day-to-day behavior.”

I thought it was a massively helpful way of looking at paths not followed through to their ends, what comes next, and how the future may look after declaring dream bankruptcy.