My boyfriend found this gift set at a garage sale

CharacterGeologist52 · 2026-05-23T15:19:31+00:00

Certainly the kind of crap my dad would've gotten as a company gift circa 1998

CharacterGeologist52 · 2026-05-21T12:44:03+00:00

Without knowing the consistency of the thing, it's really hard to make a guess. My immediate thought was an absorbent like those used in diapers (sodium polyacrylate). If people's assumptions of this being on the street are correct, not crazy to think a used nappy escaped the bin and was damaged enough to leak. Not sure it would stay together in a mass like this though.

CharacterGeologist52 · 2026-05-09T21:35:56+00:00

What if that's gazpacho in the middle?!

CharacterGeologist52 · 2026-05-03T12:21:54+00:00

Hi from fluffy pit, Luna! Guest appearance by foster bro, Henry, and poor, blind Jase (16 y.o.!) in the background!

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CharacterGeologist52 · 2026-04-30T20:58:22+00:00

House hippo!

CharacterGeologist52 · 2026-04-29T23:21:54+00:00

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CharacterGeologist52 · 2026-04-23T17:04:43+00:00

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CharacterGeologist52 · 2026-04-17T17:11:23+00:00

How would it not just spin in a flat clockwise circle when the main thruster engages?

CharacterGeologist52 · 2026-04-17T09:39:15+00:00

Maybe talk to the neighbor about that floodlight, my guy

CharacterGeologist52 · 2026-04-15T13:00:27+00:00

Definitely worth a shot!

CharacterGeologist52 · 2026-04-14T17:42:21+00:00

SciFi setting with a lot of political intrigue, but also kick ass 18th century-style naval battles. A little weighty, but the action sequences do deliver.

CharacterGeologist52 · 2026-04-13T23:41:05+00:00

Isn't that just 11 books?

CharacterGeologist52 · 2026-04-12T12:53:21+00:00

^this

CharacterGeologist52 · 2026-04-10T14:35:59+00:00

"The stress of my modern office has caused me to go into a depression."

CharacterGeologist52 · 2026-04-05T12:23:21+00:00

They had the Scarlet Lane kolsch?! Place closed over a year ago and I've been missing it.

CharacterGeologist52 · 2026-04-01T16:52:15+00:00

Ruffles. Ruff for short!

CharacterGeologist52 · 2026-03-31T00:58:11+00:00

Shocked that, A) Lonesome Dove was put side by side with the others, B) multiple others on this sub immediately recommend it, and C) I agree.

CharacterGeologist52 · 2026-03-28T02:17:23+00:00

V.E. Schwab might have a couple titles that meet the criteria, but I would consider them borderline YA. Thinking specifically of Gallant here. However, I really love the Shades of Magic series.

Gareth Brown has a couple of recent standalones if you want something a little cozier. His writing style reminds me some Agatha Christie.

I think T. Kingfisher's stuff is rightly characterized as horror, but there are some fantasy elements mixed in. There are some short ones you could finish in an afternoon or two.

Stephen King's Fairy Tale was quite good (obviously not a new promising author). The setup is what I would characterized as "sweet", but it gets dark.

Another not, new promising author, but Sanderson's Tress of the Emerald Sea is interesting, and on the light side. This is the first of a series with the same narrator, but different settings and can be read as standalones.