Early this morning, House Republicans passed Trump's "big, beautiful" budget bill to kick millions of Americans off Medicaid and fund tax cuts for billionaires and big corporations - but not before they snuck in even more changes that will make life harder for the most vulnerable Americans.

Olive Kitteridge is so rough at moments that I can't help but dislike her but Strout does a good job of showcasing Olive's tenderness and humanity, thus swinging the pendulum back the other way. #booksky

Survival is insufficient. What I love about this book is how it focuses on the survival of non-survivalist types. How does the artist live in the apocalypse? People need art. The drive to create, to experience, to perform lies deep within us and even the end of civilization can't stop it. #booksky

Tried Wrong Place Wrong Time but couldn't get into it. Got halfway then gave up. Chain Gang All-Stars seemed interesting but at 30%, I quit. So much exposition! I read all of One Second After. This one is a great example of showing vs telling. It tells you everything, shows you nothing. #booksky

This book weaves through stories, going back and forth in time. It took me a bit to get used to it. This is the kind of book that you'd reread just to catch things you didn't the first time. It's excellent and exhausting. #booksky

Heartbreaking news… Tonight, many of our friends were let go, and tomorrow, even more will follow. Word is that all probationary employees at NPS will be let go. 😭

Elon Musk’s staffers have taken an additional $7.4 million this week in expenses, bringing the total to $14.4 million.

SpaceX, which holds billions of dollars in government contracts, was penalized by the FAA for ignoring regulations. In response, Musk pushed for the resignation of the agency’s chairman.

"For more than a century, the American Catholic Church relied on the buying, selling, and enslavement of Black people to lay its foundations, support its clergy, and drive its expansion."

#booksky

Every Heart a Doorway is 1st in a series. Down Among the Sticks and Stones is the 2nd; it's a prequel to the story focusing on Jack and Jill, the twin sisters. Overall I liked this story but it felt too short. That was my main issue with the 1st book and probably why I found the 2nd so quickly.

Finished Ghost Camera by Darcy Coats. This is a collection of short stories and they are good. Ghost Camera was one of her earlier stories but I'm not sure about the others.

Imagine you are on a hunting trip, isolated from the world. You come out of the woods to find that you are in the middle of a civil war. That's the plot of Burn. There are a lot of flashbacks that establish the friendship between the two main characters Jess and Storey.
#booksky

My 1st completed book of 2025.
I liked it.