What We're Reading in March!

Greetings friends. After consulting the nominating committee (chaired by me, staffed by the voices in my head), we're moving forward with one novel and one nonfiction read for March. Something for everyone!

A Gentleman in Moscow is one of my all-time favorite books. Few characters in literary history display more joie de vivre and savoir faire than Count Rostov. It's highly readable and exceedingly enjoyable.

How to Live: A Life of Montaigne in One Question and Twenty Attempts at an Answer is a biography of Michel de Montaigne which has been on my TBR for a while. I have a bit of a boy crush on Montaigne and I feel like everybody with better taste than me has read and loved this book.

Reminder—the majority of book discussion will take place over on our Discord on channels unlocked at the Greater Fool tier. See the pinned welcome post for that rationale. Either way, I hope you'll read and enjoy these books with me!

Welcome to Reading Fools! (+ Resources)

This is a book club for readers of all kinds to engage with great books and learn a little about life along the way.

Overview

There will be regular posts from me here available to all, but the majority of book club discussion will be on our Discord, with most channels there unlocking at the Greater Fools tier. The logic for that is twofold: 1) I'm selfish and like money and 2) much like a hiring a personal trainer, I think the real benefit is that if you pay some amount—in this case $5 monthly—you're more likely to actually read the book. However you choose to participate, I'm so grateful you're here.

Resources

• Banned Books List: Coming soon.

• Book-ish Creators to Follow: Coming soon.

• Contact Me. All of this is very much a work in progress, so if you have any thoughts, recommendations, or thoroughly spell-checked complaints, feel free to send them my way at marston.p.quinn@gmail.com.

So I know that a lot of you from TikTok joined my Bindery hoping for Deep Reading Tips, and I am finally delivering.

I started a reading journal and I am loving the journey. It allows me to slow down and rate books at my own pace. I also really enjoy the process of decorating and journaling, using different colors and textures in my notebook, and figuring out a layout that feels like me. It's not super aesthetic but it's mine and I feel pride in creating something.

I used to use Goodreads for my reviews and I still will, but having my own catalog of books I’ve read, with my own handwritten thoughts that I can flip through at any time, is just really appealing.

Especially since I’ve also decided that doom scrolling is my new enemy.

Like actually.

I also started verbally annotating in my notes app. Nothing fancy, just my thoughts. Sometimes it is literally, “This book is so boring.” But even that tells me something. Maybe the pacing is slow. Maybe I am not in the mood for this genre. Maybe I just do not connect with the writing.

Other times it is me noticing something small. A repeated image. A line that feels too specific to be random. A moment that feels like it is setting something up. I love catching foreshadowing before it fully happens. It makes me feel like I am actually in conversation with the story instead of just watching it unfold.

The biggest change though is that I let myself pause.

How I deep read and think about books is a little unique to me because of my lived experiences. The connections I make come from that. And the connections you make will be unique to you because of yours. That’s why book clubs are fun. You get to talk about the different things you felt or experienced while reading.

So one last tip for deep reading is to join a book club.

So yeah, this may not be a typical “how to deep read” post. But I hope it helps someone get started and stop worrying about doing things the right way or not feeling smart enough to deep read.

Start with writing down your thoughts.

And make it fun for you.

The March polls are closed for the Fiction/History Sickos Book Club and I got some winners for ya!

In the Fiction Sickos vote, it was down to the bell after a civil war in the Discord server. Votes were bought and bullied, last-second shenanigans were rampant, but we did get a clear winner:

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms by George RR Martin

Taking place nearly a century before the events of A Game of Thrones, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms compiles the three official prequel novellas to George R. R. Martin's ongoing masterwork, A Song of Ice and Fire.

These collected adventures recount an age when the Targaryen line still holds the Iron Throne, and the memory of the last dragon has not yet passed from living consciousness. Before Tyrion Lannister and Podrick Payne, there was Dunk and Egg. A young, naïve but ultimately courageous hedge knight, Ser Duncan the Tall towers above his rivals—in stature if not experience. Tagging along is his diminutive squire, a boy called Egg—whose true name is hidden from all he and Dunk encounter. Though more improbable heroes may not be found in all of Westeros, great destinies lay ahead for these two . . . as do powerful foes, royal intrigue, and outrageous exploits.

I've been loving the HBO adaptation for this so I'm very excited to get back to reading about Westerosi antics with my eyeballs.

As for the History Sickos, we got a pretty clear winner:

Africa is Not a Country: Notes on a Bright Continent by Dipo Faloyin

So often, Africa has been depicted simplistically as a uniform land of famines and safaris, poverty and strife, stripped of all nuance. In this bold and insightful book, Dipo Faloyin offers a much-needed corrective, weaving a vibrant tapestry of stories that bring to life Africa’s rich diversity, communities, and histories.

The book club discussions take place in the appropriate Discord forums so if you want in on that action go link your Bindery account to Discord (under Account Settings) if you're in any of the paid tiers.

And if you're not a Sicko tier or above yet, perhaps I can entice you with an advance digital or physical copy of our publishing imprints first release, A Complement of Scoundrels by S.V. Lockwood.

Either way, I'm excited for y'all to read these two book club books in March and I look forward to discussing them with you in the ol' Discord. See ya there!

I had such a great time talking about The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store this week! Time to vote on the March pick 👏🏻

As a reminder, we will be meeting 3/25 at 8pm eastern.

The Correspondent by Virginia Adams

Sybil Van Antwerp has throughout her life used letters to make sense of the world and her place in it. Most mornings, around half past ten, Sybil sits down to write letters—to her brother, to her best friend, to the president of the university who will not allow her to audit a class she desperately wants to take, to Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry to tell them what she thinks of their latest books, and to one person to whom she writes often yet never sends the letter.

Sybil expects her world to go on as it always has—a mother, grandmother, wife, divorcee, distinguished lawyer, she has lived a very full life. But when letters from someone in her past force her to examine one of the most painful periods of her life, she realizes that the letter she has been writing over the years needs to be read and that she cannot move forward until she finds it in her heart to offer forgiveness.

Sybil Van Antwerp’s life of letters might be “a very small thing,” but she also might be one of the most memorable characters you will ever read.

These Heathens by Mia McKenzie

Where do you get an abortion in 1960 Georgia, especially if your small town’s midwife goes to the same church as your parents? For seventeen-year-old Doris Steele, the answer is Atlanta, where her favorite teacher, Mrs. Lucas, calls upon her brash, wealthy childhood best friend, Sylvia, for help. While waiting to hear from the doctor who has agreed to do the procedure, Doris spends the weekend scandalized by, but drawn to, the people who move in and out of Sylvia’s orbit: celebrities whom Doris has seen in the pages of Jet and Ebony, civil rights leaders such as Coretta Scott King and Diane Nash, women who dance close together, boys who flirt too hard and talk too much, atheists! And even more shocking? Mrs. Lucas seems right at home.

From the guests at a queer kickback to the student activists at a SNCC conference, Doris suddenly finds herself surrounded by so many people who seem to know exactly who or what they want. Doris knows she doesn’t want a baby, but what does she want? Will this trip help her find out?

Woodworking by Emily St.James

Erica Skyberg is thirty-five years old, recently divorced—and trans. Not that she's told anyone yet. Mitchell, South Dakota, isn't exactly bursting with other trans women. Instead, she keeps to herself, teaching by day and directing community theater by night. That is, until Abigail Hawkes enters her orbit.

Abigail is seventeen, Mitchell High’s resident political dissident and Only Trans Girl. It’s a role she plays faultlessly, albeit a little reluctantly. She's also annoyed by the idea of spending her senior year secretly guiding her English teacher through her transition. But Abigail remembers the uncertainty—and loneliness—that comes with it. Besides, Erica isn’t the only one struggling to shed the weight of others’ expectations.

As their unlikely friendship evolves under the increasing scrutiny of their community, both women—and those closest to them—will come to realize that sometimes there is nothing more radical than letting the world see who you really are.

Pick A Color by Souvankham Thammavongsa

Ning is a retired boxer, but to the customers who visit her nail salon, she is just another worker named Susan. On this summer’s day, much like any other, the Susans buff and clip and polish and tweeze. They listen and smile and nod. But beneath this superficial veneer, Ning is a woman of rigorous intellect and profound complexity. A woman enthralled by the intricacy and rhythms of her work, but also haunted by memories of paths not taken and opportunities lost. A woman navigating the complex power dynamics among her fellow Susans, whose greatest fears and desires lie just behind the gossip they exchange.

As the day’s work grinds on, the friction between Ning’s two identities—as anonymous manicurist and brilliant observer of her own circumstances—will gather electric and crackling force, and at last demand a reckoning with the way the world of privilege looks at a woman like Ning.

Spark of the Everflame by Penn Cole

In a mortal world colonized by the gods and ruled over by the Descended, their cruel offspring, Diem Bellator yearns to escape the insular life of her poor village.

Her mother’s sudden disappearance—and the discovery of a dangerous secret about her past—offer Diem an unexpected opportunity to enter the dark world of Descended royalty and unlock the web of mysteries her mother left behind.

With the dying King’s handsome, mysterious heir watching her every move, and a ruthless mortal alliance recruiting her to join the growing civil war, Diem will have to navigate the unwritten rules of love, power, and politics in order to save her family—and all of mortalkind.

Happy Friday my froomies!

This week has been a long one for me, but also it was a good one! I have been reading (GASP I KNOW) and I have been loving every minute of it.

As February comes to a close, I want to remind you that black books, media, authors, etc. exist outside of the month, so I encourage you to continue adding black books and authors to your TBR throughout the year, and not just during Black History Month.

And on that note, here is another author that I want to see on more people's list!

The author in the spotlight today is.......

JESSICA CAGE!

Jessica's books showed up on my page with two single words, "Booty Juice". Now if were as taken aback and intrigued as I was, then you also sped to her page to inquire on the book that started with the aforementioned words. As soon as I read I Accidentally Summoned a Demon Boyfriend, I knew this was my type of book.

Most of you know that I am a lover of monster romance novels. They are glimpses of humanity translated from non-humans. They live, breathe through different methods, and love. The connections they form run deep because we remove the expectations that we place on humanity and see the love that we often search for. It can be used as a tool of self reflection as to finding the sort of love we crave as well as understanding more about us as human beings. There is something so beautiful whenever this is translated by Black authors and in Black stories, because it adds a deeper layer to the conversation and how society sees the "monster vs the man" argument. I say this because Jessica does this, bringing unabashedly black characters who are funny due to Black colloquialisms and mannerisms, but also has glimpses into society. We root for these characters because they mirror people I have seen in my day to day life as well as wanting them to succeed past the outside pressures that wish to tear them down.

Now, how did I get all of that from "booty juice", you may be wondering. Well, I shall get to that point! Take for example, the character Jericha Brown from the third book in the Accidents Happen series, I Accidentally Hired a Shadow Walker. Jericha is a badass woman who has worked hard to get where she is, a no nonsense boss of her security firm. She is bold and brass in a way that I have seen many a Black women, and also misunderstood to her more non-black counterparts. She knows that her personality can be seen as "too much" but never lets that hold her back. In fact, she shows up and lets it be know that she is breaking that glass ceiling, because to hell with that.

This is just an example of the characters that Jessica creates that are interwoven with humor and baddassery, and you can tell that it just springs from her as both a person and an author. She talks, on her author page, that she was told that "There is no money in writing" and, for a time, let that narrative stop her but not anymore. What would the world be if we listened to the narrative that our dreams are only worth what monetary value that they can produce? Certainly not one that I or many other Black creatives would wish to be a part of.

And so, we shape the world by our work, creating the spaces that are necessary for others to thrive. Jessica does this in droves, and I cannot wait to dive more into her works.

And so, if you take anything away from this, do take the time to read her books. Not only are you going to laugh from the absolute fun you are going to have, but you are helping to contribute to someone so kind and amazing.

Find out more about Jessica Cage on her website:
https://www.jessicacage.com/books

"You build what you want to build, offer it as widely as you can to whoever you think will appreciate it, and if other people like it or don't like it ... that's on them. Not you."

GENRE: Cozy Fantasy
RATING: 4.5/5
FORMAT: eBook Arc
Tropes: A Magical Inn in the middle of nowhere with a fun cast!

Overall Impression: What a cute, funny YA Cozy Fantasy by Sarah Beth Durst!

Review:

Sarah Beth Durst has striked again and this time, it's a YA Cozy Fantasy! We have a magical inn in Vermont or the middle of nowhere with access to other realms and different people for us and Clisa to meet

We meet Calisa, who is running away from a broken heart and a breakup at home by seeking solace in her great aunt's bed and breakfast. When she arrives, it's not what she remembers from the past and then, she starts seeing weird things happening. In the mean time, she meets Jack, the groundkeeper's son and some of the guests as well. The interaction between everyone had me laughing as it was so whimsical and there is a lot of grumpy, grouchy characters with goofy, sunshine characters as well.

We get a dose of everything in The Faraway Inn: Pancakes and other food mentioned with Hot Chocolate (the one in here sounds so heavenly that it made me want my own cup while reading it). We get a mixed of different species in this Cozy Fantasy that we meet with Calisa as she explores the magical side of the world. We also get a wholesome relationship that blossoms between Calisa and Jack, who sees her and accepts her as she is, unlike the boy who broke her heart back home. AND we get to meet Steve, our little cute pet for the journey!

I think another thing that I really appreciated about The Faraway Inn is the lessons that are important here for our YA audience, which then served as a reminder for me as an Adult. It's so so easy to forget these things but we get the message and theme that not everyone will accept what we put out but that's not within our control. We can only do our best and those who accept it will come and love us as we are. This theme and message continues and evolve to show that sometimes, even when we are older, we still need to be shown that we are appreciated and learn to accept love and help as it comes.

As always, I really enjoyed how much whimsy we get in all of the books written by the author (that I've read) and I can't wait to read more! Thank you to the author, publisher and netgalley for the Arc copy.

"I'd love to figure you out. But I need all the pieces before I can assembly the puzzle."

GENRE: Contemporary Romance
RATING: 4/5
FORMAT: eBook Arc
Tropes: Small Town, Forced Proximity, Opposite Attract, He Falls First, Reverse Grumpy Sunshine and Slow Burn

Review:

Having read Talia Hibbert's work before, I saw this on Netgalley and I knew that I had to read it! Talia does Autism/Neurodivergent rep in a fun way. I'm reviewing the Edition that is being published in March 2026

If you tell me that a Romance book has Small Town x Autism representation? I know I'm definitely going to be picking it up. I enjoyed A Girl like Her, where we meet Ruth, who is an Autistic FMC and lives in a small town that has cast her out because of her past. This story and Ruth as an FMC has SOO much complexity and layers to it that I truly enjoyed. I thought a lot of the topics were handled well as well

The relationship dynamic between Ruth and Evan was ADORABLE and built up in a way that is so fitting to Ruth as a character. And the fact that it is set in a Small Town? I do want to say that the Foreword from Talia Hibbert explains why she picks Small Town and how the reality is that most small towns actually have teeth and (as is seen in the story) can outcast someone for being different. I think in A Girl like Her, it's very much a story of Ruth reclaiming her town back, not by winning people over but by being herself and finding a community again, who truly accept her.

We also see other elements of Small Towns in Evan, Zach and his mother, how we would think the community would rally behind them but instead it's the opposite. I do think that A Girl like Her depicts the reality of small towns while showing us the hope of what it can be when we aren't out-casting people because they are different.

It's also a story where we watch Ruth grow and learns how to trust again, mainly herself and her own choices and decisions. She also learns to trust others around her and slowly reclaim her narrative after what has happened to her. It's also a story of where Ruth finds someone who accepts her entirely, with her PJs and loves her for who she is not in spite of who she is.

As always, Talia Hibbert continues to write and publish books that hit us close to the heart and I can't wait to read more of her books! Thank you to the author, publisher and netgalley for the Arc copy

If you’ve been craving a book club pick that’s wild, gritty, and just a little bit unhinged in the best way this is your moment. 🍹🌊📚

We’re diving deep into Day Drinkers by Kitty Turner and this kit is built for all the chaos, corrupt elites, bad decisions, ghosts, rum-fueled escapes, and morally gray mayhem we love.

✨ Tap the link for instant access to:

📚 A fully themed Day Drinkers book club kit

📖 A bold, discussion guide covering ambition, power, wealth satire, risk vs. survival, supernatural twists, and the “would you take the job?” dilemma

🍹 Tropical noir–inspired cocktails, Caribbean bites, immersive activities, and smuggler-chic door prize ideas all done for you!

Whether your group is ready to unpack Gemma’s risky choices, debate how far you’d go to escape a dead-end life, or scream “TURN THE BOAT AROUND” at least once this kit is designed to make your meeting feel immersive, dramatic, and just the right amount of chaotic very on brand for Pleasure Island.

👉 Tap the link to access the kit now and turn your next book club into a hold-my-drink kind of night:

https://tinyurl.com/nnfvzyke

❗️Don’t forget to come back and tell us would you have set sail or stayed safely on shore?

💥 Happy reading, captains. 🍹⚓

"No one prayed to nay of the Saints anymore. People wanted bread, not sacraments."

GENRE: Gothic Fantasy with Romance
RATING: 5/5
FORMAT: eBook Arc

Overall Impression: WHAT A BOOK!!! I repeat, WHAT A BOOK!

Review:

Weavingshaw is a beautiful Gothic Romance that combines SO many elements in the best of ways! We get a bit of colonisation, language and identity elements mixed in with a slow burn relationship building plus the gothic element of it: Weavingshaw as a House/Mansion and the plot surrounding it all.

Weavingshaw is a story of wanting more, wanting better and yearning for what you cant have. It's a story of not knowing where you fit in but fighting for better anyways. It's a story of wanting to dream bigger but not having anything under your control. It's a story of what happens when greed overtakes. It's a story of magic, gothic and atmospheric story and what a story it is.

Leena, our FMC, is stubborn and strong. She continues to live and try to handle everything in her family while helping her brother, Rami. Getting to know her throughout the story is a lovely journey, one where we see how she struggles with being a Refugee and struggles with accepting that she doesn't fit in anywhere. She struggles with this through language

"...she had grown up speaking Algaraan like a foreigner, in the same way many of the immigrant children born in Morland did, stumbling in and out of both languages, not being able to find a home in either. While her Algaraan had been heavily accented, she had learned to read Morish in the schoolroom with ease, and spoke it eloquently as if Morish - and not Algaraan - was the language of her heart."

Meanwhile, St Silas, the MMC in Weavingshaw, is a complex and layered character, written in a way that is truly fitting for this Gothic Fantasy. I can't say much without spoiling anything but the dynamic between Leena and St Silas builds up throughout the story and this is a true slow burn. I think, ultimately, what connects me to Weavingshaw and the MCs to each other is standing out in their own community and never truly fitting in.

Another part that I loved about Weavingshaw is Heba Al-Wasity's ability to weave in lyrical prose with the plot that makes it flow beautifully. All in all, Weavingshaw is a beautiful story, filled with a lot of dark, atmospherical moments that lead up to certain revealtion throughout the story. I can't wait to read more and see what happens going forward.

Thank you to the author, publisher and netgalley for the Arc copy!

What starts as a sunny escape turns into a hold-my-drink kind of chaos real fast. 🍹🌊📖

Day Drinkers was SUCH a fun book club pick wild, gritty, and totally unhinged in the best way. Gemma is stuck in a dead-end job, staring out at a forbidden pleasure island, and honestly the same. When she takes a risky gig captaining a sailboat for a sketchy, ultra-wealthy empire run by a country music legend, yes, really, the story launches straight into dark satire, danger, and nonstop momentum.

This book is packed with corrupt elites, drugs, ghosts, Vodou, bad decisions, and even worse men and somehow it all works. The vibes are tropical noir meets fever dream, and I loved how it skewers the idea of the American dream while tossing Gemma into one impossible situation after another. It’s chaotic, sharp, and surprisingly smart, with so much to unpack for discussion.

Perfect for a book club that loves messy characters, moral gray areas, and stories that make you laugh, gasp, and say “WHAT did I just read?” sometimes all on the same page.

❓️Would you risk everything for a shot at escape or turn the boat around before things get ugly?

#DayDrinkers #BookClubPick #DarkFiction #TropicalNoir #BookstagramReads

I've already announced that the Leans Literary book club (which you're a part of if you are reading this...if you want to be!) will be reading Good People by Patmeena Sabit in April.

But I know how hard it can be to get your hands on books sometimes, so I want to go ahead and make up a calendar for the rest of the year.

Taking a look at my shelves, the below titles are books I think would be a good fit that I have already read. Feel free to suggest other titles as well.

The Leans Literary book club will focus on genre fiction (sci fi, horror, dystopian, dark academia, etc) written by marginalized authors that has literary character-development and/or themes. We'll probably shy away from fantasy, as it's not generally my favorite, and I feel like there are already a lot of good book clubs out there focused on fantasy.

Look. I know you're tired. I know you've been running on fumes and spite and whatever's left in the coffee pot, and the LAST thing you want is some book blogger telling you to Do the Inner Work. But I need you to hear me out, because a Pixar movie about eMoTiOnAl DaMaGe and two therapy besties named Jessica Tomich Sorci, LMFT,PMH-C and Rebecca Geshuri, LMFT,PMH-C (yes I included the letters after their names because I’m a GIRL’S GIRL and they earned it damn you) have apparently been in a secret conspiracy to make you cry twice — once in the theater, and once on your therapist's couch — and I think it's time we talked about it.

"Wait, back the EFFFF up Zee. What even is 'This and That'?" I’m so glad I pretended like you asked. It’s a series I’ve been thinking about almost forever (I’m autistic, my brain either does time as “what is time” or “at 2:34pm on the day I lost my first tooth” and there is no in between) about two separate pieces of media and how I think you should consume them like PB&J, like red wine and blue cheese, like grilled cheese and tomato soup. Because yeah, they’re good separate. But together they are GOOD SOUP. (Yes, that was a Harrow the Ninth Chapter 25th reference, sorry NOT SORRY AT ALL EVEN A LITTLE BIT.)

If you don’t get that reference, I’m going to assume that you will never read Harrow the Ninth because you read my stuff and you read Gideon and didn’t like it. Fine, that’s ok, I don’t get you but I still love you. Spoiler: Harrow makes soup with her bone marrow and uses necromancy to explode someone from the inside out (see above fan art by @naomistares on Tumblr.) Gross but my GOD the cinema! So the analogy is, food so good it will FUCK YOU UP. Damn I’m weird. But you're here so I must assume, gentle reader, that so are youuuuuuuuuuuuuuu...

Anyway back to the matter at hand, Inside Out, the Pixar movie, is about a little girl’s named Riley’s feelings, each as its own character in her head. Each of these feelings – aptly named Joy, Disgust, Sadness, Anger, and Fear, have their own feelings and motivations about her move to a different city. New school, new sports, new friends, and the loss of her old ones. And Miss Joy decides to suppress all of the others – especially Sadness - because Riley needs to act happy for her parents, who are also having a tough time. Moving sux.

And it all goes to complete SHIT, as literally everyone could have seen coming. I cried in 2015 over an imaginary elephant.

Which brings me to the book that made me rewatch all of this with my jaw on the floor. When Good Moms Feel Bad is based on this therapy called Internal Family Systems (aka IFS) which basically means your brain is made up of subpersonalities, or "parts," each with its own unique motives. Which is EXACTLY what Inside Out is about. If you’re not a parent, don’t let me lose you here. This is for everyone who has ever been told they needed “self-care” and responded with, “how-the-fuck-do-you-expect-me-to-do-a-spa-day-when-the-world-is-burning?!”

I HATE self-care culture. I detest self-help books. I am a working mother who does this weird book social media thing as a hobby – no, I don’t make money off of this and any money everyone’s ever paid me to do it (and MORE) has gone straight to one of the charities for all of the people currently being shat upon by the world: trans people, Palestinians, immigrants, the list goes on.*

When a therapist or friend or especially an internet blogger insert irony here tells me to get in some self-care, it annoys me. Because doing a face mask does not relieve me of my concern that my 13 year old son may be steered into a red pill pipeline on YouTube. Getting a massage won’t take away my deep and unabiding horror at the genocide my government is funding in Gaza. Picking up a new hobby won’t relieve me of my fear that I’m not doing enough to protect my immigrant friends from being thrown into bedless cells and have their children separated from them to do god knows what with by a masked police force. I have LEGITIMATE feelings and stress that a bath bomb simply will not fix. And nobody has once convinced me that the self-care craze isn’t just another attempt to get me to spend more money on shit I don’t need. Like eyebrow gel. So when a therapy book actually gave me something useful, I was suspicious. I checked for a catch. Reader, there was a catch, but we'll get there.

When Good Moms Feel Bad is the first thing I’ve ever read that gave me some legitimate coping tools that I can use instead of trying to convince me to buy something (spoiler: when I looked up the author’s website, there is a ‘Mom Parts Community’ you can join for the low low price of $29/mo. But hey, even people with good advice have to pay to eat under capitalism, amiright?) I listened to the audiobook for free on Netgalley, but I liked it so much I purchased the book so I can have access to the workbook included.

What are these coping skills, and what do they have to do with Inside Out? WELL. Essentially, every emotion you have is there for reasons. Fear of failure protected you as a child, because your parents would love you more if you met their high expectations. Irritation is an alert to show you your boundaries have been crossed, because when it’s happened before you were in DANGER. Your Inner Critic picks you apart in order to put you back together in a better way, but sometimes it gets stuck in the telling you you’re a shitty person loop. Every shitty feeling has a goal. But how do you keep them from conflicting and eating you alive? It’s actually pretty simple. You Mom them.

New skills? You don’t need them. Expensive seminars? Nope. You already have the experience you need for this from being a mom. So you take each part of yourself, and thank it. And then tell it what you would tell a child who was acting out. Validate, then correct. Mother thyself. “Thank you, Inner Critic, for making me a better person. But please remember, we don’t say critical things to hurt people. We say them in a caring and compassionate way.” Or “thank you, Irritation, for trying to keep me safe, but right now I’m only touched out, I’m not in danger. I’m NOT in danger, you can rest.” Am I telling you to speak to the voices in your head? Yes. Yes I am. Turns out the voices in your head just want to be parented. Which is either deeply healing or deeply horrifying depending on how your own childhood went. Moving on!

I picture those Inside Out style cartoon characters in my head, and I get down on their level and hug them. This is me literally caring for the inner parts of myself. If Joy had just hugged Sadness and said, “you’re right to be sad, this is a sad time! Let me be here with you while you’re sad” then Riley would have never had an emotional collapse (I won’t spoil it for you – seriously you’re missing out if you haven’t seen that movie – seen and consumed critically!) and, well, we wouldn’t have a movie. Something my son and I constantly tell each other as we pick apart movies we watch. (Because critical media consumption is a skill you have to practice with your kids, they can't just learn from being told.)

I would recommend you watch the movie then read the book. Why? I’m not a huge non-fic girlie and I need to entertain myself by finding constant parallels in my non-fic with something that is fun. If you love a self help book, good for you! But I’m a recovering fiction addict and I need to be entertained when I engage in critical thought, ok? “Thank you Inner Critic for the self-deprecating humor, I honestly love that about myself, but you are smart and read critically no matter the genre, so please stop apologizing!”

 * If you read this far, you're already one of my people. Subscribe for $5/month — less than a bath bomb, more useful than a bath bomb, and 100% of proceeds go to humans currently being failed by the world. Big 5 publishing hates us. Let's keep going anyway.

Heading to this great Brooklyn event next week to support my labelmates! Would love to see you there for this awesome double feature launch!