Jarch
@itsokihaveabook.bsky.social
Massachusetts librarian, parent, greyhound adopter. "It's what you read when you don't have to that determines what you will be when you can't help it." https://jenny-arch.com
"The purpose of any memoir is to make sense of the past. It is, by definition, an explanatory narrative." -Eugene Yelchin @fuse8.bsky.social afuse8production.slj.com/2025/11/21/t...
“… to tell the truth they must create an artifice.” We Discuss Memoirs, Comics, and I Wish I Didn’t Have to Tell You This with Eugene Yelchin
afuse8production.slj.com
November 25, 2025 at 9:35 PM
"The purpose of any memoir is to make sense of the past. It is, by definition, an explanatory narrative." -Eugene Yelchin @fuse8.bsky.social afuse8production.slj.com/2025/11/21/t...
THIS!! I loathe planned obsolescence.
My killer feature right now is not needing to upgrade ever again for software that doesn’t do anything new, it just does it more and more sluggishly.
November 25, 2025 at 7:06 PM
THIS!! I loathe planned obsolescence.
Chapter books, chapter books! Here are my go-to recommendations when people come to the library in search of chapter books. jenny-arch.com/2025/11/25/b... @fuse8.bsky.social @adamrex.bsky.social @shannonhale.bsky.social @katemessner.com
jenny-arch.com
November 25, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Chapter books, chapter books! Here are my go-to recommendations when people come to the library in search of chapter books. jenny-arch.com/2025/11/25/b... @fuse8.bsky.social @adamrex.bsky.social @shannonhale.bsky.social @katemessner.com
Reposted by Jarch
A US District Court Judge has issued a permanent injunction in the lawsuit brought by 21 state attorneys general against the Trump administration for dismantling the Institute of Museum and Library Services. This means the IMLS cannot be further harmed.
bookriot.com/21-attorney-...
bookriot.com/21-attorney-...
A Major Court Win for IMLS, Libraries
Trump and his administration are barred from dismantling the Institute of Museum and Library Services, thanks to a judge's ruling.
bookriot.com
November 24, 2025 at 1:15 PM
A US District Court Judge has issued a permanent injunction in the lawsuit brought by 21 state attorneys general against the Trump administration for dismantling the Institute of Museum and Library Services. This means the IMLS cannot be further harmed.
bookriot.com/21-attorney-...
bookriot.com/21-attorney-...
@fuse8.bsky.social knitting needle alert! Waaaay up in the corner of the first page of Fanny's Big Idea
November 25, 2025 at 12:41 AM
@fuse8.bsky.social knitting needle alert! Waaaay up in the corner of the first page of Fanny's Big Idea
Reposted by Jarch
They can’t make computers as intelligent as humans, but they can make humans as unthinking as computers.
November 24, 2025 at 5:18 PM
They can’t make computers as intelligent as humans, but they can make humans as unthinking as computers.
@naomialderman.bsky.social hello! Heard you with Cory Doctorow @pluralistic.net.web.brid.gy on BBC Radio 4 Start the Week and would love to read Don't Burn Anyone at the Stake Today - do you know if/when it will be published in the US? (Already read Enshittification)
November 24, 2025 at 4:53 PM
@naomialderman.bsky.social hello! Heard you with Cory Doctorow @pluralistic.net.web.brid.gy on BBC Radio 4 Start the Week and would love to read Don't Burn Anyone at the Stake Today - do you know if/when it will be published in the US? (Already read Enshittification)
"Dispensing false information in a confident tone, rather than offering no answer when none is readily available, is a major flaw of generative AI, experts say."
evergreen
November 23, 2025 at 3:19 AM
"Dispensing false information in a confident tone, rather than offering no answer when none is readily available, is a major flaw of generative AI, experts say."
Reposted by Jarch
you do have to do it in a couple of places but this tutorial makes it easy to go uncheck the boxes that otherwise lets Google's AI read all your shit. or move everything over to protonmail but moving everything over is a giant thing I know.
Google has started automatically opting you in to let it read your stuff to train AI. You need to turn this off in SEVERAL places in your settings (not just for Gmail), if you want to maintain privacy and confidentiality.
www.malwarebytes.com/blog/news/20...
www.malwarebytes.com/blog/news/20...
Gmail can read your emails and attachments to train its AI, unless you opt out
A new Gmail update may allow Google to use your private messages and attachments for AI training. Here's how to turn it off.
www.malwarebytes.com
November 22, 2025 at 3:08 AM
you do have to do it in a couple of places but this tutorial makes it easy to go uncheck the boxes that otherwise lets Google's AI read all your shit. or move everything over to protonmail but moving everything over is a giant thing I know.
One reason that kids' book clubs and discussion groups are so valuable: "Sometimes talking about a story creates just enough emotional distance to allow for honest communication and empathy to grow." www.alsc.ala.org/blog/2025/11...
Tech Titles - Middle Grade
Explore tech titles for middle grade readers can encourage conversations about timely topics
www.alsc.ala.org
November 21, 2025 at 4:47 PM
One reason that kids' book clubs and discussion groups are so valuable: "Sometimes talking about a story creates just enough emotional distance to allow for honest communication and empathy to grow." www.alsc.ala.org/blog/2025/11...
THE BOOK OF CANDLES is absolutely lovely, can't wait to share it with the rest of my family. And I can't believe I've never heard of a bananukkiah before! (Makes me think of Charlie & Mouse's "bedtime banana.")
Hey, friends! My (very very occasional) newsletter is up, with dates for #hanukkah #bookstore events to celebrate "THE BOOK OF CANDLES: 8 Poems for Hanukkah."
Come say hi, do some holiday shopping at a wonderful indie bookshop, & maybe sign up for my newsletter!
open.substack.com/pub/laurelsn...
Come say hi, do some holiday shopping at a wonderful indie bookshop, & maybe sign up for my newsletter!
open.substack.com/pub/laurelsn...
November 19, 2025 at 8:48 PM
THE BOOK OF CANDLES is absolutely lovely, can't wait to share it with the rest of my family. And I can't believe I've never heard of a bananukkiah before! (Makes me think of Charlie & Mouse's "bedtime banana.")
Reposted by Jarch
Teachers! Librarians!
It's time for the Sibert Smackdown.
The perfect Mock Sibert activity for kids who love nonfiction.
tinyurl.com/3c9harym
#TLsky #Skbrarian @aaslala.bsky.social #educsky #kidlit #SchoolLibraries
It's time for the Sibert Smackdown.
The perfect Mock Sibert activity for kids who love nonfiction.
tinyurl.com/3c9harym
#TLsky #Skbrarian @aaslala.bsky.social #educsky #kidlit #SchoolLibraries
It’s Time for the Sibert Smackdown!
The Sibert Smackdown is an activity intended to build enthusiasm for the Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal , which is given each y...
tinyurl.com
November 17, 2025 at 11:57 PM
Teachers! Librarians!
It's time for the Sibert Smackdown.
The perfect Mock Sibert activity for kids who love nonfiction.
tinyurl.com/3c9harym
#TLsky #Skbrarian @aaslala.bsky.social #educsky #kidlit #SchoolLibraries
It's time for the Sibert Smackdown.
The perfect Mock Sibert activity for kids who love nonfiction.
tinyurl.com/3c9harym
#TLsky #Skbrarian @aaslala.bsky.social #educsky #kidlit #SchoolLibraries
I look forward to this post every year, and I notice knitting needles every time they appear in picture books - or any other illustrations. (Recently saw a New Yorker cartoon get it wrong!!)
My pettiest post returns! It's The Scourge of Upside Down Knitting Needles! How did we do in 2025? afuse8production.slj.com/2025/11/18/t...
November 18, 2025 at 4:19 PM
I look forward to this post every year, and I notice knitting needles every time they appear in picture books - or any other illustrations. (Recently saw a New Yorker cartoon get it wrong!!)
"You are not required to build a bridge to a place you don't want to go in the first place."
In this week's newsletter I wrote about losing a parent (to bad politics) and good tv shows and the billionaires who pretend they're going to leave a city if their taxes go up by an amount that will never make their lives worse.
#158. New York's Billionaires and You
Hi everyone,
We are still firmly in what any calendar would tell us is the middle of November, and yet I feel like the year is basically over. It's not that I'm winding down for the holidays. Quite t...
www.thatsmarvelousnewsletter.com
November 17, 2025 at 7:13 PM
"You are not required to build a bridge to a place you don't want to go in the first place."
Reposted by Jarch
How is it not even 8pm?????????
November 17, 2025 at 12:11 AM
How is it not even 8pm?????????
Reposted by Jarch
‘Death remains my intimate shadow partner. It has been with me since birth, always hovering close by. I understand one day we will finally waltz together into the ether. I hope when that time comes, I die with the satisfaction of a life well-lived, unapologetic, joyful, & full of love.’
—Alice Wong
—Alice Wong
November 15, 2025 at 6:12 AM
‘Death remains my intimate shadow partner. It has been with me since birth, always hovering close by. I understand one day we will finally waltz together into the ether. I hope when that time comes, I die with the satisfaction of a life well-lived, unapologetic, joyful, & full of love.’
—Alice Wong
—Alice Wong
Reposted by Jarch
"At first huff, its contents smelled like Fruity Pebbles. The kernels were speckled with brown dots, which I knew from the ingredient list were motes of 'watermelon hibiscus seasoning.' It looked like popcorn that had come down with the measles."
Reviews of New Food: LesserEvil Watermelon Hibiscus Popcorn
The time? High summer. The place? Binghamton, New York. My husband and I were there for a two-week stint, and though we weren’t native to the place...
buff.ly
November 15, 2025 at 2:00 AM
"At first huff, its contents smelled like Fruity Pebbles. The kernels were speckled with brown dots, which I knew from the ingredient list were motes of 'watermelon hibiscus seasoning.' It looked like popcorn that had come down with the measles."
"It is our struggles, and how we overcome them, that define us. That make us stronger, more resilient, more loving. More open to compassion and empathy. More dedicated to our communities. More careful to cling to our memories." @adibkhorram.bsky.social in @slj.com
November 14, 2025 at 5:19 PM
"It is our struggles, and how we overcome them, that define us. That make us stronger, more resilient, more loving. More open to compassion and empathy. More dedicated to our communities. More careful to cling to our memories." @adibkhorram.bsky.social in @slj.com
"Nobody I know who reads picture books only reads one kind of picture book (whereas lots of people only read crime novels or superhero comics or histories)." -Howie Shia afuse8production.slj.com/2025/11/13/t... @fuse8.bsky.social
“These tiny people are going to save the world.” A Ra! Ta! Ma! Cue! Talk with Howie Shia
afuse8production.slj.com
November 14, 2025 at 4:08 PM
"Nobody I know who reads picture books only reads one kind of picture book (whereas lots of people only read crime novels or superhero comics or histories)." -Howie Shia afuse8production.slj.com/2025/11/13/t... @fuse8.bsky.social
Reposted by Jarch
I never understand when ads or spam or something begin with "Did someone say...???" No, no one said "discounted shipping." What a weird thing that would be to just say.
November 14, 2025 at 2:26 AM
I never understand when ads or spam or something begin with "Did someone say...???" No, no one said "discounted shipping." What a weird thing that would be to just say.
"Thanks to social media, we’re all behaving like the stars of our own reality shows. It has affected every part of our lives, from where we hang out to what we eat." www.the-independent.com/arts-enterta...
Hang on, when did reading become so performative (and the latest ick)?
Whether its highly curated Instagram accounts or the new interior trend for ‘book nooks’, reading show offs are everywhere. But, maybe in our post-literate society, we could turn something cringe int...
www.the-independent.com
November 13, 2025 at 3:24 PM
"Thanks to social media, we’re all behaving like the stars of our own reality shows. It has affected every part of our lives, from where we hang out to what we eat." www.the-independent.com/arts-enterta...
Reposted by Jarch
Evergreen post
Yikes
November 13, 2025 at 11:49 AM
Evergreen post
Reposted by Jarch
"This is why you elected us, isn’t it? To stand firm for your future and your family’s future. To make sure that no matter what happens, you can feel confident you’ll have to pay way more to keep that family alive."
Great News: We Got Them to Agree to Their Own Deal
“Eight senators in the Democratic caucus broke with the party late Sunday to vote with Republicans and advance legislation to end the government sh...
buff.ly
November 13, 2025 at 2:40 AM
"This is why you elected us, isn’t it? To stand firm for your future and your family’s future. To make sure that no matter what happens, you can feel confident you’ll have to pay way more to keep that family alive."
Looking northeast well after dark. If it weren't for the cloud cover I think we'd be seeing the Aurora
November 13, 2025 at 12:44 AM
Looking northeast well after dark. If it weren't for the cloud cover I think we'd be seeing the Aurora
Reposted by Jarch
Friendly reminder that dishwashers made after 1995 or so are so water and energy efficient that even if you ran them twice fully loaded it would still use less water than handwashing the same load.
So many "green" things feel like sacrifices. Dishwashers are not one of them.
So many "green" things feel like sacrifices. Dishwashers are not one of them.
November 12, 2025 at 5:03 AM
Friendly reminder that dishwashers made after 1995 or so are so water and energy efficient that even if you ran them twice fully loaded it would still use less water than handwashing the same load.
So many "green" things feel like sacrifices. Dishwashers are not one of them.
So many "green" things feel like sacrifices. Dishwashers are not one of them.