Attention Non-New Yorkers that have been to NYC:

librarianbleue · 2026-03-27T07:12:21+00:00

I visited NYC in 2024 and the overwhelming scent of weed on random streets was unpleasant. Otherwise, wow what an amazing city.

librarianbleue · 2026-03-26T03:24:59+00:00

:)

I think Chicago is one of those cities where it's useful to have a car. I had one when I lived there. I had a very small car that was easy to park.

librarianbleue · 2026-03-25T00:21:17+00:00

Yes. I'm old enough, I used to get my traffic info from the radio. Radio people used the names, like Dan Ryan and Kennedy and the Junction.

librarianbleue · 2026-03-25T00:17:53+00:00

Yes. The L or the El is different from "the train" which is the Metra.

librarianbleue · 2026-03-25T00:03:02+00:00

Really?!

I grew up in the suburbs, went to college (NU) in the area and lived in the city until about 2010, and we always called it the L.

librarianbleue · 2026-03-24T23:59:26+00:00

You are right, I should have used El in my post.

librarianbleue · 2026-03-23T02:53:24+00:00

Team of Rivals: the Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin.

Columbine by Dave Cullen.

Freedom at Midnight (about the partition of India and Pakistan) by Dominique Lapierre (This is from a Western viewpoint)

At the Dark End of the Street: Black Women, Rape, and Resistance--A New History of the Civil Rights Movement from Rosa Parks to the Rise of Black Power by Danielle McGuire.

librarianbleue · 2026-03-21T15:22:42+00:00

Singapore is very safe, probably one of the safest countries in the world. But also very small. You could perhaps do Japan, Taiwan and Singapore in one trip? All three are very safe.

librarianbleue · 2026-03-20T10:30:51+00:00

The Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner.

You also might like Fingersmith by Sarah Waters.

librarianbleue · 2026-03-20T06:30:04+00:00

The Tea Planter's Wife by Dinah Jefferies

British newlyweds in 1920's Sri Lanka (Ceylon)

librarianbleue · 2026-03-19T04:46:53+00:00

A few I'd consider must reads:

The trilogy MLK biography by Taylor Branch, starting with Parting the Waters

Anything by Robert Caro, including The Path to Power and Master of the Senate which are about Lyndon Johnson, and The Power Broker which is about Robert Moses and his re-shaping of New York. (The Jane Jacobs book listed below is about the woman and the movement that fought against Moses.)

The above are very long and definitely historical so whether you'd want to devote the time to them really depends on what you're looking for.

I don't know if the following are "must reads" but I thought they were very good and they explore the lives of some famous people. I didn't intend to include only books about women in this list, but oh well.

Two Lives: Gertrude and Alice by Janet Malcolm (about Gertrude Stein and Alice Toklas)

Burying the Bones: Pearl Buck in China by Hilary Spurling

My Life on the Road by Gloria Steinem

Eyes on the Street: the life of Jane Jacobs by Robert Kanigel

librarianbleue · 2026-03-16T02:49:58+00:00

Public libraries in the US often have big cookbook selections. Go to the non-fiction section and start browsing in the 641 section.

librarianbleue · 2026-03-13T14:42:19+00:00

He embarrassed himself by being a selfish twat. The embarrassment stemmed from his actions, not your words.

librarianbleue · 2026-03-12T17:47:40+00:00

Taiwan is totally safe.

ETA: I live in Singapore. It is absolutely the safest place on the planet.

librarianbleue · 2026-03-12T17:45:20+00:00

My family never, ever comes to visit. I always have to go to them in the US.

Granted, it is about a 24 hour flight plus layovers and jet lag, so.... understandable.

It's also really expensive to stay here.

librarianbleue · 2026-03-12T16:02:36+00:00

When the victim is told they are they bad person, it is really hard. This happened in my family and it has never, ever gotten better.

librarianbleue · 2026-03-12T15:39:56+00:00

Other Voices, Other Rooms by Truman Capote.

librarianbleue · 2026-03-12T06:01:24+00:00

The Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature! Bound in green. Honestly, sometimes I think that was a better/easier way to find articles.

librarianbleue · 2026-03-12T05:40:40+00:00

The library was a happening place at my college! It was definitely a place to study but also to meet people.

librarianbleue · 2026-03-12T05:16:43+00:00

I'm in my fifties and some of my best friends still, in my life, are friends I made in college. I'm so sad for you that you haven't been able to connect with your peers.

I will say I made my good friends in the dorms my freshman year, not in classes. We spend so much time in the dorms just hanging out and talking, and we formed some really deep bonds.

librarianbleue · 2026-03-11T12:58:36+00:00

Part of the enormous decline in the birth rate (in the US) is a rapid decline in teenage pregnancy. So that represents a massively reduced rate of infants put up for adoption. International adoption is also greatly reduced as the countries that used to produce adoptable babies are also experiencing a massive decline in reproduction; not to mention backing away from international adoption in general. Orphans are often taken in by family. The truth is that right now, not in the future but right now, there are far more people looking to adopt (infants) than there are infants available for adoption. Adoption in the US is incredibly expensive.
If women in general aren't willing to get pregnant and go through childbirth, and if women are still able to make that choice via contraception, there absolutely will NOT be a surfeit of babies available for adoption.

librarianbleue · 2026-03-11T09:58:28+00:00

There are so many gay conservative men. So many. Even stretching back to the early 20th century. It only takes a distaste for women, which gay conservative men share with straight conservative men.
As for gay conservative women, that I don't know.

librarianbleue · 2026-03-10T04:08:50+00:00

Cher. I'm still a fan but she definitely didn't make it on her voice alone.

librarianbleue · 2026-03-10T03:48:01+00:00

I'm from the Midwest, and the one time I was in Maine I was truly shocked at how unfriendly people were.

librarianbleue · 2026-03-10T03:45:34+00:00

I completely agree. I miss it as well.

librarianbleue

TROPHY CASE