Riley D

What got you on the station's radar as *thee* 7 year old they should talk to?

A close up of a Black woman's face takes up the entirety of the cover, overlaid with a yellow and red filter. She looks very cool, and is wearing sunglasses, which are filled in with green overlapped instances of the image of Benjamin Franklin from the American $100 bill. The title and author overlay the woman's face in white. An endorsement from Danzy Senna, author of Colored Television, sits in the upper right corner and reads: "Wickedly fun."

8. The Payback by Kashana Cauley

This one was so, so fun, and very cathartic. It's a heist novel, but instead of stealing jewels or art, the characters are trying to erase student loan debt

A layered cover with a teal to black background, three half circles stacked on top of one another that are teal on the flat bottom edge transitioning to pinkish red at the top curve. Then there are flowers with gold stems and leaves, on top of which is a gold sword with the partial reflection of a women visible in the blade, one of her eyes at the cross between the blade and the part of the handle that crosses it. The title and author are in white, with flowers twined around them. The tag line at the top of the cover, in white, reads "A legend. A lie. A love story."

7. The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow

I'm not generally a romantasy reader (I prefer my romance and fantasy separate) but this one worked for me! Unsurprising, given I've really enjoyed all of Harrow's other books. The characters were great, the structure was interesting, and the villain was stellar

While we wait for more results (I promise a bunch of calls are sure to be around the corner), my usual Election Night note:

if you find the work we do at Bolts to elevate local politics to be important and valuable... consider becoming a monthly subscriber (or donor)! Easy: boltsmag.org/donate

Bluesky being down on a election night feels like a very particular internet betrayal

I knit a folded collar on a sweater for the first time, it was easier than I expected, and when I finished the collar and tried it on last night, it fit! Usually for learning a new technique means ripping out and redoing it a bunch, but this looks so good on the first try

One blessing of season 4 of Bridgerton is how little Colin speaks

Definitely was not expecting the second half of the new Bridgerton season making me cry! Tears were not part of my Friday night plans. But the girl scout cookies are a great pairing tbh

Also watching Bridgerton, and reading Kashana Cauley's The Payback!

*whispers* "are you...sure...? You need to be, well, here? We don't want a reputation as a place ~single~ people are welcome"

The punishment for trying to do anything by yourself in our delightful society apparently!

I will take some snow during the week if I can have a Saturday in the 60s!

We thank you! A weekend without a scheduled storm is so welcome

This is terrible news

Totally get that it's rude to just leave your things in a dryer in a shared laundry room, especially during busy times. But am I wrong that it's also rude to take someone's stuff out of the *only full dryer* when all the rest are empty?? I got there 10 min after my dryer stopped, not 3 hours!

Yes! Guinness books of world records were staples! I wish I could rec visiting St. Petersburg to everyone who talks about long escalators, bc a few there are 2x the length of Wheaton & it feels like you entered another dimension by the end. Obv "visit Russia" is not useful these days though

There's something so fascinating about an absurdly long escalator ride!

I'm joining the book buying enablers. Sometimes the soul just needs a good browse in your local shop!

Jay, I've got some acrylic yarn in various colors I've been looking to destash I can send, and I'll look at if I've got needles I don't use! Some of the skeins are not entirely full, but with plenty left and usually paired with a full skein in the same color - are partial skeins welcome?

The background is a beige that looks like parchment, with a smear of red ink or maybe blood on the upper left corner. In the center is an illustration of an industrial machine being smashed by two workers, one of whom holds a hammer over his head. That image has a big red X through it, around which the title is placed in the same red. The subtitle: "The Origins of the Rebellion Against Big Tech" is in black all caps font along the bottom. The authors name is at the top, above which is an endorsement from Farhad Manjoo that reads "Rich and absorbing...a revelation."

6. Blood in the Machine by Brian Merchant

A history of the Luddite movement, including the connections of famous politicians and authors (Lord Byron, Mary Shelley) to the movement. Really liked this one, although the modern connection at the end could have been more developed

White text stands out on a multicolored, almost fever dream-esque illustration of a forest. The foreground is full of flowers on a blueish bed of grass, and the background is tree trunks tinted red. The title and author's name are both in white text.

Bear by Julia Phillips

I loved Phillips' Disappearing Earth years ago, and was excited to read her latest. The atmosphere in this book is great, and the tension she builds between the sisters is fascinating. For some reason, though, this was a like and not a love. Can't put my finger on why

4. City of Laughter by Temim Fruchter

I saw Temim read from this last year & it has been waiting patiently on my shelf. A beautiful exploration of so many themes; including Jewishness, queerness, & the silences around family histories. Had me thinking about my own Polish grandmother's superstitions

On a dark green background, a structure that looks like a building on the outside and a staircase on the inside stands out. The bottom of the structure is brown and narrows to a point, widening at the top where it becomes all light green staircase. Two students are running on various parts of the staircase illusion, and pages that start in a stack on the top of the structure are flying away into the air. "#1 New York Times Bestselling Author of Babel" and "R.F. Kuang" are above the structure. "Katabasis" is at the bottom, overlapping the structure

3. Katabasis by R.F. Kuang

This was immersive & cerebral in the vein of Babel, without as much of the pseudo-academic structure. The main character was frustrating, but in a way that mostly made sense. I had fun hanging out with Alice and Peter in Hell. It isn't my favorite Kuang, but still good.

A scene of a dark, cobblestone street lit by lanterns hanging above the shop doors on either side of two 13-year-old children in the center of the cover. The girl holds her arm out for a bird to land on, the boy holds a book. In the background is a shoreline, and a full moon partially covered by clouds and in the center of which is the silhouette of a dragon. The title, "Chronicles of Whetherwhy: The Age of Enchantment" is below the children in gold letters that seem to stand off the page and also to shine. Two endorsements are on either side of the children. Katie Tsang, author of Dragon Mountain, says "Magical." Pari Thomson, author of Greenwild, says "An enthralling adventure."

2. Chronicles of Whetherwhy: The Age of Enchantment by Anna James.

First middle grade of the year, and this was a treat. A cute magic system, interesting sibling dynamics, and interesting lessons about "fairness" that are important in the times we live in.

A book cover with a background of several shades of green. On the lower left, angled to the middle, is the head of a white carousel horse with a gold mane and a multi-colored (but mostly blue) bridle. The title, "Quickly, While They Still Have Horses," is in all caps and a neon yellow-green. In the same font and color below that in a smaller size is "Stories." Below that, in the same font and size as the title, is the author's name, "Jan Carson." In small type near the horses nose is "Winner of the EU Prize for Literature."

1. Quickly, While They Still Have Horses

Jan Carson writes a fantastic short story. Favorite in the collection was Caravan, but so many of them are sticking with me two months later.

I always love seeing other people do these, so I'm starting a book thread for 2026.

Hot take: The doctor shouldn't be the one asking if it's ok if she uses AI to take patient notes. The power differential + patient anxiety + short appointment times means the patient feels pressure to say yes. It should be a question asked during check-in. (I wish it wasn't used at all, but...)

Katabasis is the most similar! Yellowface and The Poppy Wars trilogy are very different from the Babel/Katabasis dark academia thing, but both also very good.

The internet is collapsing the meanings of "nuanced" and "complicated/complex" all into the word "nuanced." Nuanced does not mean complicated! I will fight this battle with a red correction pen clutched in my hand & the attitude of an old man talking about walking uphill to school both ways

If you immediately credit people telling you you're bad at this but require more evidence when they tell you you're good at it, then it's just the imposter syndrome sticking around but feels like "oh yeah, finally I know for sure that I'm just bad at it"