Plot Points #25 💌
All the Light We Cannot See, going cashless, and the Loch Ness monster
Hi there! Happy Friday, everyone.
Two things I’m thrilled about this week:
All The Light We Cannot See is finally out on Netflix and I plan on bingeing/crying my way through it as soon as possible. The book is just so beautiful and sad and tragic, and if you haven’t read it WHY.
Wednesday marked 15 years of marriage for these two babies 👇🏼 and, as I wrote in this essay, I’m so thankful for the people who got us here.
I hope this week has been a lovely one for you as we say goodbye to Allhallowtide and begin to shuffle towards Thanksgiving and Christmas. Don’t feel rushed, okay? If you love to jump from one holiday to the next, and throwing out the pumpkins to put up the tree brings you joy, then do it! Just don’t do it because Target said you had to, alright?
Okay, that’s all from me today. Have a beautiful weekend!
Point #1: “Ma’am, this is not a Michael’s.”
Expanding on my previous point above, this articles digs a bit deeper into the “one-upmanship” culture of influencer-led holidays and how this has been to the detriment of both parents and kids, who are given fewer and fewer opportunities to use their imaginations and just be without our constant micromanagement. I dare us to not plan our activities around what makes for a cute Instagram post this year.
Point #2: Even on the brink of death, there is hope.
This woman’s testimony about her time spent in mental institutions and the deliverance she found from drug addiction is a heart-wrenching reminder that there is nothing—and no one—outside of God’s grace. If you’re in an especially tough spot, let this essay soothe your weary soul.
Point #3: My mom believes in aliens and I believe in the Loch Ness monster.
After listening to this episode of That Sounds Fun, I’m about to go deep dive into the world of Blurry Creatures. Who’s with me? 😜
Point #4: A cashless society is not a free society.
As move into an ever more virtual world—one in which corporations are increasingly in charge of what we buy, where we go, and even how we act—this in-depth, but quite readable analysis of why a cashless world is so dangerous had me reading parts aloud to my husband on the car ride home one afternoon. (Whole Foods, please take note. I’d like to keep buying your dairy-free yogurt.)
Word of the Week
Hiraeth: (n.) A homesickness for a home to which you cannot return, a home which maybe never was; the nostalgia, the yearning, the grief for the lost places of your past.
Reading In The Nook
It has been a long time since I’ve read The Hunger Games or dipped my toe into the dystopian YA scene that was so prevalent back in 2012, but this week I jumped back in with The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins. It was SUCH a fun read! It took me a couple of chapters to get into it, but then I sped through the rest of the 500 pages in two days. I love a good prequel, especially if the character is one who later becomes evil like President Snow (or Anakin Skywalker…still not over that, honestly). There’s just something so fascinating about the human experience. It’s why we’re drawn to crime podcasts and serial killer documentaries. What makes a person who was once a young, innocent kid transform into a monster? How did the Hunger Games evolve from a gladiator-like battle in a crumbling arena into the massive display of power and showmanship we see in Katniss Everdeen’s story? The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is the answer. I was a bit disappointed with what felt like a rushed, incomplete ending, but overall I’m not going to complain about another book in this series.
A few weeks ago, the library hosted a fun fall event where we entered a raffle giveaway. Our librarian gleefully informed us a few days later that we won a $25 gift card to Barnes & Noble, so Lucy and I went on a little mother/daughter book date Tuesday and I grabbed a copy of The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton. I mean, C’MON. Have you ever seen a book that is more quintessentially me? The answer is no, you have not.
A proper Victorian lady who moonlights as a pirate. An unexpected romance with an assassin sent to kill said lady. Dowager Countess snark, magical elements, and a historic London setting. It couldn’t be more perfect, honestly.
What are you reading right now? 👇🏼
“Someone I loved once gave me a box full of darkness. It took me years to understand that this, too, was a gift.”
—Mary Oliver—
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