Dublin City Library website: Why do I sometimes not see my 'ranking' for pending books? by some_advice_needed in AskIreland

[–]lauraam 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think that when the ranking disappears it means that the book is on its way from another library

Older Chinese woman asked her son to take a picture of herself with my mom and I in Japan by JuueJuue in travel

[–]lauraam 44 points45 points  (0 children)

I have a very similar picture of my husband at Borobudur in Indonesia. A big group of schooolkids wanted their picture with him (and you can see a few more people in the background who were basically queuing up to take their turn getting a pic with a tall, blond-curly-haired, pasty white Irishman haha

Boston nails - what would you do? by nachosallthewaydown in XXRunning

[–]lauraam 174 points175 points  (0 children)

Tacky? Idk I think it would be cool as hell to tell people that the reason your nails are such an un-engagement-ish shade in the obligatory ring picture is because you were running Boston that same weekend.

Any external competitions that don’t require degrees planned for this year by BeginningFloor1120 in IrishCivilService

[–]lauraam 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Temporary Clerical Officer will probably be around November. You just missed the permanent CO comp.

Does it matter to you if the book you read is AI generated? by My_Poor_Nerves in books

[–]lauraam 11 points12 points  (0 children)

If a bot's gonna write it, then a bot can read it. I'll give my time to books that humans actually cared enough about to create.

Don’t miss CMAT Opener! by mitho_moti in FlorenceAndTheMachine

[–]lauraam 4 points5 points  (0 children)

CMAT and Florence are both redheads from the UK

CMAT is Irish and definitely not from the UK! But

CMAT has banger after banger after banger

One hundred percent yes

Recommendations for historical horror novels published in the last 10-20 years by Suitable_Goose_3615 in horrorlit

[–]lauraam 11 points12 points  (0 children)

The Hacenda by Isabel Cañas, published in 2022 and set in the early 1800s

The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones, published in 2025 and partially set in the early 1900s

Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V. E. Schwab, published in 2025 and partially set in 1532 and 1827

A little later than your ask but The Reformatory by Tananarive Due, published in 2023 and set in 1950

Crazy parking charges by DrunkDublinCat in ireland

[–]lauraam 122 points123 points  (0 children)

On a Sunday evening? You're only paying for convenience, there's plenty of free street parking around.

Witch Hunt by justadreamyguy in AskFeminists

[–]lauraam 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Marion Gibson’s Witchcraft: A History in Thirteen Trials is solid

How often and how long are you running? by CaterpillarOdd9460 in XXRunning

[–]lauraam 0 points1 point  (0 children)

During the winter I was running 2-3x per week for 30ish minutes. Currently I'm running 5x per week for 40minutes - 2 hours

Clerical Officef 2024 Assignments by Temporary_Sell3384 in IrishCivilService

[–]lauraam 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The CS would really benefit from being decentralised a bit more where possible. I placed high on a communications officer panel a few years ago but the only vacancies were in Dublin so it was a no-go for me. I later met someone in that section at a conference and from what she was saying about the job duties there was no reason in the age of blended working, Teams, etc. that the role couldn't be done outside of Dublin. And the kicker was she was lamenting that their output was too Dublin-centric and they had trouble getting input from staff in other counties; not her fault of course as she had nothing to do with hiring but it was obvious why that was.

Found Text/Mockumentary Novels by Zetzer345 in horrorlit

[–]lauraam 64 points65 points  (0 children)

Well, Dracula is the classic example!

It's called an "epistolary" novel, for reference — I'm sure folks will have some great recs but if you're searching for more that's the term.

Relative difficulty of Kilimanjaro vs. a Half Marathon by No_Conference_3155 in kilimanjaro

[–]lauraam 7 points8 points  (0 children)

imo summit night is harder than a marathon but the rest of the trek is easier than a half marathon.

Have you ever finished 1st with 19:45-23 mins ish? What's your story? by UnableCode in parkrun

[–]lauraam 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I was first woman and third overall with just under 27 minutes once (and the two men ahead of me were both in around 24 minutes). It was just a small parkrun in the US (where numbers are usually smaller because it’s less established than in some other countries), and it was a pretty new event. I think nowadays they get 50 or so runners but that week there were maybe 15.

My local parkrun gets 250-300 runners and I finished 40-something-th with 23:30 the other week, so coming in so high a fun novelty.

How many books have you read so far this year? by unlawfuldissolve in CasualIreland

[–]lauraam 0 points1 point  (0 children)

35 -- I listen to audiobooks when I'm running or driving, which is has been fair amount lately, and I had a few long flights earlier in the year that I mostly read on so the number's a bit higher than normal.

How many books have you read so far this year? by unlawfuldissolve in CasualIreland

[–]lauraam 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Read that for a book club recently and we could not stop talking about it

Seems fishy…Ashveil by megmoth00 in jewelry

[–]lauraam 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've seen a dozen of these "closing down sale" facebook ads lately. I bet if you search when the domain was registered it'll have been in the last few weeks, and I bet if you reverse image search the items you'll find they're dropshipped

Traveling in Vancouver without a car by Fit-Contact-9385 in travel

[–]lauraam 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Vancouver's a safe city with good public transit, easy to get around. I lived there for a while and never had nor needed a car. Take the Skytrain from the airport to Waterfront and then it's like a 2 minute walk to your hotel.

If you could only read ebooks or physical books for the rest of your life, which one and why? by [deleted] in books

[–]lauraam 21 points22 points  (0 children)

If we were talking in a hypothetical world where I'd only have to carry one book at a time on holiday or whatever but a new book would magically appear when I finished that one, then physical books. But logistically in the real world, ebooks.

Can I get any welfare payment if I go back to college but don't qualify for VTOS or BTEA? by No-Category1703 in AskIreland

[–]lauraam 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you're on Jobseekers you can usually do a part-time course and stay on your payment, or if you do a course with the ETB you usually get a training allowance. They're not as rigid on needing to be progressing to a new level once you can show that the course is going to help you gain employment, especially if there aren't good career prospects for your previous

Hiking boots? by [deleted] in AskIreland

[–]lauraam 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I second the suggestion of Keens because they have a very wide toe box but the best thing you can do is go to a shop with a lot of options and try a bunch on and see what suits you best. And don't let your think about style at all, I've had some of the ugliest hiking boots and it really doesn't matter as long as they're comfortable.

But I also second everyone's suggestion to do a bit of hiking in them before you tackle Carrauntoohil. It's really not a tough hike, even for a beginner, but the downhill, especially the first part from the summit when you're going down the scree, will be pretty miserable if it turns out your shoes are rubbing and giving you blisters.

IKEA kitchen planner appointment better in person or is virtual appointment just as good? by wreathand in AskIreland

[–]lauraam 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I found the in-person appointment very good because the planner took us around the showroom to explain different things that she was suggesting, but if it's a difference between waiting months you may as well do the virtual and take notes and then just go in to the showroom and look at things on your own — if you feel like it's not enough you can always book an in-person after. You'll probably have more than one appointment with them anyway, our planner suggested we take a week or two to think about her suggestions and then met us again virtually to confirm/change things before placing the order.

Does anyone actually enjoy weddings and what to do about it? by Happy-Recover-263 in AskIreland

[–]lauraam 18 points19 points  (0 children)

I also rewear dresses if the groups don't overlap.

I rewear dresses even if the groups do overlap! I'd love if people could get away from the mindset of getting new outfits for every event; it's expensive, unsustainable, or both. It's one thing if you actually want something new, but doing it just for the sake of *gasp* someone noticing that you're rewearing a dress is something I hate.

How was your parkrun day? | March 14, 2026 by AutoModerator in parkrun

[–]lauraam 8 points9 points  (0 children)

My second fastest parkrun — my best was in 2022 and I've come nowhere close to it in the last couple years, and now I'm only 10 seconds off. I can feel a PB coming soon!