Plot Points #12 💌

Barbie, friends on the Internet, the original C.S. Lewis, and a library haul

Oh, hi. Hello 👋🏼. I’m the one who forgot to read and post about our July book club pick. It’s nice to have you here.

The summer just flew by, didn’t it? Last summer was hellacious, as we spent an entire three months without air conditioning, thanks to a terrible home warranty that came with our new (then) house and multiple techs who just sort of meandered around without a care in the world for the fact that our main floor was perpetually 87 degrees. (Praise God for the previous owners who finished the basement, though. We snuggled down there the entire time and managed, somehow, not to kill each other in the process.) This summer has felt like a breeze in comparison, despite the fact that the whole world is literally burning.

ANYWAY.

My point is that in all the travel and busyness of these past couple of months—plus our recent church transition—I seem to have completely forgotten about book club. Mea culpa. Let’s just say it was a June book club and try again another day, yeah? What with school about to start back, Theo enrolling in pre-k this year, and the impending edits on my novel (which are way overdue), I can’t honestly say I have space for it in August. You win some, you lose some. But thanks again to all of you who joined me for Lessons in Chemistry last month! I hope you’ll be here again for our next go-round.

Have a lovely weekend, friends! Thanks for sharing some of your time with me.

---

Point #1: Greta Gerwig is brilliant.

Seriously. She’s such a unique director whose intelligence and emotional understanding make every story she tells one worth seeing again and again. (I’ll never get over Little Women.) I haven’t watched Barbie yet, but this astute and tender review of Gerwig’s latest from fellow Substacker Katie Marquette has me convinced it’s worth my time.

Point #2: Sometimes, the Internet is really cool.

One of my dearest friends reached 100k subscribers on her YouTube channel this week! Rosalie Reacts is a global music reaction channel where Rosalie pulls from her extensive knowledge of theology, psychology, and music to connect with all different types of people. It has been such a joy to watch her grow this unique idea into a big, beautiful online community and I couldn’t be prouder of my friend.

Point #3: I can’t wait to start homeschooling again next year.

This family’s passion for pursuing what they love is incredibly inspiring.

Point #4: George MacDonald was the original C.S. Lewis.

I’m just discovering the work of 19th-century Scottish author, poet, pastor, and theologian, George MacDonald, who was apparently such a huge influence on C.S. Lewis that Narnia was inspired by MacDonald’s own stories. Lewis also wrote an entire biography on the guy. BRB, gotta go add some books to my TBR.

---

Bonus Point: The shortest route is often the best route.

Even if royalty is in your way.

---

Reading In The Nook

This week I finished reading The Kiss Curse by Erin Sterling, which was much funnier and more romantic to me than The Ex Hex. I think it all comes down to the tropes. I’ll forever prefer grumpy/sunshine to miscommunication because I just can’t stand when characters can’t get anything done because they simply won’t say what needs to be said.

I also finished It Starts With Us by Colleen Hoover last night, and it was far more enjoyable—and much less disturbing—than It Ends With Us. After all, Hoover wrote it with the express intention of giving her readers a much-requested fairytale ending (I did the same thing with my second novel) and it was a nice tidy bow on a messy story.

I guess it’s the sequels for me this week.

(CW for both: frequent adult language and a handful of explicit sex scenes.)

I’m also still working on Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis. It’s not a long book by any stretch of the imagination, but Lewis’ voice—while brilliant—always takes me some time to process, especially if I read it after something like a witchy rom-com.

Finally, my library haul on Wednesday included a contemporary young adult romance, a middle-grade fantasy (based on Anne of Green Gables!), a nonfiction psychology tome, and a faith-based autobiography.

No word yet on whether or not I’ve lost my mind thinking I’ll have these read in three weeks.

“To try to be brave is to be brave.”

—George MacDonald—

Get My Latest Book: Bookshop | Amazon | B&N

Want help getting published in 2023? I got you.

Can’t afford a monthly subscription to The Nook but want to support my work? You can buy me a coffee instead.