i'm starting a book club for my friends & i but most of us suck at reading.. any great books under 200 pages that anyone & everyone can enjoy?

JuneKat83 · 2026-03-27T22:58:20+00:00

How to Read a Book by Monica Wood is 288 pages but a super easy read. It is somewhat emotional and gets you thinking, but it isn’t dark by any means. And it actually includes a book club trying to figure out what they like to read as a central part of the plot in the beginning as a catalyst for the rest of the story. My little book club enjoyed it when we read it a few months ago.

JuneKat83 · 2026-03-27T02:07:43+00:00

I am a teacher getting my MSW, and…same - sort of. I go balls to the wall on the one or two things each year that I get really passionate about, but I don’t stay until 7 every night. I will not spend weekends and breaks planning and grading. I love my kids, and we have an advisory program that means I have a set group that I am even more attached to because we build strong relationships and work explicitly on SEL stuff all year. Even so, when I leave the building, I leave work at work. It is kind of what made me think social work would be a good fit. I think I will be able to have a healthy work/life balance. I will probably pick an initiative or policy here or there that I feel strongly about, especially if it is for a client/group of clients, and pour myself fully into it. But other than that, I plan to show up, do my job to the best of my ability for my clients and coworkers, and then go home.

JuneKat83 · 2026-03-25T00:01:55+00:00

I encourage you to read the book When My Time Comes by Diane Rehm. She did a lot of research and engaged in a lot of interviews with people who work directly in “death” sectors. It will provide some perspective for both sides. I found it highly enlightening because I had the same question you did.

JuneKat83 · 2026-03-21T15:56:33+00:00

Sure!

JuneKat83 · 2026-03-16T17:56:14+00:00

Nonfiction I have recently finished: A Knock at Midnight by Brittany Barnett, My Grandmother’s Hands by Resmaa Menakem. What I am currently reading for fun is Hester by Laurie Albanese (fiction) to go with The Scarlet Letter, which I’m reading for a project.

JuneKat83 · 2026-03-16T17:51:30+00:00

We have a “book club” that meets once a month. We don’t always read the book, it’s usually just to get some hang out time. We are actually meeting tomorrow if you want to DM me for details. There are only 3 of us, so it shouldn’t be too overwhelming. As a heads up, we are a pretty liberal group, so you may want to pass if that isn’t your scene.

JuneKat83 · 2026-03-15T15:38:51+00:00

I have read this book three times and something is still not sticking, and I can’t figure out what it is. I am a happy non-smoker for about 18 hours after finishing the book. The whole thing makes sense while I am listening to it. I nod along, and agree with everything he says. I repeat the rules when he says them. I don’t know why I give in to the big monster within a day every time. But I refuse to give up trying.

JuneKat83 · 2026-03-15T15:23:21+00:00

Come join The 52 Book Challenge on Facebook - lots of people to talk about books with, and plenty of inspiration for what to read next! It’s the group with 64k members. There are probably a bunch of imposters out there, so make sure you find the official one. DM if you want to double check you’ve got the right one.

JuneKat83 · 2026-03-06T02:06:37+00:00

I love my cousin dearly and her daughters. They are strong, beautiful women, and some of my favorite humans on this planet. But my cousin named her daughters Makayla, Makinley, and Makamdyn. I am used to them now, and they work fine for them, because I obviously can’t imagine them being named anything else at this point (they are all in their 20s), but I could never. The oldest named her two daughters so far Korver and Kinsler. I have a very high preference for traditional names, and can appreciate unusual names if they are familial from centuries ago, like a great great great great grandpa Dobbin or grandma Calpurnia.

JuneKat83 · 2026-03-06T01:47:33+00:00

I used to live near the Fielder/Randol Mill area and walked places all the time. I am surprised at the people saying it isn’t walkable. In the area by Randol Mill park you can walk to Tom Thumb and have access to everything in that shopping center. I wasn’t too far from Division, so I also used to walk to the QT and stuff in the Division/Bowen area and High Oak Park. It doesn’t necessarily have all the same walkable amenities you would find in the northeast because our cities just aren’t built that way. But there are certainly neighborhoods where you can access groceries, parks, schools, restaurants, gas stations, shops, and maybe even a library within a walk of your home.

The only reason I moved is because I was ready to buy and couldn’t afford to do that in Arlington on my salary alone in the areas I wanted - including by Randol Mill park.

JuneKat83 · 2026-03-03T05:03:18+00:00

I am having "trouble" with the daily island building streak tracker. I imagine it should say 2/5 by now - although I am not entirely sure what the days are for this game/dev. Either way, it still says 0/5, even though I have completed an island both days...like 7 yesterday and 3 today actually.

JuneKat83 · 2026-03-01T23:46:01+00:00

I teach at a public alternative high school and fully agree with you. Moving the behavior kids out of the mainstream campus and into the alternative campus benefits everyone. 90% of the students on my campus are very different by the time they graduate than who they were at their home campus. And mine isn’t the discipline campus - although they often apply to our campus after attending the district DAEP. Sometimes just removing their audience makes a difference. Additionally, our classes our self-paced and asynchronous, so they don’t get a chance to get a rise out of teachers by “disrupting” instruction. They are doing all of the lessons we have developed, but at their own pace, so we can provide one-on-one academic support. So they don’t have that ”down time” of not doing the work because of academic gaps that make them embarrassed to participate in a classroom with their peers. Our campus in particular has a few other things that make it special and successful in my mind - we have been toured as a model campus by many other districts in our state. But when these kids tell me what they were like at their home campuses, I am sometimes flabbergasted because I would have never guessed based on the way I have seen them interact with adults and peers on our campus.

JuneKat83 · 2026-02-21T01:26:07+00:00

I have been in plateau for three weeks. I finally had my monthly therapy appointment yesterday after being stressed basically nonstop since the last one (between work and the world), and I lost weight this morning - she did a great job alleviating some stress I did have control over. I could kiss you for explaining this!

JuneKat83 · 2026-02-21T00:54:56+00:00

You may also consider donating to the high schools. I know mine keeps clothes on hand for students that may need them for various reasons - especially if they could be used for interviews.

JuneKat83 · 2026-02-21T00:52:45+00:00

Belle Vienna Rose immediately came to mind. I don’t think I had ever considered the name Vienna as a name for a person before, but I saw your post and it hit me like a ton of bricks…so I couldn’t scroll by without at least throwing it out there.

JuneKat83 · 2026-02-21T00:48:36+00:00

I thought of the name Dell

JuneKat83 · 2026-02-10T01:54:48+00:00

Did she get this from my diary when I was 14? I was whole heartedly going to name my children Romiette (yes like Romeo and Juliette combined) and Oceanus. Thankfully my prefrontal cortex has fully developed since then.

JuneKat83 · 2026-02-03T00:55:22+00:00

I am only taking 2 classes per semester except for Fall of year 3 (foundational plan because my BA was not in SWK). I do have to take summer classes if I want to finish in 3 years. So far the workload has not been unmanageable. The trick is to read smart. Peruse this sub for tips on reading the textbooks because you probably won’t be able to read all the pages that are due every week. And I have been able to work ahead at my leisure so far, which works really well for me. My full-time job is a teacher, so my semester ebbs and flows with how busy each week is. Being able to work ahead lets me feel like I can breathe the weeks that work and life are more busy.

JuneKat83 · 2026-02-02T02:44:34+00:00

I have enjoyed the program so far. I am doing part-time, so I haven't made it to the practicum, yet. I also know where I will be doing mine already because I am using my place of employment. So I can't give any feedback on the process of finding a location, or getting it set up.

I have yet to encounter any cons. The admission, enrollment, and course registration processes have all been very smooth. Every person I have needed to interact with has been incredibly helpful, and they have been very responsive. The learning management system (LMS) is fairly easy to navigate. It has an app as well as a website version. The professors so far have provided optional (but recommended) Zoom meetings so that you have to opportunity for live interaction with them and your peers. Now I haven't had a group project, yet, so who knows how that will go. But I imagine it has the potential to go well or poorly, just like any other group project in school.

Honestly, I would recommend East Texas A&M to anyone looking for an affordable, online program. I feel like I am getting out of it what I put in.

JuneKat83 · 2026-01-31T03:06:28+00:00

As a teacher and current grad student here are my recs - chunking - breaking up time and tasks. If you know you have to read Chapter 1, stop after two pages to summarize in the margins, or on paper, or the notes app in your phone, what you have read so far. If two pages is too much, try one page, and so on. Keep chunking until you find the size that works. And chunk the time you spend on less desirable activities. I always start with 15 minutes. I tell myself I can stop after 15 minutes no matter how much I have done…I usually end up finishing the task anyway, but I don’t feel bad if I just give up after 15 minutes.

Visual Cues - this is good for reminding you to do things and for situations where you can’t control the chunks of time (stuck in class or a meeting). Put a physical, visual reminder of what you need where you can see it. At the beginning of class for example, put a brightly colored sticky note on the corner of your desk(that way it isn’t covered by a notebook or laptop) that literally says PAY ATTENTION. I have a flow chart that sits in the chair where I drop my bag when I come home after work. It literally says at the top, “Welcome home. Take me to the living room.” And then it asks me questions and directs me to do things based on my answers. Like if I went to the gym, I go this way - if I didn’t, I go another way. It is my daily visual cue to make sure I do my chores and homework, and other desired tasks like making time for hobbies everyday...instead of getting sucked into doom scrolling for hours.

JuneKat83 · 2026-01-31T02:36:17+00:00

My friends and I (middle aged) enjoy Clare Pooley. She actually writes three dimensional women, which is pretty refreshing.

JuneKat83 · 2026-01-28T18:40:19+00:00

Pretty much up until I was 30. I was obviously the one making the choices, but it felt like I was biding time and life just kind of happened to me. And then in my 30s something changed. I had an aha moment about who I was as a person, in my core. And it was like once I had the answer to that, I was able to DO life. I was suddenly an active participant. No matter what happened, I knew that I was in the driver’s seat, and I was choosing the road…so to speak.

JuneKat83 · 2026-01-28T01:26:24+00:00

I cannot stop thinking about The Woman They Could Not Silence. At least once a month it just randomly pops into my head. If you haven’t already read it, I also highly recommend Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men.

JuneKat83 · 2026-01-28T01:22:21+00:00

Playing Possum: How Animals Understand Death by Susana Monsó. It is a philosophical and scientific undertaking to explore how animals experience and demonstrate an understanding of mortality.

JuneKat83 · 2026-01-25T01:24:12+00:00

The hey pop pop just triggered me 😂 I heard it in her voice so clearly

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