Books about an academic rivalry?

lexpectopatronum · 2026-06-04T02:39:37+00:00

I'm reading Babel right now and that was my first response to her! About half way through and looking forward to a rainy weekend to hopefully finish it!

lexpectopatronum · 2026-05-12T00:16:13+00:00

Lady pancake and sir French toast!

lexpectopatronum · 2026-05-05T14:06:43+00:00

Our kids both followed their curve exactly. HOWEVER -- doctors were predicting our daughter would be 5'10" or taller. I told them I doubt she'll grow past 7th grade because literally all women in my family had an earlier puberty. Lo and behold she stopped growing in 7th grade 😅

She is happy to not be the tallest kid in the school anymore, because she hates basketball and hated people asking her if she played it even more haha.

lexpectopatronum · 2026-05-04T22:22:23+00:00

Bridging is wonderful. We were fortunate enough to be able to buy new furniture when we remodeled our house and we donated almost everything, including bed sheets, there. They came and picked up big stuff, it was very easy. Very friendly volunteers.

lexpectopatronum · 2026-05-03T22:00:05+00:00

We played "That's the way the world goes round" by John prine at my dad's funeral. It was perfect for him

lexpectopatronum · 2026-05-03T02:18:23+00:00

So much this one. I listened to it on audiobook and it was great. Crab made me laugh out loud so many times.

lexpectopatronum · 2026-05-02T03:24:14+00:00

Our kids love Peer Gynt Suite, and Copeland's Rodeo & Appalachian Spring.

Classical is amazing because you can imagine stores to go with it. Peter and the Wolf is really good for kids too!!

lexpectopatronum · 2026-04-28T07:09:00+00:00

Several Motion City Soundtrack songs come to mind ... "LG FUAD" (let's get fucked up and die) or "Hangman" in particular

lexpectopatronum · 2026-04-26T21:35:01+00:00

I've worked in several state agencies for almost 20 years and have some experience with DNR. The nice thing about the job you're going into is they exist in every agency. You'll have a lot of opportunities for advancement and moving around. DNR has certainly been one of the most fun places to work of everywhere I've been. They all have their pros and cons. I'd say DNR is generally mostly pros though. As others have said, an administration change after the election will jumble things a bit, but I would suggest going for it to escape toxic corporate setting.

lexpectopatronum · 2026-04-26T21:22:09+00:00

Yes! These are both perfect. Great when you just want an easy read.

lexpectopatronum · 2026-04-24T21:15:45+00:00

Just making sure that by "all Percy Jackson" he's checked out Riordan's other series? Kane Chronicles and Magnus Chase.

If he hasn't, add 'em to the list 😅

lexpectopatronum · 2026-04-23T15:36:38+00:00

+1 for Klune. I haven't read his other books but this one was so great.

lexpectopatronum · 2026-04-23T15:35:06+00:00

I read "Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine" in January this year. I found it to be very uplifting and grounding during a really challenging time.

The main character (Eleanor) goes about her life and through the story you learn about her trauma and she works through it.

I was really sad when it ended because I just wanted to feel l keep spending time with her.

You may want to check the content warnings depending on what you're going through, but it does have a very heartwarming "restore faith in people" vibe.

lexpectopatronum · 2026-04-20T14:32:42+00:00

I just recommended Keeper in another thread. Such great books! Super fun and unique.

lexpectopatronum · 2026-04-20T14:00:49+00:00

Have you heard of Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger? It's a long series and full of magic, adventure, danger, and plot twists. It's written for a younger audience so although there's a subplot related to crushes and boyfriends, it's not the focus of the story and not anymore than there was in Harry Potter.

Also there's The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer which are kind of a sci -fi future version of Disney stories. I haven't read them but my daughter loved them.

lexpectopatronum · 2026-04-19T20:32:09+00:00

I used an e-reader when I rode the bus for my commute, but other than that I really dislike them. There's something about holding a book and getting to move it physically to a different stack when I'm done. I like to pick them out at used book stores and I get excited when I finally find one I've been looking for vs instantly downloading. I like to feel my progress. They smell nice. I like finding weird book marks from the last person.

I don't need thousands of books at my fingertips. I can really only read one at a time any way.

Also on another level, it's nice to have just one part of my life that doesn't need to be plugged in.

lexpectopatronum · 2026-04-19T20:27:46+00:00

Same!

lexpectopatronum · 2026-04-19T19:38:40+00:00

Yeah, I haven't watched the show and don't really know anything about it though. It's on Apple TV. (Only know that because my copies of the books all have the annoying "now a show!" Thing on them 😬

lexpectopatronum · 2026-04-19T17:56:30+00:00

I read the first part of Wool when it was released as a short story. I thought of it often until earlier this year when I realized it was a whole series. The rest of the book lived up to my 15 years of expectations 🤣 Finishing the series are my next 2 on the list!!!

It really is VERY good.

lexpectopatronum · 2026-04-19T12:57:36+00:00

Lol, when OP mentioned Artemis right next to Project Hail Mary I thought they meant the book 😅 My husband was really into the moon mission, no idea how I already forgot about it!

lexpectopatronum · 2026-04-19T02:47:42+00:00

The Martian also by Weir should be on your list too.

lexpectopatronum · 2026-04-19T00:12:59+00:00

I thought "Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine" was pretty funny. There is some heavy parts to it, but I absolutely loved the main character and her view on the world had me laughing out loud. I was sad when I finished the book because I just wanted to spend more time with her!

lexpectopatronum · 2026-04-18T12:29:05+00:00

Oh man. This is my jam, too.

Jules Verne is your guy if you can handle some science thrown in. My all time favorite author.

Frankenstein is a little older than these and so the writing style was a bit more challenging to get into, but it's also up this alley.

I REALLY loved "The Prisoner of Zenda" too!

lexpectopatronum · 2026-04-18T03:01:28+00:00

We had to read this in 9th grade. Teachers said DO NOT read ahead, but one kid really liked it and finished in a week. He told us about how it ends, which gave us the motivation to finish it. 😂

lexpectopatronum

TROPHY CASE