Today’s Top Ten Tuesday topic from That Artsy Reader Girl asks us to share our favorite online resources for book lovers:

1. Goodreads (I know they’re now owned by Amazon and that there are other sites that do the same thing of helping you organize what you’ve read and what you want to read. But until the former fact gets too obnoxious, I’m not likely to seek out the latter.)
2. Book Riot (Lots of good articles about book-related topics)
3. Out of Print (Lots of bookish clothing options)
4. Etsy (Again, you can find lots of bookish tchotchkes here.)
5. Book Series in Order (Because a lot of times, it matters, plotwise)
6. Does the Dog Die? (Do books with certain tropes stress you out? Do you ever get to a point in a novel where you’re worried that X is going to happen — and you’d rather not keep reading if it does? If that’s the case, this is the site for you.)
7. Library Extension (Install this extension on your web browser and it will automatically tell you if your library (or libraries) has a book that’s mentioned on a page.)
8. Overdrive (Access to lots of audiobooks and e-books with your library card.
9. largehearted boy (If you love books and music, this is a great site for you. The guy who runs it invites authors to share playlists for their books, provides daily links on the two topics, and, between November and January, exhaustively links to best-of lists.)
10. IndieBound (Want to find a local bookstore to where you live or where you’ll be visiting? Then this is the site for you!)

And while it’s pretty likely she’s already on your radar if you’ve arrived here from her link-up, I’d be remiss not to include That Artsy Reader Girl on my list, for the best weekly book meme, her continuation of #TBTBSanta and her #GiftmasinJuly exchanges, and her daily review of books.

Do you have any favorite bookish sites you’d like to share? Add them in the comments!

My MIL keeps asking us what fun things we’re going to do while I’m out in SLC. It’s not clear to either of us that she remembers that we’re here to empty out her house, and neither of us knows the way to remind her without breaking her heart.

Which instead breaks ours.

I am out in Salt Lake to work, but, this is also my vacation, so today we made sure was a day mostly dedicated to the latter. We checked out a new coffee shop, bought a ton of stuff at rhe farmers market, took a nap, bought new jeans, and ate pizza.

And I spent more time outside than in probably the last month combined enjoying a gorgeously sunny day.

I made it to Salt Lake just after midnight local time.

The new airport terminal is not made for someone low in sleep or mental reserves. I had to walk at least a mile from gate to get to the car. (Rudi made it the ten minutes from the air b-n-b to the airport before I got out of the building.) I’m sure it’s lovely in the daylight, while you’re waiting for a flight, getting to see the sun set over the Wasatch front. I look forward to experiencing it that way.

But the empanada I had from a new-to-us Venezuelan restaurant for a late supper was excellent — and weighed about a pound. (There’s a second one in the fridge.) I can see why there was a line.

We’re going to start the day with a trip to a farmers market and then either head over to the house to assess or to see Rudi’s mom.

Have a good Saturday!

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. A coworker and I surprised a young woman who’s reported to us both by making donations to support her half marathon charitable cause.

2. Getting to spend the night of my dad’s birthday with him and my mom. This was the first in-person family birthday celebration since COVID began.

3. I ran into a former colleague as I was running an errand. Since leaving the company, she’s moved to my neighborhood.

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

Honestly, my decision-making abilities have been down the toilet for a while. Sometimes I know I’m making a questionable decision, but the thought of having to prolong it outweighs the smarter voice. And sometimes I’m so caught in the mental vortex of trying to do too much with too few reserves that I’m literally going in circles from one task to another, without ever actually getting any of it done. I understand that sitting down and tackling one thing at a time is the smarter decision, but I don’t have the ability anymore to distinguish which thing needs focus until we’re in a danger zone.

I keep putting one foot in front of another, which counts for something, but honestly it counts for less and less every day. Can I call out exhausted for the rest of the year?

I need to refill my emotional and mental coffers, but the trip to Salt Lake doesn’t really seem likely to offer that. And I’m starting to wonder if this is just going to be life from now on, with nothing ever being great again. (To be fair, nothing is horrific either. Everyone is healthy and safe and I realize how lucky I am that I’m starting from that baseline.). I know everyone is struggling and my situation is neither unique nor interesting, but without getting some prolonged space and energy to recharge, I just don’t see how to keep the daily grind from grinding me up, too.