Weekly Roundup: August 15, 2025
Happy Friday! I have a million things on my to-do list so let’s get right to it…
Quote of the week:
“It is a little embarrassing that, after forty-five years of research and study, the best advice I can give to people is to be a little kinder to each other.” –Aldous Huxley
What I’m reading:
I’m getting ready for a trip to Amsterdam so I’m reading a book written by a woman who worked in the Wallen (aka red light district). It’s super interesting. Earlier this week, I finished The Death of Us by Abigail Dean and really liked it. The cover makes it look like a thriller and it’s really not. It’s an in-depth character study about a couple who goes through a traumatic assault and how that affects the rest of their lives together (and apart).
What I’m listening to:
I just started The Leaving Season, a memoir by Kelly McMasters.
What I’m watching:
My boyfriend and I saw Weapons in the theater last weekend. I love horror movies and this didn’t disappoint. I’ve also been re-watching I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, the docuseries about the Golden State Killer. Abigail Dean (The Death of Us) didn’t say in the acknowledgments that she based her book on the Golden State Killer’s attacks, but there are so many similarities. Chilling.
Writing news:
I’ve started writing a new novel and am in the stage when I’m not sure what will become of it, but it’s been fun! I’m still loving hearing from readers of Woman on the Verge and can’t wait to announce my 2026 novel (comes out in February).
Interesting things I learned this week:
You can use a mixture of white toothpaste and water to get scuff marks off walls. VERIFIEDOver 21 days of talking with ChatGPT, an otherwise perfectly sane man became convinced that he was a real-life superhero. The New York Times analyzed the conversationIn the Crescent Park neighborhood of Palo Alto, Mark Zuckerberg paid more than $110 million to buy 11 houses to create a compound for his family. Neighbors say it includes a 7-foot statue of Zuckerberg’s wife and 7,000 square feet of underground space they call a “billionaire’s bat cave”Bookshop.org saw 65% growth in the first six months of 2025. Woohoo!Russia and Alaska are only 2.4 miles apart, which makes me wonder if Sarah Palin really could see Russia from her houseNearly 8 in 10 companies have reported using generative A.I., but just as many have reported “no significant bottom-line impact”1 in 3 Americans now say their financial situation has deteriorated in the past year (Yahoo Finance)The human skull has 22 bones54% of adults say they drink alcoholic beverages, according to a Gallup poll. That’s a 30-year lowU.S. children are 80% more likely to die before adulthood than children in peer nations. Why? Guns and shitty healthcareWeirdest thing I googled this week:
“Banned baby names in US.” My daughter was watching something on YouTube that mentioned there are 10 names that are banned in the US, so I had to investigate. It’s true, and the banned names are:
You also can’t have a number in your name in the US, like “Mon1ka.” These are my favorite international banned names:
Chief Maximus (New Zealand)Robocop (Mexico)Friday (Italy)Metallica (Sweden)Devil (Japan)BRFXXCCXXMNPCCCCLLLMMNPRXVCLMNCKSSQLBB11116 (Sweden)Thor (Portugal)Nutella (France)What I’m grateful for:
We made it through the last full week of summer break. This one was challenging as my daughter’s soccer camp was 9-11am. Working parents know what I mean. Thank goodness for joining forces and organizing playdates with other familiesWe found our chameleon. It got out of his cage when my daughter had two friends over for a sleepover. I was a bit terrified but we found him in a houseplant (see photo below)! Physical therapy for my cranky hip. I’ve been taking it easy with running mileage because my body hasn’t felt 100%, but I’m feeling better and better thanks to some good PTKing-size bed has arrived. We’ve started letting the puppy sleep with us, which calls for more space. She’s getting big (see photo below)!
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