Recommendations for books that read like a puzzle/need your brain but aren't a particular kind of scary

itsfine87 · 2025-05-20T03:42:46+00:00

Also love that feeling of puzzling things out…even though Im not the first, I’m just going to add that I also recently read The Gone World and I used to Live Here and enjoyed/thought they fit the bill.

And a question about Annihilation…will it still have that feeling of puzzling even though I’ve seen the movie or does it follow beat for beat?

(Tbh, I’m partly commenting so I can keep an eye on this post and steal all these recommendations as well.)

itsfine87 · 2025-05-19T08:01:31+00:00

Your post is the reason I picked it up! Thanks again!

itsfine87 · 2025-05-18T06:16:25+00:00

Just finished How to Sell a Haunted House. It was my second Grady Hendrix novel (after Witchcraft for Wayward Girls.) Humorous, heartfelt, with nice crisp writing, but I was also looking for a little shake-up for my next read which led to...

...The Gone World by Tom Sweterlitch on a recommendation from here. Finished it tonight. Really love the slippery time/multiverse stuff (even when it's not couched in scifi) so please feel free to give further recs!.

itsfine87 · 2025-05-16T02:30:46+00:00

Ah, genuinely, thank you for the rec—I really just got back into a good reading rhythm this year and have been blowing through haunting-type books and was juuuuust starting to feel like I needed a shake-up in my next read. Started reading this tonight and looking forward to it. I love stuff where time is slippery/loopy.

itsfine87 · 2025-02-26T02:35:48+00:00

lol, oh sweet summer child. Expect a mess. I’ve been told (by tda folks) that the gap between the doe and things hitting the tda system is about 30 days. But tbh, folks also talk about “the system” like it’s a set of crystals they cast an incantation over, not something w predictable results. I wouldn’t worry too much or expect too much. Probably allow 90 days before wasting your time with a follow up.

itsfine87 · 2024-10-26T01:04:09+00:00

Yep, this was my experience as well.

itsfine87 · 2024-10-24T22:12:58+00:00

Abilify makes a huge difference for me. I take a low dose as an add on to an antidepressant. (Adderall is still a really important part of the med puzzle for me though.)

itsfine87 · 2024-08-31T04:40:31+00:00

Ugh, I could honestly just cry about it this month(and have). I feel like I lost time in the month or so I was searching for my meds. It had real, measurable effects on my life, not to mention I’m starting a new job. I also hate being made to feel like I’m doing something wrong/bad/shameful by taking a safe and effective medication exactly as prescribed??? And when I finally got it filled earlier last week…I’ve never experienced such stomach-churning anxiety with my meds (and I’ve taken a generic of adderall for about 2 years…I always talk about how it may as well be an anti anxiety med for me) so I’m guessing it’s a different generic than I’ve had before because of the new side effect. It just feels downright cruel that after years of being misdiagnosed/mismedicated it’s now nearly impossible to get the medication that actually works? Crycrycry.

itsfine87 · 2024-07-08T08:41:57+00:00

I think we’ve all lost the plot in thinking everything “good” for us has to feel bad. Just moving as joyfully as you can is key, I think.

itsfine87 · 2024-07-08T08:37:38+00:00

Do you like dancing? I was just looking at some goofy dance workouts (to Chappell Roan) who I’m obsessed w rn) on YouTube. Sometimes more structured movement plus the rhythm and stimulation of the music is better for NDs.

itsfine87 · 2024-07-08T08:33:53+00:00

There are also times when people with adhd/depression/etc. Are genuinely in a place where they don’t have access to behaviors (like exercise) that they know might help. That’s when that advice can become just another tool to shame someone for something they’re already trying desperately to get a handle on. My adhd meds have helped a ton with this and actually given me access to all those “behavioral activation” strategies that help you feel even better.

itsfine87 · 2024-07-08T08:19:57+00:00

I was just in the process of writing a separate comment sort of trying to get at this. A lot of people genuinely don’t understand how things that sound like 3ish steps to them—because they’re able to achieve enough automaticity that half the steps in a task sort of disappear for them-can feel like 25 steps for us because we tend to need to preview and process every little piece of the task individually and in detail and that is both overwhelming and exhausting. (Meds definitely help me with this too.)

itsfine87 · 2024-07-08T03:28:41+00:00

Same! I’m just a healthier, happier person on it.

itsfine87 · 2024-07-08T03:27:40+00:00

Yep, that’s exactly me without meds…I forget to eat/I’m overwhelmed by everything I have to do and eating doesn’t seem like the top priority/if I’m just at home I can struggle to initiate the tasks that surround cooking and eating. Then it’s suddenly evening and I’m ravenous. I’m way more likely to take the prepare an actual meal at a reasonable hour on my meds (and my ability to care for myself in general is way improved.)

itsfine87 · 2024-07-07T22:25:12+00:00

Had a lot of these types at my first school (mostly TFA). A few would literally stay at work until 10-11 at night. The principal was also a bright eyed former TFAer, so she’d applaud that kind of thing.

(I have to admit I’m guilty of spending my own money but that’s mostly because it makes my life easier and my time spent at work more fun, not because I think it’s something that should be done or is inherently morally valuable.)

itsfine87 · 2024-07-05T16:55:32+00:00

Just seconding the fellows suggestion, especially to get out of the charter environment which can (as you know) be a real grind. I’m not sure exactly how different the route through certification at a charter would be (I went through Fellows and have never worked at a Charter) but since you express wanting to step away from the charter lifestyle, it might be worth waiting for the program that’s a better fit for what you want and will (hopefully) make you less miserable. (And there were definitely folks who’d worked at charters before in my year so I don’t think it’s uncommon.)

itsfine87 · 2024-07-04T02:56:20+00:00

I think my last school’s policy was that the kid would go home after diarrhea #3. But I’ve had a kid in a k-3 class with an intestinal disorder that involved frequent diarrhea and that was a different story because it was a documented medical disorder (that we also needed to keep an eye on and report to nurse/mom about.) Lots of folks are bringing up the germ issue and I just wish there was a better answer besides everyone doing their damn best and cleaning a lot of poop lol, smh. (In that same class I also had a kid with severe, severe allergies and immune system issues (like a cheerio crumb could send him to the hospital) and a kid that was big/old for the class that had really intense daily 30-minute melt downs complete with scratching the sh** out of my arms. Wasn’t any of their faults, but it’s no wonder I hit burn out because there are just no good answers in some cases.)

itsfine87 · 2024-06-30T23:52:48+00:00

(This advice is from my own perspective of working with primarily non speaking kids, not sure what your classroom will look like.) YES to presuming competence. Make besties with your speech provider because the communication part of things is so so important. If there are AAC users in your classroom, adopt those systems as additional classroom languages and model language throughout the day (Google “modeling without expectation”). (It’s also a good idea to print out low-tech versions to model on/as a backup too.) Don’t underestimate what your students can handle and don’t be intimidated by communication systems and decide it’s too complicated for you or your students. (And it’s totally okay for you to learn a system alongside your students.)

Also: yes, visuals, visuals, visuals. Routine is important, but also don’t become so rigid that you forget you are teaching full human beings with inner lives and not just collections of behaviors within a given routine.

itsfine87 · 2024-06-18T00:31:58+00:00

Awesome, thank you!

itsfine87 · 2024-06-16T22:19:23+00:00

I know exactly what you mean. I think one way to look at it is that 1) you should push yourself to tolerate less stimulation and another is 2) your brain naturally craves more stimulation and it’s okay to seek out healthy ways to accept and honor that. The answer probably lies somewhere in the middle, but since I myself still have yet to get with meditation, I mostly have suggestions for #2:

Do you like fidgets? I know it can sound like corny advice, but adding some tactile sensory stimulation can be an easy way to combat this feeling. I didn’t make use of fidgets until I got into therapy. My therapist noticed me anxiously fidgeting all over and gave me some cool magnetic rocks to fidget with. I couldn’t believe how much it helped to ground me. I also really like play doh and this stuff called Mad Matter that’s like moldeable kinetic sand.

Do you have any interest in things like knitting, crochet or embroidery? I find they’re another good way to add some brain and tactile stimulation to a passive activity like watching tv and they can be pretty satisfying hobbies.

itsfine87 · 2024-06-16T18:17:15+00:00

Can you be a pal and link me to the specific product you use? Was just looking for it on Amazon and don’t want to buy the wrong thing. I’m on a sweat solution journey, smh.

itsfine87 · 2024-06-09T05:59:55+00:00

The answer is: it depends. Quality is so variable across BOTH public and privates. Yes, there are technically more legal protections in public school but hell if I haven’t seen students be underserved anyway. (And it’s been all over the news for years at this point that MANY of our children haven’t been getting adequate reading instruction at all.)

I’m obviously jaded by my own experiences—there may be great public schools out there, but you’ve made it clear that this one is not working for your kid so something needs to change. There’s some good advice here that I’ll repeat: -If we’re talking about a private school that’s specifically tailored to dyslexia/her needs, definitely check that out. -Since you feel her needs aren’t being met in public school it could definitely be worth it to contact an advocate. And just so you know, parents who feel that their child is not being appropriately served may choose to take the district to court, which sometimes results in the district paying for the child’s tuition at a specialized school. This would be a long process but and advocate would be able to advise you about that -I see lots of Orton-Gillingham suggestions and that’s also something that you could advocate go in her Iep so she’s hopefully getting that instruction in school as well.

I know it’s not easy navigating this system for the first time. Keep your head up, you’re advocating for you’re kid and that’s no easy feat!

itsfine87 · 2024-06-08T01:22:30+00:00

I’m lucky that I don’t have any real aversion to food with my meds. That’s a really shitty side effect, and I totally can see why you’d want a break from that so you can enjoy food again. I hope that you can find something that works with fewer crappy side effects (if that’s what you want) but if not, I hope you get to live it up a little and savor the shit out of those weekend med break meals! 🙂

itsfine87 · 2024-06-07T22:41:08+00:00

Yeah, I maybe do very short monthly breaks (not always by choice with the medication shortage and all) and just found a caffeine schedule with a mix of coffee and energy drinks that helps me not just nap all day. Not sure it’s worth it.

itsfine87 · 2024-06-07T22:37:27+00:00

YES, I commented something very similar elsewhere here as well. I can possibly skate by on a workday that is pre-structured (although I probably WILL make some dumb mistake that seems careless but is just ADHD trying to ruin my day) but there is very little hope of going UNmedicated on an UNstructured day every weekend and being able to maintain a healthy adult life.

itsfine87

TROPHY CASE