This week’s Top Ten Tuesday from That Artsy Reader Girl is all about the things that annoy us about books:

1. Bad editing
2. Unhappy endings, particularly ones that sneak up on me (This is often what nets books a single star on Goodreads.)
3. Surprise sequels (I’m looking at you, Miss Peregrine.)
4. A lack of description anywhere on a cover (It’s great that other people love it; I’ll need to know what it’s about first.)
5. Bad descriptions of D.C. (I stopped reading a book once based on its description of the fountain in Dupont Circle.)
6. Mysteries where the bad guy is obvious from the start.
7. Mysteries where the person dies of an accident and the person who witnessed it left town (I stopped reading the Aunt Dimity books after that.)
8. Endings that seem rushed (See #1.)
9. Self-help books (The only ones I’ve tried have focused on creativity, and usually it’s the author’s tone that makes me want to throw the book into traffic.)
10. Traditional gender roles reinforced in sneaky ways (The ones that are overbearing I’ve usually abandoned early on, so it’s usually a stupid remark after a couple has gotten together that makes me resent having spent any time with them at all.)

How about you? What pisses you off about books?

The weekend was good, but way too fast. I’m really looking forward to next weekend, which will be twice as long.

There were festivals and the farmers market and time with friends. I spent time at the garden, on the waterfront, and in bed.

We got to witness the penultimate game of one of our favorite Nationals and eat the last corn on the cob of the season.

How was your weekend?

Rudi and I were a block from home on our bikes this afternoon, when we encountered a car abandoned in the middle of the busy intersection.

It was on fire.

People at the crosswalks all had their phones out and were filming this interesting new addition to their day. Cars were still boldly driving right past, which felt like a stupid choice. Some of them also had phoneccvbc recordingcc.

911 had been called.

But at that point it was still a manageable fire. And no one was doing anything about it but watching.

So I threw down the kickstand on my bike and left it with Rudi while I hurried over to a local restaurant to demand a fire extinguisher. Another middle-aged woman came in right on my heels with the same request.

Kudos to the restaurant worker who immediately knew where their front-of-house fire extinguisher was and handed it to us without missing a beat. Neither of us had used one before, but we were game to try.

But when we came out, it was clear those extra 30 seconds had been too long. The car was engulfed. There was really no way for us to do anything at that point.

The fire trucks showed up a minute later, and I assume they quickly got the situation under control, because I didn’t hear an explosion after we got back on our bikes and pedaled away.

It’s the weekend (and the last one we’ll spend in town for a while)! What am I hoping it includes?

• We’ve got tickets to the penultimate Nationals game of the year tomorrow evening. Our friend Sarah has the other two seats and is bringing one of her best college friends, whom I’m looking forward to meeting.
• There are a couple neighborhood street festivals and a concert in the park that could be fun to check out.
• I haven’t been to the garden in nearly a week, so I’d better go pick some tomatoes and peppers.
• I have a bag of apples I picked last weekend that would love to be baked.
• Mount Laundry threatens our very existence while we sleep. I should probably strive to turn it into a mere hill.
• A friend of Rudi’s is going to cat sit for us this month, which means that someone besides our handyman on an emergency basis is going to come into the apartment for the first time since before the pandemic. We have to do some cleaning.
• Sunday morning means the farmers market, even if I don’t really need anything.
• I’d like to put birthday cards for three friends into the mail. (I also need to get one of their most recent addresses.)
• I need to buy a plane ticket to Salt Lake. I should have bought it today at the latest.
• Doesn’t reading and knitting at a cafe in the autumn sun sound idyllic?

How about you? Do you have a relaxing weekend planned or one full of activity?

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. Suppers most nights containing ingredients from the garden

2. I haven’t been great at getting out before the sun sets this week, but I have made it outside before work at least twice this week.

3. A fellow gardener and I cross paths for the first time since the spring. We sit at picnic tables in the park and catch each other up on how our summers have been.

How about you? What’s been beautiful in your world lately?

The good news is that I touched all three of these today. The bad news is that none of them are moving fast. But tomorrow is another day.