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 read that month. Book reviews are important for authors, and I want to get better about 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 October.

A Line To Kill (Anthony Horowitz): Anthony Horowitz’s books are perfection. I save them up because I like to have one ready to go whenever I need it. I saved this one until I got the next book in the series: The Twist of the Knife. It was once again the most pleasurable read of the year. The pacing, the characters, the big reveal. I got the killer early on, but I couldn’t figure out why or how. The reveal was brilliant. Every piece slides into place, and Horowitz leaves us in agony, waiting for the next part of the story.

Upgrade (Blake Crouch): My friend Jodi said it perfectly — you can’t review Crouch’s books without ruining things. So trust me that this book was like the most delicious bag of potato chips. It was such a pleasurable, thought-provoking read. And really, really, really clever.

Daisy Darker (Alice Feeney): I enjoy Alice Feeney books, so I was excited to read this. It wasn’t quite as good as her last few. One of the issues with murder mysteries is whether you believe the murder would occur. Would the character take action? And I didn’t believe it. It felt out of character as she had drawn the character. I look forward to her next one, but I wouldn’t start with this book if it’s your first Feeney.

A Winter’s Promise (Christelle Dabos): This has been my happiest find in a while. I bought the whole series when I finished the first book. It’s billed as the French Harry Potter, but as much as I like Harry Potter, I’m not seeing the comparison beyond the fact that there is magic in both books. I love Ophelia. Love the complexity of every character. I am obsessed with watching her navigate this world. Just an incredible, incredible book and the next one (I’m currently reading book 2) is just as good as the first.

What did you read last month?

Twitter IS in chaos. Facebook IS facing challenges. Blogs ARE shuffling along. Instagram ISN’T the answer we all were looking for. AND social media is okay.

I’m kind of done with articles predicting the end of X platform or the concept of Y social media. That all-or-nothing mentality: Facebook has record users, or Facebook is done. Either Twitter is bringing us all together around a moment in history, or Twitter is the most dividing cesspool on the planet.

Social media is what users make it become, and we all tend to have a very different experience on the same platform based on which accounts we follow. While some tools are more protective of others, trying to ensure that users have a positive experience, all tools have the potential to break down barriers, expose us to positive ideas, and expand our world precisely what the Internet promised at its birth.

Social media isn’t dead any more than television is dead, books are dead, or movies are dead. It’s evolving. And while it can be dangerous — I think the last few weeks of Twitter have shown the potential for social media to wreak havoc — I also believe that to write, “We cannot make social media good, because it is fundamentally bad, deep in its very structure. All we can do is hope that it withers away, and play our small part in helping abandon it” says more about the writer and their privilege.

I am so glad the Internet exists. I’m happy I get to converse with people I would have never met otherwise. I’m glad I get to hear your point of view because it helps me understand mine. And I’m just really grateful that I can form connections with others and bypass many of life’s limits by getting to form those connections online.

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

*******

I got Ole Parsley near the pandemic’s beginning: June 7, 2020. It wasn’t my first pandemic plant — the first… several… died from overwatering. But Allison taught me how to keep plants alive (and to stop naming plants I intended to eat), and Ole Parsley was a constant companion for the last 2.5 years.

I knew he was dying, but I couldn’t face it until this weekend when I said goodbye in the backyard. Maybe it is silly loving a plant this much, but I spent a lot of time with Ole Parsley.

Yesterday, we bought three new parsley plants and two new basil plants for good measure. There’s a lot of lush green that will slowly die over the next few months as I snip off leaves while cooking. I’ll love those plants, but none will ever take the place in my heart held by Ole Parsley.

*******

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 that are connected to businesses or are sponsored post.

I saw Jennifer Aniston trending on Twitter, but I was on there for work, so I didn’t know why until I saw The Road Less Travelled’s post. Jennifer talked about family building — her IVF attempts, the hurtful headlines, the relief that it’s no longer a possibility.

Back then — and for years — there were headlines swirling through pop culture that Aniston wouldn’t have kids. That she wasn’t interested, or she just wanted to be a star, or whatever idea was selling that week.

Adding to the personal pain of what she went through was the “narrative that I was just selfish,” she says.

So the interview itself was mind-blowing, but it’s also the journalist’s line: “I almost want to apologize to Aniston for being a journalist. This doesn’t feel like any of my business.”

On the one hand, having a conversation with a subject and introducing their story is her business. That is literally her business. But at the same time, when you reflect on how many people didn’t contact Aniston, didn’t actually speak to her, but wrote story after story about how she’s pregnant (with twins!) or refuses to be pregnant, and this journalist senses how much it costs emotionally to introduce this subject into the conversation. Why the journalist feels that quietness about a topic that Jen admits she has been “protecting [her] story about IVF.”

I really loved that Jen put it out there. She owes us nothing, but I’m grateful she trusts the world with her story.

We do not play the lottery or live in California, but I still outlined everything I would do if I won Powerball. First and foremost, I would set up a foundation that funds projects close to my heart: food insecurity, animal protection, literacy, and fine arts. That would take care of over half of the money. Plus, I’d have to hire a few people to run the foundation.

Then, I would give away a chunk to various family members, yadda yadda yadda, AND THEN I would work with Blackwell’s in Oxford and Politics and Prose in DC to send me one of every book that comes into their stores. Just do a weekly box-up and send me one of every book. I know what you’re thinking: Melissa, some of those books would not interest you. I KNOW. That is why I would also have a little free library (except it would be a big free library) where I could give away all the books that don’t appeal to me as well as copies of books I do like once everyone is finished reading them.

The kids told me winning the lottery would ruin me, but I think a box of books delivered straight to my door every week would be pretty awesome.

What would you do with the money?

*******

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.

*******

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:

• None… sniff…

Okay, now my choices this week.

Infertile Phoenix laments that some people don’t change, and in those cases, it’s okay because she has changed. She writes, “What used to make me angry now makes me annoyed. What used to hurt me now shows me what’s in other people’s hearts and minds. Others’ rudeness, meanness, and inconsideration have nothing to do with me. It’s not my fault, and it’s not my problem.” Your mouth will drop open over the insensitive comment she received that kicked off the post.

Lastly, No Kidding in NZ has a thought-provoking post about how infertility changed her feelings about risk. She is more aware of life’s uncertainty and that some things are not givens. She explains: “My assessment of risk might be a bit more brutal … But my appreciation of my life, and what I am able to do, is stronger too, along with the confidence of knowing that I can cope with adversities that might confront me.” I love this insight into life.

The roundup to the Roundup: What I’d do with billions. 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 November 4 – 11) 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.