Abby > Recent Status Updates

Enjoying the story, but there is a lot of repetition of the story of her mother abandoning her at a boarding school when she was 14, under the guardianship of Agatha, and making her swear to never use magic. A LOT of repetition.

“But when I pause the TV, the house goes quiet. There’s no idle noise. No other person shuffling around on the couch. No little grumbles. No laughter. No sighs. And suddenly, being alone turns into being lonely.” I’ve had a rough 2025, and this struck me so sharply it had me in tears. This book is an example of a graphic novel with both great art and excellent writing.

This book has so many great interactions with adults openly discussing love and life with teenagers. This one with Gable’s Grandma, the one on pages 93-97 between Christine and Jelly’s dad, the one on pages 63-67 between Jelly and Mr. Nielsen…

"It's not the food, it's the labor. She wants to know that I was thinking about her when I made something. That I tried my best to make it good. That I remember her favorite flavors and thought about what she likes. The Christmas cookies aren't just...it's not about the cookies."

I want to hold the main character and tell him that he doesn't need a stranger to see all of him and accept him as he is; he can just see himself and accept himself as he is.

“‘But you…you were there. How did it feel? To see all of those big, important things happening all around you…to be a part of them?’
‘It felt like any other day…Those big, important stories from your books—you end up missing most of them, even when you’re right in the middle of it. It’s only late that you find out what kind of story you were living in.’”
Feels all too relevant.

I too have actually never finished Mrs. Dalloway, in spite of starting it multiple times.

On romance novels vs porn: "I've always been weirdly impressed by people who read four hundred pages just to have a single orgasm. That's a lot of work. Watching a video would have been astronomically easier." Ha! As an occasional romance reader, this made me giggle.

"Anyone who had truly looked at Tuesday could not have possibly seen a coyote. But the woman had not truly looked, and the injustice of this hit him. Why was it acceptable for apparently well-meaning people to see the world in such a general way?"

"Friendship is kind of like having a Tamagotchi."

"Life is very long, unless it is not."

If we were going to ____, we ought to have ____, but we didn't, in the same way you know perfectly well you ought to stop reading and go to bed and you'll feel hideously groggy in the morning if you don't, and yet you keep going.

Even in the moment, whatever we'd been about to do had seemed like a bad idea, and thankfully I wasn't in the moment anymore. I'd never been in a moment with anyone before and I didn't like it at all.

I was never in love with Orion as a character, but I find him even less appealing the better we get to know him. However, I still love El. "I'm not some sort of pallid romantic who insists on being loved for my shining inner being. My inner being is exceptionally cranky and I often don't want her company myself..."

"It's all inconvenience...And then, suddenly it's over. And you find yourself thinking that you wouldn't mind a little inconvenience."

A bit less than halfway, and this book is more mood than plot, all quiet and melancholy. I'm not sure if I like it yet, but I'm also still reading it, so...

Only humans and a few species of whales experience menopause and live past their reproductive years

Japanese word for menopause: kounenki, which translates to renewal years or energy

To cope with what British journalist Caitlin Moran calls the “ass-hattery of small children,” women are kept “tipsy and philosophical on shots of warm oestrogen” and are thus better able to cope with the “ass-hattery” of everyone else. Until menopause arrives, writes Moran, and suddenly, there’s no more “‘lady forgiveness’ left in the tank.”

More symptoms: fatigue from perimenopausal sleep disturbance, vaginal pain, dryness, and prolapse

…positive aspects to menopausal invisibility…you are less likely to attract unwanted attention from random men on the street.

Immune system remodels itself and brain recalibrates during perimenopause

FSH test may not catch perimenopause, only menopause

More symptoms: heart palpitations, night sweats, insomnia, memory loss, vaginal dryness, insulin resistance

Temporary symptoms: heavy periods, pelvic pain, sore breasts, migraines, night sweats, anxiety, depression

Fibromyalgia - unexplained chronic widespread pain and heightened pain response to pressure

Perimenopause & early menopause are a critical windows for health: small health problems could amplify into larger and more permanent health problems later in life, but is also a window of opportunity to make small changes that could make a huge difference in your future health

Perimenopause: 2-12 years before periods stop