Now I just want to reread The Pigman and feel achingly guilty for everything selfish I ever did as a younger person.

I know! It’s such a gift that she turned those experiences into stories for kids to deal with their own difficult lives. When I found Witch Week as a kid and she perfectly described how crummy childhood can be, all the while the real adults in my life were trying to paint childhood as carefree and fun, it felt like I…

My photo won’t post, so never mind on that front. But these are gorgeous dresses!

Thank goodness I am not the only one! I really enjoyed Pineapple Express and his role particularly too. Now I just feel bad.

Sorry! I mistyped. It was The Time of the Ghost, published in 1981.

She was so gracious when she visited the Planned Parenthood I worked at in 2010. She was so supportive and kind to the staff. It was a hard job — huge volume of clients who were stressed and angry and had to stay way longer for the appointment than they were led to believe, plus protesters. She really had a knack for…

Well, we will neither of us ever play it cool again should we meet another hero.

I seem to have found my Charles and am delighted and astounded what I can accomplish with his support. Ursula’s work ethic is an inspiration to me, and reminds me I can do more.

Fire and Hemlock is my all-time favorite of hers! What messed you up? Super curious!

I stumbled across Witch Week in 5th grade (1995), and it perfectly encapsulated how much I despised school, and I fell in love. Her imperfect unto neglectful and even murderous families all throughout the Chrestomanci Chronicles totally made me feel OK about my family’s (not nearly as terrible) imperfections.

You just confirmed it: We could have been besties as kids. It would have been nice to know someone else reading fantasy. It’s certainly nice as an adult!

Thank you for the recommendation. I clearly have not read nearly enough of her stuff. What a beautiful sentiment to share.

GAAAAAAAAH! I AM SO JEALOUS!

Eugenie Clark, the Shark Lady, was my childhood hero and I hate Trump so, so much that this just makes me deeply content.

Madeleine L’Engle is like an extra mother to me! What about Diana Wynne Jones? I am reading through her oeuvre right now. What other authors from our childhoods do we have in common?

Diane Duane was one of my childhood authors TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! And I just made my husband read Book of Night with Moon because he is such a cat person and nerd and, predictably, he loved it.

Thank you for the recommendation! I will read it!

YESSSSSSSS!

Oh, man. The Left Hand of Darkness and The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia totally shaped my ethics when a friend recommended me them as a teenager. I am a totally different person because of them. I was blown away that she was the same author of The Wizard of Earthsea, a book I had loved as a child. Her range and…

I DIED LAUGHING!